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This article was first published 10 years ago

Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar

Last updated on: May 02, 2014 12:51 IST

Image: Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes poses with girls in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'
Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

A bar owner in Brazil who looks like Osama bin Laden is expecting business to boom when the crowds come for the World Cup.

Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes, 54, said he decided to open his drinking hole -- named Bar Do Bin Laden -- after years of causing double-takes from passersby in Sao Paulo.

But the Al Qaeda mastermind’s doppelganger saw an opportunity to cash in on the in the once-embarrassing ordeal.

“I am a man of goodwill,” he told the news magazine, Vocativ, last week.

“I can’t stand violence ... but this was great for business. No one calls me Francisco anymore. It’s Osama or bin Laden.”

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Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar


Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes laughs while chatting on the phone in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'.

Braga says he was known as the 'Beard Man' before 9/11, but became known as a Bin Laden lookalike following the 9/11 attacks.

He says he is Christian and continues to play the role to support his business.

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Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar


Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes (right) serves customers in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'

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Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar


Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes (left) receives payment in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'

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Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar


Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes poses in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'

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Inside the 'Osama bin Laden' bar


Photographs: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Osama bin Laden lookalike Ceara Francisco Helder Braga Fernandes poses with a portrait of Jesus in his 'Bar do Bin Laden'