Waffa Binladin is having a hard time convincing people to look beyond her family name. Not suprising.

The 26-year-old lawyer whose family changed the spelling of their last name several years ago, and who is the estranged niece of 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden, has been meeting with producers and managers in the United States and England over the past year in an attempt to launch a career as a pop singer.

But, despite renouncing her Muslim past, distancing herself from her infamous uncle years ago and logging time on the English club scene, Binladin has yet to shake the stigma of her surname.

Waffa Binladin

"She [renounced] her family name long ago," said Jonathan Nash, the business partner of well-known English music manager John Benson, according to an entertainment website.

"John was intrigued because he likes the idea of people seeing someone for who they are and not for what their name is. It's a nice human lesson."

Nash said Waffa Binladin most closely resembles Australian singer Natalie Imbruglia, and that she possesses a good singing voice and is "a very attractive girl."

Waffa, born in the United States, had been living in New York "just a stone's throw" from the World Trade Center towers prior to their destruction, Nash said.

Her mother, Carmen, recently told the London Sunday Telegraph, "The Bin Laden family have condemned my daughters because they were brought up in the West and have Western ways, but I support Waffa's freedom. The girls are in a very difficult position. People associate them with the Bin Ladens, which they are not. This is very dangerous." Carmen Binladin added that the family considered changing its name entirely, but worried that "people would think we had something to hide."

Though the British press have reported that Waffa has worked with everyone from Wyclef Jean to Soul II Soul mastermind Nellee Hooper, the spokespeople for both artists took pains to say they are not involved with the singer.

Wyclef's spokesperson said he's never met her and Hooper's manager also denied the link. Nellee is considering action against the tabloids because of these allegations."

Waffa Binladin's father, Yeslam, is the brother of Osama bin Laden, and the young singer is said to have only met her uncle one time. It is likely that her reported proclivity for smoking, drinking and shunning traditional Muslim garb might raise the ire of her strict Muslim uncle.

Despite her rejection of her family's legacy, England's Observer newspaper recently quoted "American Idol" judge Simon Cowell as saying her hopes of success are slim. "There's only one worse surname you could have to launch a pop career," Cowell reportedly said, "and that's Hitler."