Grand Mosque Seizure

Grand Mosque Seizure

Kaaba mirror edit jj.jpg

Pilgrims circumambulating the Kaaba during the Hajj

Date
Novembe
r 20 -
Decembe
r 4, 1979

Location
Mecca,
Saudi
Arabia

Result
Saudi
Arabian
Victory

Belligerents

Saudi National Guard Islamic Militants

Commanders

Juhayman al-Otaibi

Strength
 ~10,000 Saudi NG,
1,300-1,500 Militants
~3 French GIGN

Casualties and losses

250? Dead,
127? Saudi NG killed 600? Wounded
63 later executed

The Grand Mosque Seizure on November 20, 1979, was an armed attack and takeover by
armed Islamic fundamentalist dissidents of the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the
holiest place in Islam. The insurgents declared that the Mahdi, or redeemer of Islam, had arrived
in the form of one of the insurgents' leaders, Abdullah Hamid Mohammed Al-Qahtani and called
on Muslims to obey him.

The seizure shook the Islamic world as hundreds of pilgrims present for the annual hajj were
taken hostage, and hundreds of militants, security forces and hostages caught in crossfire were
killed in the ensuing battles for control of the site. The siege ended two weeks after the takeover
began with militants cleared from the mosque.[1]

Following the attack, the Saudi state implemented stricter enforcement of Islamic code.[2]

Background
The seizure was led by Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaibi, who belonged to a powerful
family of Najd. He declared his brother-in-law Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani to be the
Mahdi, or redeemer of Islam, whose coming at endtimes is foretold in many ahaadith of
Muhammad. As predicted in one hadith about the Mahdi, Muhammad bin abd Allah al-Qahtani
was a descendant of Muhammad himself. "His and his father's names were the same as
Muhammad's and his father's, and he had come to Mecca from the north." Furthermore, the date
of the attack, November 20, 1979, was the first day of the year 1400 according to the Islamic
calendar, which according to another hadith, was the day that the Mahdi would reveal himself.[3]

Juhaiman Saif al Otaibi was from "one of the foremost families of Najd. His grandfather had
ridden with Abd al Aziz in the early decades of the century."[4] He was a preacher, a former
corporal in the Saudi National Guard, and former student of revered conservative Sheikh Abdel
Aziz al Baaz, who went on to become the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia. Juhaiman had turned
against al Baz, "and began advocating a return to the original ways of Islam, among other things;
a repudiation of the West; an end of education of women; abolition of television and expulsion of
non-Muslims." [5] He proclaimed that "the ruling Al Saud dynasty had lost its legitimacy, because
it was corrupt, ostentatious and had destroyed Saudi culture by an aggressive policy of
Westernization."[6]

Otaibi and Qahtani had met while being imprisoned together for sedition, when Obeidi claimed
to have a vision sent by God telling him that Qahtani was the Mahdi. Their declared goal was to
institute a theocracy in preparation for the imminent apocalypse. Many of their followers were
drawn from theology students at the Islamic University in Medina, which was known as a center
of the Muslim Brotherhood. Other followers came from Yemen, Kuwait, and Egypt and also
included some Muslim African-Americans. The followers preached their radical message in
different mosques in Saudi Arabia without being arrested.[7] The government was reluctant to
confront religious extremists. Members of the ulema cross-examined Otaibi and Qahtani for
heresy, but they were subsequently released as being traditionalists harkening back to the
Ikhwan, like Oteibi's grandfather, and not a threat.[8]

Due to donations from wealthy followers, the group was well-armed and trained. Some
members, like Otaibi, were members of the National Guard.[9] Some National Guard troops
sympathetic to the insurgents infiltrated weapons, ammunition, gas masks, and provisions into
the mosque compound over a period of weeks before the new year.[10] Automatic weapons were
stolen from National Guard armories, and the supplies were hidden in the hundreds of tiny
underground rooms under the mosque that were used as hermitages.[11]

Seizure
In the early morning of November 20, 1979, the imam of the Grand Mosque, Sheikh Mohammed
al-Subayil, was preparing to lead the prayers for the fifty thousand worshipers who had gathered
for the first prayer of the Islamic year. He was interrupted by insurgents who procured weapons
from under their robes, chained the gates shut and killed several policemen.[12] The number of
insurgents has been given as "at least 500"[13] and "four to five hundred", which included several
women and children who had joined Otaibi's movement.[11] At the time, the Grand Mosque was
being renovated by the Saudi Binladin Group in what was the most prestigious construction
contract in the Islamic world. An employee of the organization was able to report the seizure to
corporate headquarters before the insurgents cut the telephone lines. A representative of the
Binladin Group was thus the first to notify King Khalid.[8]

