A Siege of Mecca in 1979?
Did you know there was a group of Wahhabi Islamists that attempted to rip control of the “Great Mosque” in Mecca on November 20, 1979? The leader was a Sunni Wahhabi by the name of Juhayman al Uteybi.
Uteybi was no relation to the Saudi Royal Family. Apparently this is significant because the Saudi Royal Family of the time was attempting to liberalize the Saudi nation at the time and this Uteybi seizure of the “Great Mosque” was a Wahhabi response to the Saudi liberalization.
Let’s see, I was exactly 23 at the time. I have to be honest with you I have absolutely no recollection of that event in history. Do you?
Apparently it struck fear in the Saudi Royal Family who is supposed to be the modern protector of the Mohammedan holy city of Mecca. This Uteybi guy was so successful in seizing Mecca that the Saudi military needed help to re-take the “Great Mosque” in Mecca.
I became aware of all this through the posting of Mark A. Taylor of the ccpga Yahoo Group who discovered a book review by Thomas Lippman of a book entitled The Siege Of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of Al Qaeda, by Yaroslav Trofimov.
To get a time frame in your mind Lippman points out this is a year in history that a whole lot of events of notoriety occurred:
That year began with the Iranian revolution and ended with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. In between, Egypt signed a peace treaty with Israel, radicalizing the Palestinians. Saddam Hussein took power in Iraq. And the former prime minister of Pakistan, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto, was hanged by the general who overthrew him, Mohammed Zia ul-Haq - the leader who would turn the struggle against the Soviets in Afghanistan into a religious war that inspired zealots such as Osama bin Laden.
Here is the thing; I remember every one of the above events of history. I do not recall the siege of Mecca. There is a good reason for this.
This was humiliating for the Saudis. The Saudis asked for foreign help but not from any MUSLIM NATIONS. Indeed Jordan offered to help but the Saudis refused Jordanian help. Lippman’s book review does not go into why Jordan’s offer was refused but I can guess. The Hashemite family had been protectors of Mecca but the first Saudi king wrested the honor away from the Hashemites. The Hashemite Royal Family of Jordan claims direct descent from the founder of Mohammedanism – Mohammed. I am uncertain of the details but there has been a loose rivalry ever since.
The foreign help that came were in the guise of French Commandos who eventually entered the city forbidden to non-Muslims and gained victory. Saudi officials have refused to discuss the event in their history for years.
It was from the ashes of this “Great Mosque” siege that was broken by a non-Muslim nation that the Saudi Royal Family began to re-adopt the harsh Wahhabi ways and forsaking any thought of liberalizing Saudi society.
Lippman says the author Trofimov implies that an already breeding radical Islamism became a global radical Islamic starting point for massive transnational terrorist movements like Usama bin Laden’s al Qaeda.
I believe I have to get this book.
