Since the conflict began in the Middle East there have been a number of articles reviewing the history of the region. There is one very important event that I notice usually tends to get left out.
In 1979 the year 1400, on the Islamic Calendar, was soon to begin. There were those who thought this meant someone would show up to revitalize and purify the Islamic religion. On November 20, hundreds of militants entered the Grand Mosque in Mecca, which is the most important place in Islam. They pulled guns from under their robes and took over the mosque. Many of the other pilgrims were taken as hostages, although most of those were soon released.
The leader of the seizure was named Juhayman. A proclamation was made that his brother-in-law, who was among the militants, was the Mahdi, a messianic figure, and all Moslems were to obey and follow him. They considered the Saudi Government as illegitimate because of the western influence that it allowed in.
The operation had been well-prepared and well-planned. There are many underground rooms at the mosque, that had been stocked with food and ammunition. The minarets made an ideal position for snipers. The first efforts to regain control of the mosque were futile, and suffered heavy casualties. Both the king and the crown prince of Saudi Arabia were out of the country at the time.
This event didn't register with Americans more than it did simply because it was going on at the same time as the Iran Hostage Crisis, which began with the seizure of the U.S. Embassy and the taking of it's staff as hostages on November 4. I remember when this seizure was on the news every night. The lead story would be whatever new developments there were in the hostage crisis, and then this would follow.
The two events were not connected, although it might be said that they were part of the same general atmosphere. Ayatollah Khomeini, the spiritual leader of Iran, accused America of being behind the seizure of the Grand Mosque. The militants who seized the Grand Mosque were Sunni Moslems and expressed no support or solidarity with Khomeini's Shiite revolution.
The seizure went on for two weeks. French special forces were used as advisors, according to the official account of the story, and supplied grenades and chemicals with which to assault the militants in the underground rooms of the mosque. Only Moslems are officially allowed in the city of Mecca, although curious non-Moslems have long made a game of having a look at it in disguise.
It was no easy task. Many of the militants had military experience. They were well prepared and trained, and highly motivated. They were ready for martyrdom. The Saudi forces tasked with recapturing the mosque suffered heavy casualties. What might finally have dampened the spirit of the militants was that the one who was supposed to be the Mahdi was killed.
This event changed Saudi Arabia. It put more emphasis on it's strict Wahhabist strain of Islam than it had during the 1970s. Later in the month of December would come the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. This would provide the battle theater for the new atmosphere of Jihad, or holy war.
It just so happens that the Grand Mosque was being renovated when the seizure took place. The name of the construction company was Bin Laden. Salem Bin Laden provided diagrams and blueprints to the Saudi forces that were very helpful in facilitating the recapture of the mosque.
Salem Bin Laden had a younger brother, named Osama. Osama Bin Laden would join the Jihad in Afghanistan. In 2001, 22 years after the seizure of the Grand Mosque, Osama Bin Laden would launch his own operation, the attacks of 9/11.
Do you really believe that the seizure of the Grand Mosque, in 1979, isn't what put the idea in the youthful Osama Bin Laden's mind about someday launching his own earth-shaking operation against what he considered to be opposing his version of Islam?
This event deserves more attention.
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