Grand Mosque Seizure
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The Grand Mosque Seizure on November 20, 1979 was a terrorist attack and takeover by some 200 armed Islamic fundamentalist dissidents against the Saudi ruling family, at the holiest place in Islam, the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, western Saudi Arabia. This event shook the Muslim world as the holiest of Islamic sites saw violence and killing, when hundreds of pilgrims present for the annual hajj were taken hostage, and in the aftermath, large numbers of both Saudi forces and of the militants were killed in the ensuing battles for control of the site.
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[edit] Events
On November 20, 1979 — the first day of the Islamic year 1400 — the heavily armed and provisioned Islamic fundamentalists, consisting of peninsular Arabs and a few Egyptians enrolled in Islamic studies at the Islamic University of Medina, took over and besieged Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca. The seizure by the dissidents (men and women) was led by Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaibi, who belonged to a powerful Sunni family of Najd. He said that his justification was 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. [1]
Despite Juhaiman's careful planning, the takeover began badly, when a guard was shot dead by one of the nervous dissidents, a major desecration of the site under Islamic law. Bloodshed is strictly prohibited in Mecca.
The siege initially left the Saudi government paralyzed. Before taking any military action at the holy site, the Saudi government secured the permission of the religious establishment, when the ulama had to issue a dispensation to allow the bearing of arms in a holy place. But the Saudi Arabian National Guard (SANG) proved to be an ineffective response force. 127 were reported to have been killed in their attempt to regain control.
After the poor results of SANG, French security forces were called in. Confusion about who engaged in the assault stems from the fact that the French role has been downplayed due to Islamic prohibitions on non-Muslims entering the Grand Mosque enclosing the sacred Kaaba. The Saudis, worried about their legitimacy in the Islamic world, do not mention the French in their official stories. Some unofficial stories even claim that the highly trained French GIGN counter-terrorist team received a ceremonial instant conversion to Islam by Saudi religious leaders. Other stories suggest that Egyptian Special Forces were used in the assault operation.
Two weeks after the siege began, a combination of Saudi and French forces retook the shrine in a battle which left approximately 250 dead, and 600 wounded. Accounts of the assault vary widely, even in official statements. Some report that French troops entered the Grand Mosque and flooded it with water, applied electricity to it, and electrocuted most of the rebels. Other reports said that paralyzing gas was used. Still others say the highly trained French GIGN counter-terrorist commandos led an assault on foot after being converted. Some only acknowledge their role as an advisory one. Thus the number of French GIGN used varies in different accounts, from 3 to 40.
Al Utaibi was later revealed to be a member of SANG and some guardsmen were reported to have joined the rebels. This would have been especially shocking to the Saudi ruling family, because SANG's officers (unlike the general Saudi Army) were an elite guard are composed of the upper classes of Saudi society. SANG was established as the crown prince's "personal army," in order to protect against the possibility of a coup by the leaders of the regular military. To ensure loyalty, SANG is mainly recruited from the tribes that have traditionally been most loyal to the al Saud family.
[edit] 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 for 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 1960’s Osama bin Laden’s brother Mahrous bin Laden joined a rebel group opposed to the Saudi government. With his assistance, in 1979 the rebels smuggle weapons into Mecca, Saudi Arabia, using trucks belonging to the bin Laden family company. 500 rebels then seize the Grand Mosque in Medina (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.” [2] [3] [4]
Another explanation for Mahrous's involvement might be that of a double agent.
Ghost Wars by Steve Coll mentions the weapons having been transported in previous to the takeover. It makes sense that they would have come in on bin Laden company trucks as in 1973 they had won a contract to renovate and modernize the Mosque. The bin Ladens did help the regime during the takeover, by giving Saudi security forces the architectural plans for the site.
[edit] Aftermath
In revolutionary Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini falsely claimed in a radio broadcast that the United States was behind the seizure. [5] This rumor instantly swept through the Persian Gulf region. Hatred 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 overran by an angry mob, which then burned the embassy to the ground. A week later this hatred swept to the streets of Tripoli, Libya where an angry mob attacked and burned the U.S. embassy there on December 2, 1979.
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.
Following arrest of the remaining militants in 1979, the Saudi government under King Khalid executed all the surviving males (without a trial). 63 of the ringleaders were publicly beheaded in selected town squares of four Saudi cities all over the country, broadcast live on Saudi television. The rebellion quickly led to repression by the Saudi regime, but at the same time it granted greater powers to the religious establishment.
The Saudi Special Security Force, which is the Saudi equivalent of a special weapons assault team (SWAT), was later formed in response to the poor performance of the Saudi National Guard during the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure.
[edit] References
- ^ Military, Mecca, 1979 Juhaiman ibn Muhammad ibn Saif al Utaiba, globalsecurity.org
- ^ Sunday Herald (Glasgow), 10/7/2001
- ^ Ha'aretz, 12/18/2002
- ^ New Yorker, 11/5/2001
- ^ On This Day, November 21, BBC
See also: Joseph A. Kechichian, "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.
