A report on Grand Mosque seizure
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.
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Juhayman al-Otaybi
5 linksJuhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Otaybi (جهيمان بن محمد بن سيف العتيبي; 16 September 1936 – 9 January 1980), was a Saudi terrorist and soldier who in 1979 led the seizure of the Great Mosque of Mecca, Saudi Arabia's holiest mosque, to protest against the Saudi monarchy.
Saudi Arabia
5 linksCountry on the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.
Country on the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia.
The second event was the Grand Mosque Seizure in Mecca by Islamist extremists.
House of Saud
6 linksRuling royal family of Saudi Arabia.
Ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia.
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.
Wahhabism
4 linksSunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and activist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c.
Sunni Islamic revivalist and fundamentalist movement associated with the reformist doctrines of the 18th-century Arabian Islamic scholar, theologian, preacher, and activist Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab (c.
However, in the last couple of decades of the twentieth century several crises worked to erode Wahhabi "credibility" in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Muslim world – the November 1979 seizure of the Grand Mosque by militants; the deployment of US troops in Saudi Arabia during the 1991 Gulf War against Iraq; and the September 11, 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on New York and Washington.
Mecca
3 linksCity and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam.
City and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam.
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.
General Intelligence Presidency
3 linksPrimary intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Primary intelligence agency of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The agency expanded its monitoring of internal threats after the 1979 capture of the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
Khalid of Saudi Arabia
1 linksSaudi Arabian statesman and politician who served as King of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 to his death in 1982.
Saudi Arabian statesman and politician who served as King of Saudi Arabia from 25 March 1975 to his death in 1982.
In 1979, a group of civilians seized the Grand Mosque of Mecca and sought but failed to kidnap Khalid.
Ikhwan
4 linksWahhabi religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a significant military force of the ruler Ibn Saud and played an important role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Wahhabi religious militia made up of traditionally nomadic tribesmen which formed a significant military force of the ruler Ibn Saud and played an important role in establishing him as ruler of most of the Arabian Peninsula in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Insurgents who participated in the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure in Mecca referred to themselves as the 'al-Ikhwan', thus in their eyes justifying the seizure as a means to liberate the Kingdom from what they deemed as 'Western apostasy'.
Otaibah
3 linksOne of the biggest Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula.
One of the biggest Arab tribes originating in the Arabian Peninsula.
The Grand Mosque seizure lasted until 4 December and resulted in the deaths of many civilian hostages, Saudi security personnel and most of the rebels, including Muhammad al-Qahtani.
Masjid al-Haram
1 linksMosque that surrounds the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia.
Mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia.
On 20 November 1979, the Great Mosque was seized by extremist insurgents who called for the overthrow of the Saudi dynasty.