Bin Laden’s appeal rested on renouncing wealth Arab rulers crave

Evidence

The usual pattern— more so in republics than in monarchies—is rags to riches, a process by which people of humble, usually impoverished, origin contrive, through the exercise of military and hence of political power, to attain often great wealth, which they pass on to their children and extend to their kinsfolk. Osama bin Laden presents the inspiring spectacle of one who, by his own free choice, has forsaken a life of riches and comfort for one of hardship and danger. — Bernard Lewis, From Babel to Dragomans, 1773

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the abstention-vs-acquisition theme: Islamic legitimacy grounded in voluntary renunciation echoes ascetic-saint patterns elsewhere. Could cross-reference how sacrificial renunciation undercuts class resentment in the sacrifice chapter on the reading list.