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The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of al-Qaeda (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Trofimov, a Wall Street Journal writer and observer of the Muslim world (Faith at War), tackles an incident unreported in the West: the violent takeover of Islam's holiest shrine by Muslim fundamentalists in 1979. Carrying out his investigations in one of the world's most closed societies, Trofimov has crafted a compelling historical narrative, blending messianic theology with righteous violence, and the Saudi state's sclerotic corruption with the complicity of the official religious institutions. Trofimov aptly points out endemic regional problems with enduring repercussions for fighting terror, but is hampered by his sensationalist style (The world was twelve months away from the tumultuous events that would cover the mosque's marble courtyard with blood, spilled guts and severed limbs). In 1979, the Saudi intelligence services apparently had no accurate blueprints of the Grand Mosque, and knew nothing of the underground labyrinth where many of the militants took shelter; they eventually received plans to the site from Osama bin Laden's older brother. Ringleader Juhayman and his followers have inspired al-Qaeda and countless other Islamic revivalist movements to ever greater acts of violence, even though they were mesmerized by their limited understanding of an obscurantist theology and were convinced that that one of their unassuming members was the Messiah. Casual readers will be well served by this introduction to Muslim fundamentalist terrorism. (Sept. 18)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


Review

Advance Praise for The Siege of Mecca

“Yaroslav Trofimov has written a spellbinding thriller. Packed with vivid, previously undisclosed details, it illuminates a little-known hostage crisis in the closed-off heart of the Muslim world that helped give rise to Al Qaeda. Once I started reading, I couldn't put the book down.”
—Rajiv Chandrasekaran, author of Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone

“As Yaroslav Trofimov amply and skillfully demonstrates, the most radioactive particle in the world today is not North Korea, Iran, or, for that matter, the United States. It is, rather, the terrifying bundle of contradictions otherwise known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The most formative event in the modern history of this secretive and at times morally disgusting petrocracy is vivisected by Trofimov to unsettling effect, and he reminds us of why anything that has happened or will happen there is a matter of great concern to the world.”
—Tom Bissell, author of God Lives in St. Petersburg and The Father of All Things

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.
See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

  • Hardcover: 320 pages
  • Publisher: Doubleday (September 18, 2007)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0385519257
  • ISBN-13: 978-0385519250
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6 x 1.2 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #334,296 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #2 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Mecca
    #51 in  Books > History > Middle East > Saudi Arabia

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Yaroslav Trofimov
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25 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The Untold Story of Islam's Worst Terrorist Attack in Its Holy Land and of the Origins of Al-Qaeda, December 19, 2007
By John Kwok (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
Reading just like a classic thriller written by the likes of Graham Greene or John Le Carre, Wall Street Journal reporter Yaroslav Trofimov's "The Siege of Mecca" is an important, comprehensive examination of the events leading up to the two-week siege of Mecca's Grand Mosque, the siege of itself, and subsequent events afterwards, which would lead inexorably to the rise of Al-Qaeda and the spectacular 9/11/01 terrorist attacks upon the United States. This is without question, an important event not only in contemporary Islam, but for the world too, and yet it is one that has been ignored these past few decades. Now, finally, the untold story of the 11/20/79 seizure of the Grand Mosque, has been pieced together by Trofimov, who has written what ought to be regarded as one of the most important books of the year. Surprisingly, Trofimov covers much terrain in what proves to be a relatively terse book on this bloody episode in recent Saudi Arabian history, emphasizing the origins, but even, the aftermath of this attack, which, he asserts was the first of many bloody incidents of Islamofascist terror leading up to the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks.

Trofimov opens with a brief, but concise, history of both the Saudi royal family, emphasizing its 20th Century history and, especially, of the fundamentalist Sunni Islam sect known as Wahhabism; a sect which has been preaching Islamic Jihad (`Holy War") against the Western infidels encroaching upon Middle Eastern land for centuries. He emphasizes the close, centuries-old ties between the al-Saud family and Wahhabi clerics, reminding us of an early 19th Century Saudi-led effort to conquer the entire Arabian peninsula, hoping to transform it into a Wahhabi Islamic state; an attempt defeated only by an Egyptian military force acting on behalf of the Ottoman Sultan, after more than five years of bloody warfare (The Saudi ruler was finally captured, taken to Constantinople, and beheaded there amidst "fireworks and a public celebration".). A century later, the Saudis were far more successful in their religiously-motivated desire for empire-building, imposing upon their newly conquered domains, a strict adherence to Wahhabi Sunni Islam, cleverly using a crack troop of fanatical Wahhabis, the Ikwan, to lead the conquest of much of Arabia from the early 1910s to the late 1920s. Eventually, however, the Ikwan revolted against the Saudis, appalled by the king's embrace of Western beliefs and technology, such as telephones, only to be crushed decisively at the March 1929 battle of Sbala. Years later, one of these Ikwan veterans would celebrate the birth of a son, Juhayman, the future mastermind behind the 11/20/79 seizure of the Grand Mosque.

