Global InformationGrand Mosque seizure information
| Grand Mosque seizure | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Saudi soldiers pushing into the underground corridor of the Grand Mosque of Mecca after gassing the interior with a non-lethal chemical agent provided by French specialists. | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Saudi ArabiaSupported by:  France[1][2][3][4] |
 Ikhwan[5] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Khalid bin Abdulaziz Fahd bin Abdulaziz Sultan bin Abdulaziz Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Nayef bin Abdulaziz Badr bin Abdulaziz Turki bin Faisal Brig. Gen. Faleh al-Dhaheri Lt. A. Qudheibi (WIA) Maj. M. Zuweid al-Nefai |
Juhayman al-Otaybi  Muhammad al-Qahtani † Muhammad Faisal  Muhammad Elias | ||||||
| Units involved | |||||||
 National Guard Special Security Forces GIGN (advisors) | N/A | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| ~10,000 troops | 300–600 militants[6] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
|
| ||||||
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11 pilgrims killed 109 pilgrims injured | |||||||
  Masjid al-Haram (Mecca) class=notpageimage| Location within Saudi Arabia | |||||||
The Grand Mosque seizure in Saudi Arabia took place between 20 November 1979 and 4 December 1979, when the Grand Mosque of Mecca was besieged by up to 600 militants under the leadership of Juhayman al-Otaybi, a Saudi anti-monarchy Salafi Islamist from the Tribe of Otaibah. They identified themselves as "al-Ikhwan" (Arabic: الإخوان), referring to the religious Arabian militia[5] that had played a significant role in establishing the Saudi state in the early 20th century. As they took hostages from among the worshippers at the holiest Islamic site in the city of Mecca, the Ikhwan called for an uprising against the House of Saud and also declared that the Mahdi had arrived in the form of one of the militants' leaders: Muhammad Abdullah al-Qahtani. Juhayman alleged that the House of Saud had become corrupted, decrying their pursuit of alliances with "Christian infidels" and stating that the Saudi government's policies were betraying Islam by attempting to push secularism into Saudi society. Seeking assistance for their counteroffensive against the Ikhwan, the Saudis requested urgent aid from France, which responded by dispatching advisory units from the GIGN. After French operatives provided them with a special type of tear gas that dulls aggression and obstructs breathing, Saudi troops gassed the interior of the Grand Mosque and forced entry. They successfully secured the site after two weeks of fighting, which culminated in approximately 800 casualties in total.[9]
In the process of retaking the Grand Mosque, the Saudi military had killed the self-proclaimed messiah al-Qahtani. Juhayman and 68 of the militants were captured alive and later sentenced to death by Saudi authorities, being executed by beheading in public displays across a number of Saudi cities.[10][11][12] The Ikhwan's siege of the Grand Mosque, which had occurred amidst the Islamic Revolution in nearby Iran, prompted further unrest across the Muslim world. Large-scale anti-American riots broke out in many Muslim-majority countries after Iranian religious cleric Ruhollah Khomeini falsely claimed over a radio broadcast that the Grand Mosque seizure had been orchestrated by the United States and Israel.
Following the attack, Saudi king Khalid bin Abdulaziz enforced a stricter system of Islamic law throughout the country[13] and also gave the ulama more power over the next decade. Likewise, Saudi Arabia's Islamic religious police became more assertive.[14]
- ^ "Attack on Kaba Complete Video". YouTube. 23 July 2011. Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 8 June 2013.
- ^ Da Lage, Olivier (2006) [1996]. "L'Arabie Saoudite, pays de l'islam". Géopolitique de l'Arabie Saoudite. Géoppolitique des Etats du monde (in French). Vol. 2 (2 ed.). Brussels, Belgium: Éditions Complexe. p. 34. ISBN 2-8048-0121-7 – via Google Books.
- ^ see also Prouteau, Christian (1998). Mémoires d'Etat (in French). Michel Lafon. pp. 265–277, 280. ISBN 978-2840983606.
- ^ Wright, Robin (December 1991). Van Hollen, Christopher (ed.). "Unexplored Realities of the Persian Gulf Crisis". Middle East Journal. 45 (1). Washington, D.C., United States of America: Middle East Institute: 23–29. ISSN 0026-3141. JSTOR 4328237. Retrieved 21 January 2022 – via JSTOR.
- ^ a b Lacey 2009, p. 13.
- ^ "The Siege at Mecca". 2006. Archived from the original on 6 July 2016. Retrieved 9 January 2015.
- ^ "Pierre Tristam, "1979 Seizure of the Grand Mosque in Mecca", About.com". Archived from the original on 7 January 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
- ^ Block, William; Block, Paul Jr.; Craig Jr., John G.; Deibler, William E., eds. (10 January 1980). Written at Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. "63 zealots beheaded for seizing mosque". World/Nation. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Vol. 53, no. 140. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America: P.G. Publishing Co. Associated Press. p. 6. Retrieved 21 January 2022 – via Google Newspapers.
- ^ Benjamin, The Age of Sacred Terror (2002) p. 90
- ^ "1979 Makkah - Grand Mosque [aka Holy Mosque] Makkah". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
vadvwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Mackey, Sandra. The Saudis: Inside the Desert Kingdom. Updated Edition. Norton Paperback. W.W. Norton and Company, New York. 2002 (first edition: 1987). ISBN 0-393-32417-6 pbk., p. 234.
- ^ Wright 2001, p. 155.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
lacey-48was invoked but never defined (see the help page).