The Siege of Mecca: the forgotten uprising in Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda

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On November 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on Tehran, where the Iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. The same morning-the first of a new Muslim century-hundreds of gunmen stunned the world by seizing Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Armed with rifles that they had smuggled inside coffins, these men came from more than a dozen countries, launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. Led by a Saudi preacher named Juhayman al Uteybi, they believed that the Saudi royal family had become a craven servant of American infidels and sought a return to the glory of uncompromising Islam. With nearly 100,000 worshippers trapped inside the holy compound, Mecca's bloody siege lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the United States and causing hundreds of deaths.Despite U.S. assistance, the Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupier, whose ranks included American converts to Islam. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini blamed the Great Satan-the United States-for defiling the shrine, prompting mobs to storm and torch American embassies in Pakistan and Libya. The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos led by Captain Paul Barril, who prepared the final assault and supplied the poison gas that knocked out the insurgents. Though most captured gunmen were quickly beheaded, the Saudi royal family responded to this unprecedented challenge by compromising with the rebels' supporters among the kingdom's most senior clerics, helping them nurture and export Juhayman's violent brand of Islam around the world.This dramatic and immensely consequential story was barely covered in the press in the pre-CNN, pre-Al Jazeera days, as Saudi Arabia imposed an information blackout and kept foreign correspondents away. Yaroslav Trofimov now penetrates this veil of silence, interviewing for the first time scores of direct participants in the siege, including former terrorists, and drawing on hundreds of documents that were declassified upon his request. Written with the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals how Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today.
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9781400125340
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Grouping Information

Grouped Work ID610cfd40-0283-9190-4ea8-b20f88ee4968
Grouping Titlesiege of mecca the forgotten uprising in islams holiest shrine and the birth of al qaeda
Grouping Authoryaroslav trofimov
Grouping Categorybook
Grouping LanguageEnglish (eng)
Last Grouping Update2023-11-23 01:40:29AM
Last Indexed2024-03-29 02:24:08AM

Solr Fields

accelerated_reader_point_value
0
accelerated_reader_reading_level
0
auth_author2
Mclaren, Todd
author
Trofimov, Yaroslav
author2-role
Mclaren, Todd,reader
hoopla digital
author_display
Trofimov, Yaroslav
display_description
On November 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on Tehran, where the Iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. The same morning-the first of a new Muslim century-hundreds of gunmen stunned the world by seizing Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Armed with rifles that they had smuggled inside coffins, these men came from more than a dozen countries, launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. Led by a Saudi preacher named Juhayman al Uteybi, they believed that the Saudi royal family had become a craven servant of American infidels and sought a return to the glory of uncompromising Islam. With nearly 100,000 worshippers trapped inside the holy compound, Mecca's bloody siege lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the United States and causing hundreds of deaths.Despite U.S. assistance, the Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupier, whose ranks included American converts to Islam. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini blamed the Great Satan-the United States-for defiling the shrine, prompting mobs to storm and torch American embassies in Pakistan and Libya. The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos led by Captain Paul Barril, who prepared the final assault and supplied the poison gas that knocked out the insurgents. Though most captured gunmen were quickly beheaded, the Saudi royal family responded to this unprecedented challenge by compromising with the rebels' supporters among the kingdom's most senior clerics, helping them nurture and export Juhayman's violent brand of Islam around the world.This dramatic and immensely consequential story was barely covered in the press in the pre-CNN, pre-Al Jazeera days, as Saudi Arabia imposed an information blackout and kept foreign correspondents away. Yaroslav Trofimov now penetrates this veil of silence, interviewing for the first time scores of direct participants in the siege, including former terrorists, and drawing on hundreds of documents that were declassified upon his request. Written with the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals how Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today.
id
610cfd40-0283-9190-4ea8-b20f88ee4968
isbn
9781400125340
last_indexed
2024-03-29T08:24:08.309Z
lexile_score
-1
literary_form
Unknown
literary_form_full
Unknown
primary_isbn
9781400125340
publishDate
2007
publisher
Tantor Media, Inc
recordtype
grouped_work
subject_facet
History
Islam
Middle East
Political science
Religion
Terrorism
title_display
The Siege of Mecca : the forgotten uprising in Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda
title_full
The Siege of Mecca : the forgotten uprising in Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda [electronic resource] / Yaroslav Trofimov
title_short
The Siege of Mecca
title_sub
the forgotten uprising in Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda
topic_facet
History
Islam
Political science
Religion
Terrorism

Solr Details Tables

item_details

Bib IdItem IdShelf LocCall NumFormatFormat CategoryNum CopiesIs Order ItemIs eContenteContent SourceeContent URLDetailed StatusLast CheckinLocation
hoopla:MWT10755884Online Hoopla CollectionOnline HooplaeAudiobookAudio Books1falsetrueHooplahttps://www.hoopladigital.com/title/10755884?utm_source=MARC&Lid=hh4435Available Online

record_details

Bib IdFormatFormat CategoryEditionLanguagePublisherPublication DatePhysical DescriptionAbridged
hoopla:MWT10755884eAudiobookAudio BooksUnabridgedEnglishTantor Media, Inc20071 online resource (1 audio file (8hr., 30 min.)) : digital.