Okay, so just because you’re related to one of the most notorious terrorists in history doesn’t make YOU a bad guy.  Maybe you even do something do distance yourself from your murderous kin, like changing the spelling of your family name from “bin Laden” to “bin Ladin”.  Missed the difference?  Read it again.  Now once more.  This is the step that European high-roller Yeslam bin Ladin took to ensure that people wouldn’t make the connection.  Unless the name was spoken aloud.  Or read.
Bin Ladin Aviator Watch: Are You Kidding Me?

Bin Ladin Aviator Watch: Are You Kidding Me?

Yeslam (we’ll refer to him by his first name to avoid any confusion) is a pilot.  He flies planes.  Not kidding.  To honor his dedication to his avocation, Yeslam designed for his clients the “Aviator” watch.  Seriously.  According to Reuters, the businessman brags that “This watch will tell you the exact airspeed of an airplane”, which is, evidently, important to know.  He also knows, having logged more than 3,500 hours of flight time, that electronic breakdowns in planes are fairly common, so he designed the watch to be able to not only calculate airspeed, but also estimate flight time.  It would certainly be of comfort to the hundreds of passengers, knowing that a bin Ladin-designed watch was on the pilot’s wrist.

Yeslam, who has dual citizenship with Saudi Arabia and Switzerland, designed the watch for pilots, adding a face engraved with fan blades to appeal to them.  He plans to sell the watches at the luxury Geneva boutique that bears his name, where he also markets “Yeslam” purses and perfume.  The elder bin Laden—ahem, bin Ladin—wears tailored suits, fine diamond jewelry, and runs a finance company, in sharp contrast to the lanky, ultra-creepy hate-monger with whom he shares DNA.

Perhaps Yeslam was inspired to become a pilot when his Dad—who fathered 54 children with 20 wives—died in a plane crash in the 1960s.  Unfortunately, this event may have inspired his half-brother as well, albeit in a different way.

When asked if he was concerned that prospective buyers might shy away from the product because of his family name, Yeslam responded: “I think over time people have realized that these two things are completely unrelated.  It has been many years that I had nothing to do with it”.  One can only hope a language barrier is the reason for him to imply that, some years ago, he had something to do with it.  As for people being able to separate the irony of a bin Ladin “Aviator Watch” and the bin Laden terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, well, I think Yeslam might be reaching a bit on that one.

But if you’re looking for a macabre collector’s item, and have between $10,000 and $25,000 to drop, this is the gold standard of twisted paradox.  Wear it with care.  And stay the hell off my flights.

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