The insurgents released most of the hostages, locking the remainder in the sanctuary, and took
positions in the upper levels of the mosque, with snipers in the minarets, from which they
commanded the grounds. No one outside the mosque knew how many hostages remained, how
many militants were in the mosque and what sort of preparations they had made. Soon after the
seizure, about a hundred security officers from the Interior Ministry attempted to retake the
mosque and were decisively turned back with heavy casualties. The survivors were quickly
joined by units of the Saudi Army and National Guard. The Pakistan Army, which was stationed
at the city of Tabuk, was also called in to retake the shrine after poor results from the Saudi
National Guard.[8]

By the evening, the entire city of Mecca had been evacuated. Prince Sultan, then-Minister of
Defense, rushed to the city to set up a field command. Sultan appointed his nephew Turki bin
Faisal Al Saud, head of the Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah, to take over the forward command post
several hundred meters from the mosque, where Turki would remain for the next several weeks.
However, the first order of business was to seek the approval of the ulema, which was led by
Abdul Aziz bin Baz. The Qur'an forbids any violence within the Grand Mosque, to the extent that
plants cannot be uprooted without explicit religious sanction. ibn Baaz found himself in a
delicate situation, especially as he had previously taught Otaibi in Medina. Regardless, the ulema
issued a fatwa allowing deadly force to be used in retaking the mosque.[14]

Siege
With religious approval granted, Prince Sultan ordered frontal assaults on three of the main
gates, preceded by an artillery barrage. The assaulting force never got close to breaking through
the insurgents' defenses, while snipers continued to pick off members of the security forces
whenever they showed themselves. The mosque's public address system was used to broadcast
the insurgents' message throughout the streets of Mecca. Confusion reigned at the field
command, where several senior princes, the heads of the armed forces and military attachés from
France and Pakistan gave contradictory advice. In the middle of the day, Sultan ordered
helicopters to lower troops on ropes directly into the courtyard in the center of the mosque,
which turned out to be a suicide mission. At this point, King Khalid appointed Turki head of the
operation.[15]

On November 25, the Arab Socialist Action Party - Arabian Peninsula issued a statement from
Beirut alleging to clarify the demands of the insurgents. The party, however, denied any
involvement of its own in the seizure.[16]

Lawrence Wright reports that only three Frenchmen were called in, members of the highly
trained GIGN counter-terrorism unit. Because non-Muslims are not allowed in the holy city, they
converted to Islam in a brief formal ceremony by Saudi religious leaders.[17] Saudi officials deny
the French actually entered Mecca. According to Wright, who interviewed Saudi officials,
flooding and electrocuting were dismissed as impractical and lethal to the hostages, but an
attempt to subdue the resistance with non-lethal gas failed also. Grenades were dropped into the
chambers through holes that were drilled in the mosque courtyard, and, more than two weeks
after the revolt began, "the surviving rebels finally surrendered." [18]

The battle officially left "255 pilgrims, troops and fanatics" killed "another 560 injured ...
although diplomats suggested the toll was higher." Military casualties were 127 dead and 451
injured. [19]

The Bin Laden family's alleged involvement

The Bin Laden family and business resources were allegedly involved in this conflict. Dr. Daly,
an adjunct scholar at Washington's Middle East Institute and author of Jane's Intelligence
Review, says, "It has been reported that one of Osama's half brothers was arrested as a
sympathizer of the takeover but was later exonerated."

According to Cooperative Research:

In the 1960s Osama bin Laden's half-brother Mahrous bin Laden joined a rebel group opposed to the
Saudi government. With his assistance, in 1979 the rebels smuggled weapons into Mecca, Saudi Arabia,
using trucks belonging to the bin Laden family company. 500 rebels then seized the Grand Mosque in
Mecca (sic), Islam's holiest mosque in its holiest city. They try, but fail, to overthrow the Saudi royal family.
All the men who took part are later beheaded except Mahrous. Eventually he is released from prison
because of the close ties between the bin Ladens and the Saudi royal family. Mahrous apparently
abandons the rebel cause and joins the family business. He is eventually made a head of the Medina
branch and a member of the board. He will still hold these positions on 9/11. But a newspaper reports that
"his past [is] not forgiven and most important decisions in the [bin Laden family business] are made
without Mahrous' input."[20][21] [22]

Lawrence Wright reports that the bin Laden family actually provided important assistance in
taking back the mosque by providing maps and technical information about the mosque critical
in the assault.[23]

Steve Coll's Ghost Wars states that the weapons were transported into the mosque prior to the
takeover.[24] Bin Laden company trucks were a common sight in the mosque, as the company
won a contract to renovate and modernize the mosque in 1973. The bin Ladens did help the
regime during the takeover, by giving Saudi security forces the architectural plans for the site.

