The Siege of Mecca - Yaroslav Trofimov

This book

Synopsis
Reviews
Product details

About
Yaroslav Trofimov

» View larger jacket image

The Siege of Mecca

The Forgotten Uprising

» Yaroslav Trofimov

Allen Lane
Hardback : 01 Nov 2007

£22.00

» Buy now

Synopsis

The Siege of Mecca is an astonishing work of reportage; a gripping account of one of the most dramatic events of the twentieth century. And, until now, one of the most shrouded in secrecy.

On the morning of 20th November 1979, the first of a new Muslim century, with world attention focused on Tehran as the hostage crisis entered a third week, hundreds of gunmen, from more than a dozen countries, armed with rifles smuggled inside coffins stormed the Grand Mosque in Mecca. These men were defiling Islam’s holiest shrine and launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. Led by a Saudi preacher named Juhayman al Uteybi, they believed the Saudi royal family had become corrupt 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, causing hundreds of deaths and inflaming Muslim rage around the world. The Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupiers. In desperation they enlisted the help of French commandos led by the battle-hardened Captain Paul Barril, who prepared the final assault and supplied poison gas that finally knocked out the insurgents. Though most captured gunmen were quickly beheaded, the 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 story was barely covered in the international media in 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 scores of direct participants in the siege, including former terrorists, for the first time and drawing on hundreds of documents that have been declassified on his request. He reveals how Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that would eventually lead to the attacks of 9/11, and to the events unfolding in the world today.

» Back to top

Reviews

Customer Review: 11 January 2008

Reviewer: rahim ali

I found this book truly inspirational read; it exposes the double standards of the saudi establishment but the way they tried to rectify the situation; but to no avail was shambolic. As it comes out there was a total blackout of the uprising and was quickly brushed under the carpet so to speak. The author detailed information which we have never come across, and i commend him for his effort.......a truly excellent read.

» Read more reviews

» Hide reviews