A report on Saudi Arabia, Mecca and Grand Mosque seizure

Saudi soldiers fighting their way into the Ka'aba underground beneath the Grand Mosque of Mecca, 1979.
Smoke rising from the Grand Mosque during the assault on the Marwa-Safa gallery, 1979.
Panorama of Mecca, 1845, from the Khalili Collection of Hajj and the Arts of Pilgrimage
Surviving insurgents in custody of Saudi authorities (c. 1979).
Anthropomorphic stela (4th millennium BC), sandstone, 57x27 cm, from El-Maakir-Qaryat al-Kaafa (National Museum of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh)
The area surrounding the Haram Shareef.
Surviving insurgents in custody of Saudi authorities (c. 1979).
The Hajj involves pilgrims visiting Al-Haram Mosque, but mainly camping and spending time in the plains of Mina and Arafah
The "Worshipping Servant" statue (2500 BC), above 1 m in height, is much taller than any possible Mesopotamian or Harappan models. Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Korea.
Jabal al-Nour, the mountain atop which is the Hira cave, where it is believed Muhammad received his first revelation.
Qaṣr Al-Farīd, the largest of the 131 rock-cut monumental tombs built from the 1st century BC to the 1st century AD, with their elaborately ornamented façades, at the extensive ancient Nabatean archaeological site of Hegra located in the area of Al-'Ula within Al Madinah Region in the Hejaz. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2008.
The Quran Gate
Colossal statue from Al-'Ula in the Hejaz (6th–4th century BC), it followed the standardized artistic sculpting of the Lihyanite kingdom, the original statue was painted with white
Mecca as seen from the International Space Station
At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate (661–750) covered 11100000 km2 and 62 million people (29 per cent of the world's population), making it one of the largest empires in history in both area and proportion of the world's population. It was also larger than any previous empire in history.
The al-'Aziziyah district of Mecca
The Battle of Badr, 13 March 624 CE
Kaaba in July 2021, during COVID-19 restrictions.
Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, the founding father and first king of Saudi Arabia
Al-Haram Mosque and the Kaaba
Political map of Saudi Arabia
Kaaba during expansion in 2013
Map of Saudi Arabian administrative regions and roadways
Hajj terminal
Map of oil and gas pipelines in the Middle-East
Entry Gate of Mecca on Highway 40
King Fahd with US President Ronald Reagan and future US President Donald Trump in 1985. The US and Saudi Arabia supplied money and arms to the anti-Soviet mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan.
Mecca Metro Route Map
As many as 500 princes, government ministers, and business people, including Prince Fahd bin Abdullah, were arrested by Saudi Arabian authorities as part of the 2017 Saudi Arabian purge
Mecca, {{circa}} 1718 CE
Abdullah ibn Muhammad Al ash-Sheikh with Bogdan Borusewicz in the Polish Senate, 26 May 2014
Mecca, c. 1778 CE
Verses from the Quran. The Quran is the official constitution of the country and a primary source of law. Saudi Arabia is unique in enshrining a religious text as a political document.
Mecca, in the 1880s
U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump with King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and the President of Egypt, Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, 21 May 2017
Mecca in 1910
U.S. President Barack Obama meets King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, July 2014
Pilgrims surround the Ka'bah in 1910
Faisal Mosque in Islamabad is named after a Saudi king. The kingdom is a strong ally of Pakistan. WikiLeaks claimed that Saudis are "long accustomed to having a significant role in Pakistan's affairs".
Makkah Al Mukarramah Library (21.425°N, 39.83°W) is believed to stand on the spot where Muhammad was born, so it is also known as Bayt al-Mawlid
Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir with then British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (now Prime Minister) in London, 16 October 2016
Major Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict locations
Flag of Al-Qaeda, a transnational terrorist group formed by Osama bin Laden, a Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni and Syrian extraction who was stripped of his Saudi passport in 1994.
"The Saudi pilots training in Italy 1935"—a scene from 'Our Eagles', one of four video wall shows made for the Royal Saudi Air Force Museum
Saudi soldiers from the First Airborne Brigade.
Deera Square, central Riyadh. It is a former site of public be-headings.
Saudi Arabia topography
Harrat Khaybar seen from the International Space Station. Saudi Arabia is home to more than 2000 dormant volcanoes. Lava fields in Hejaz, known locally by their Arabic name of harrat (the singular is harrah), form one of Earth's largest alkali basalt regions, covering some 180000 km2, an area greater than the state of Missouri.
A proportional representation of Saudi Arabia exports, 2019
Office of Saudi Aramco, the world's most valuable company and the main source of revenue for the state
The hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims.
King Abdullah Financial Center is one of the largest investment centres in the Middle East, located in Riyadh
Al-Hasa is known for its palm trees and dates. Al-Hasa has over 30 million palm trees which produce over 100 thousand tons of dates every year.
Saudi Arabia population density (people per km2)
Laboratory buildings at KAUST
The Al-Yamamah Private University in Riyadh
UIS literacy rate Saudi Arabia population, 15 plus, 1990–2015
Historical development of life expectancy in Saudi Arabia
Supplicating pilgrim at Al-Masjid Al-Ḥarām (The Sacred Mosque) in Mecca. The Kaaba is the cubic building in front of the pilgrim.
Non-Muslims are prohibited from entering the Islamic holy city of Mecca
Sarah Attar is a track and field athlete who competed at the 2012 Summer Olympics as one of the first two female Olympians representing Saudi Arabia.
The Masjid al-Haram is the holiest Islamic site, located in Mecca
The Mosque of the Prophet in Medina containing the tomb of Muhammad
King Abdullah practising falconry, a traditional pursuit in the country
Arabic coffee is a traditional beverage in Arabian cuisine
Uruguay – Saudi Arabia match at the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia
The 3000-year-old ancient historical city of Dumat al-Jandal in Al Jawf Province
The old city of Jeddah
Jabal Sawda ({{convert|3000|m|ft|abbr=on|disp=or}}) located in the 'Asir subrange of the Sarat Mountains
Abha City, located {{convert|2270|m|ft|abbr=on}} above sea level in the 'Asir Region
Beach promenade in Al-Wajh
Dhi 'ain village located in Al Bahah Province
The desert of Al-Rub' Al-Khali (The Empty Quarter)
Saad Khader from left and right Mohammad Al-Ali in 1979

Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah (مكة المكرمة, ) and commonly shortened to Makkah (مكة, ), is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam.

- Mecca

The Grand Mosque seizure occurred during November and December 1979 when extremist insurgents calling for the overthrow of the House of Saud took over Masjid al-Haram, the holiest mosque in Islam, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

- Grand Mosque seizure

The country is home to Mecca and Medina, the two holiest cities in Islam.

- Saudi Arabia

The second event was the Grand Mosque Seizure in Mecca by Islamist extremists.

- Saudi Arabia

On 20 November 1979, two hundred armed dissidents led by Juhayman al-Otaibi, seized the Grand Mosque, claiming the Saudi royal family no longer represented pure Islam and that the Masjid al-Haram and the Ka'bah, must be held by those of true faith.

- Mecca

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Flag of Saud dynasty
Genealogical table of the leaders of the Āl Saud
The maximum limits reached by the first Saudi state during the reign of Saud bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in the year 1814.
Flag of the First and Second Saudi State
King Abdulaziz and Franklin D. Roosevelt in February 1945
U.S. President Barack Obama offers condolences on death of Saudi King Abdullah, Riyadh, 27 January 2015
Crown Prince and Defence Minister Mohammad with U.S. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, Pentagon, 13 May 2015
US President Donald Trump with the First Lady of the United States Melania Trump, King Salman of Saudi Arabia and Egyptian president Abdel Fattah el-Sisi at the 2017 Riyadh summit.
U.S. President Jimmy Carter meets with King Khalid and Crown Prince Fahd in January 1978
Crown Prince Muhammad bin Nayef, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Jared Kushner, Ivanka Trump, King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Melania Trump, Riyadh, 20 May 2017
Luxury yacht Kingdom 5KR owned by Saudi royal family, docked in Antibes, French Riviera
Royal Flag of the King
Demonstrators in Eastern Province during the 1979 Qatif Uprising
Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, murdered at Saud embassy in Turkey because of his opposition to the government
Loujain al-Hathloul, a Saudi citizen who was jailed after she drove a car in the country using her UAE license

The House of Saud (آل سُعُود ) is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia.

Fahd did away with the previous royal title of "his Majesty" and replaced it with the honorific "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", in reference to the two Islamic holy sites in Mecca and Medina, in 1986.

On 20 November 1979, the Grand Mosque seizure saw the al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca violently seized by a group of 500 heavily armed and provisioned Saudi dissidents led by Juhayman al-Otaybi and Abdullah al-Qahtani, consisting mostly of members of the former Ikhwan militia of Otaibah but also of other peninsular Arabs and a few Egyptians enrolled in Islamic studies at the Islamic University of Madinah.