Aftermath
The insurgents were anti-Western and included in their demands, broadcast from the mosque
loudspeakers, the cutoff of oil exports to the United States and expulsion of all foreign civilian
and military experts from the Arabian peninsula.[25] Nonetheless, in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini
told radio listeners, "It is not beyond guessing that this is the work of criminal American
imperialism and international Zionism." [26] [27]

Muslim anti-American demonstrations followed in the Philippines, Turkey, Bangladesh, India,

eastern Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.[28] Anger fueled by these rumors
peaked within hours in Islamabad, Pakistan, and on November 21, 1979, the day following the
takeover, the U.S. embassy in that city was overrun by a mob, who then burned the embassy to
the ground. A week later, this anger swept to the streets of Tripoli, Libya, where a mob attacked
and burned the U.S. embassy there on December 2, 1979.[29]

Perhaps the most disturbing development to come out of the 1979 takeover of the Grand Mosque
was the eventual revelation of prime organizer al-Utaibi's connection to the Saudi Arabian
National Guard.

The rebels' leader, Juhayman, was captured, and he and 67 of his fellow rebels—"all the
surviving males"—were tried secretly, convicted and publicly beheaded in the squares of four
Saudi cities. [30]

The Saudi regime responded to the takeover not only with the "stick", but with the "carrot",
trying to please those likely to have sympathized with the takeover. It granted greater powers to
the religious establishment. Crackdowns followed on everything from shopkeepers who did not
close for salah and newspapers that showed photos of women, to the selling of dolls, teddy bears
(images of animate objects being haraam), and dog food (dogs considered unclean).[31]

Notes
1. ^ Benjamin, The Age of Sacred Terror (2002) p.90
2. ^ Wright, Sacred Rage, (2001), p.155
3. ^ Benjamin, The Age of Sacred Terror, (2002) p.90
4. ^ Mecca - 1979 Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaibi, globalsecurity.org
5. ^ Wright, Sacred Rage, (2001), p.152
6. ^ Military, Mecca, 1979 Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaibi, globalsecurity.org
7. ^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p.88-9
8. ^ a b c Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p. 103 - softcover
9. ^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p. 102 - softcover
10.^ Benjamin, The Age of Sacred Terror, (2002), p.90
11.^ a b Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p. 104 - softcover
12.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p. 101 - softcover
13.^ Mecca - 1979 Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaiba, globalsecurity.org
14.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 103-104 - softcover
15.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), pp. 104-105 - softcover
16.^ Saudi Opposition Group Lists Insurgents' Demands in MERIP Reports, No. 85. (Feb., 1980),
pp. 16-17.
17.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p.93
18.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p.93
19.^ Wright, Sacred Rage, (2001), p.148
20.^ Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 10/7/2001
21.^ Ha'aretz, 12/18/2002
22.^ New Yorker, 11/5/2001
23.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p.91
24.^ Coll, Steve (2004). Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden,
from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin Press. p. 695 pages. ISBN 1594200076.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ToYxFL5wmBIC&dq=%22ghost+wars+the+secret+history+o
f+the+cia+afghanistan+and+bin+laden+from+the+soviet+invasion+to+september+10+2001%22
&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0.
25.^ Wright, Looming Tower, (2006), p.92
26.^ On This Day, November 21, BBC
27.^ "Khomeini Accuses U.S. and Israel of Attempt to Take Over Mosques", by John Kifner, New
York Times, November 25, 1979
28.^ Wright, Robin B., 1948-Sacred Rage : The Wrath of Militant Islam by Robin Wright, Simon &
Schuster, c2001, p.149
29.^ EMBASSY OF THE U.S. IN LIBYA IS STORMED BY A CROWD OF 2,000; Fires Damage
the Building but All Americans Escape--Attack Draws a Strong Protest Relations Have Been
Cool Escaped without Harm 2,000 Libyan Demonstrators Storm the U.S. Embassy Stringent
Security Measures Official Involvement Uncertain, New York Times, December 3, 1979
30.^ Mecca - 1979 Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaiba
31.^ Wright, Sacred Rage, (2001), p.155

Further reading
 Aburish, Said K., The Rise, Corruption, and Coming Fall of the House of Saud, St.
Martin's (1996)
 Benjamin, Daniel, The Age of Sacred Terror by Daniel Benjamin and Steven Simon, New
York : Random House, (c2002)
 Kechichian, Joseph A., "The Role of the Ulama in the Politics of an Islamic State: The
Case of Saudi Arabia", International Journal of Middle East Studies, 18 (1986), 53-71.
 Trofimov, Yaroslav, The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest
Shrine and the Birth of Al Qaeda, Doubleday (2007) ISBN 0385519257 (Also softcover -
Anchor, ISBN 0307277739)
 Wright, Robin B., Sacred Rage : The Wrath of Militant Islam, Simon & Schuster (2001)
 Wright, Lawrence, The Looming Tower: Al Qaeda and the Road to 9/11, New York :
Knopf (2006) ISBN 978-0375414862 (Also softcover - New York : Vintage, ISBN 978-
1400030842)