Through Juhayman's eyes, Trofimov traces the rise of radical Islamist movements throughout the Middle East, especially Egypt, from the 1950s through 1970s. Juhayman acquires his devout, fanatical adherence to Wahhabism via service as a member of the Saudi National Guard. Eventually he's influenced strongly by the charismatic blind cleric Bin Baz; the arch foe of Saudi Arabia's incessant rush towards modernization, criticizing sales of cigarettes, displaying portraits of the royal family in public buildings, and, in particular, the emerging emancipation of Saudi women. But Juhayman would go much further than Bin Baz, by criticizing the very existence of the Saudi kingdom in a religious manifesto smuggled out of the country, and published in neighboring Kuwait. He would anoint a young religious student, Mohammed Abdullah, as Islam's Mahdi (redeemer), destined to lead the faithful at the Grand Mosque at the dawn of Islam's 14th Century (11/20/79). He would smuggle arms and munitions into the Grand Mosque, drawing elaborate plans for its seizure at the dawn of the new century; plans which nearly resulted in success.

Trofimov demonstrates that not just the Saudi ruling family, but the West, too, was caught completely off guard by Juhayman's seizure of the Grand Mosque. While some of this was attributable to a strict ban against non-Muslims entering Mecca itself; another, equally compelling, reason was the ongoing hostage crisis at the United States Embassy in Teheran, Iran (Erroneously, at first, Iran was thought to have been the foreign power responsible for the siege itself.). A bloody comedy of errors ensues, as ill-equipped Saudi troops try storming the mosque, only to be mowed down by superior weaponry possessed by Juhayman and his band of militants (A band that includes Afro-Americans with military training.). Meanwhile, the Saudi family receives permission from leading Wahhabi clerics - including Bin Baz - to mount an all-out assault upon the mosque itself, in exchange for ending the family's modest efforts at Western-influenced modernization, and other measures which set the stage for the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks upon America itself. Last, but not least, at the Saudi family's urging, France sends an elite team of anti-terrorist commandos and tear gas; it is this team that directs the final, successful assault upon the mosque.
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25 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The roots of al Qaeda, September 22, 2007
This book is about an event that was little-reported in the West at the time but has since had a big impact. The siege of one of Islam's holiest shrines disgraced the Saudi regime and fueled radical Islam. I was really impressed by how the author dug out new documents by using the Freedom of Information Act. He also went to Saudi Arabia and talked to many of the participants. These interviews let him create exciting scenes, like when the brave but doomed Saudi troops try to storm the mosque. He weaves in some good background and history on the region and radical Islam, so at the end of the book you've had some fun but also learned a lot.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Explains a Lot!, October 7, 2007
November 20, 1979 was the first day of Islam's year 1400, and the beginning of the third week of the Iranian hostage situation. Much less well known, though probably more important, it also brought the siege of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, and launched modern jihad. "The Siege of Mecca" tells that story, despite the closed Saudi Arabian society and its highly restricted coverage of the event - at least partly because the royal family's response was seen as incompetent and lessening loyalty among its citizens.

Mixing with the locals inside the mosque were 100,000 Muslims from all over the world. Hidden among them were hundreds of rebels, mostly Saudis of Bedouin stock. They smuggled in arms inside caskets supposedly carrying dead relatives brought for blessing.

Ragged-looking rebels chained shut and guarded all 51 gates as soon as the regular prayers ended. Machine-gun nests were set up atop the shrine's 7 minarets. The Saudis imposed a communications blackout and its soldiers were reluctant to act for fear of condemnation for fighting fellow Muslims in a holy place. Obtaining that essential religious support required that the Saudi rulers commit to stricter Islamic observation - no more women on TV, billions to be spent spreading rigid Wahhabi Islam around the world, etc.

The Saudi Army then blasted the snipers out of the minarets (using U.S. Army TOW missiles), and then brought in armored personnel carriers to clear out the rebels in the above-ground portion of the mosque. Unfortunately, the mosque had a seemingly impenetrable underground labyrinth of rooms and tunnels that still housed rebels, and the Saudis were unable to dislodge them.

Jordan volunteered help, but was declined because of the site's history - originally taken from Jordan. The CIA was not used - presumably because this would have required Carter's authorization. Thus, the Saudis went to the French, and were given three commandos as advisers. Their strategy involved wider use of a stronger gas than the Saudis had used, and successfully led to retaking the shrine.

The two week takeover brought an estimated 1,000 casualties, per independent experts (vs. the Saudi estimate of 500). Saudi intelligence brought no warning of the siege - it had been focused on Communists, nationalists, and pro-Iranian revolutionaries. After the takeover the Wahhabis decided to support the Saudi Arabian government as a defense against Communism in Afghanistan and the Shiite heresy from Iran. Unfortunately, the militant strains of Islam greatly benefited from the new support, and al Qaeda eventually was born.
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