The Siege of Mecca

[0] Christian nationalists want to turn America into a theocracy, a government under biblical rule.

[1] If they gain more power, it could mean fewer rights for you.

[2] I'm Heath Drusin, and on the new season of Extremely American, I'll take you inside the movement.

[3] Listen to Extremely American from Boise State Public Radio, part of the NPR Network.

[4] The morning of November 20, 1979, would have seemed like any other in Mecca.

[5] It was warm, the sky was clear, and much of the city was preparing for Fajah prayer, the first of five for the day.

[6] The season of Hedge had just ended, and pilgrims from around the world gathered in Islam's holiest site, the Meshad al -Haram, or Grand Mosque, a massive compound surrounding the Kaaba, an ancient black cubic building that sits in the middle of a vast courtyard.

[7] Muslims call it the House of God, the earthly place.

[8] they direct their prayers.

[9] In the Islamic calendar, it was the first of Mojara in the year 1400, the first day of the new century, when the people of Mecca make their own pilgrimage to the shrine.

[10] Around 100 ,000 pilgrims filled the courtyard, lined up in concentric circles facing the Kaaba for Fajar prayer.

[11] Just as the prayer ended, shots rang out.

[12] This wasn't a sound of any pilgrim expected to hear.

[13] Violence is strictly forbidden in Mecca.

[14] Before the pilgrims could figure out what was happening, a man, followed by three gunmen, emerged from the crowd and began walking fiercely towards the mosque's imam.

[15] The crowd parted as the man charged the minbud or pulpit and snatched the mic from the terrified Imam.

[16] The man began to speak Arabic in a thick Bedouin accent.

[17] He was tall.

[18] and thin, with brown skin and long wavy hair.

[19] His name was Juhayman Al -Otei.

[20] The hundreds of armed men he commanded scattered across the grounds of the mosque, yelling orders at the pilgrims in Arabic, English, and Urdu.

[21] Some of the men, snipers, climbed the seven minarets surrounding the main grounds and took up positions overlooking downtown Mecca.

[22] Jeheman instructed them.

[23] If you see a government soldier who wants to raise his hand against you, have no pity and shoot him because he wants to kill you.

[24] The Saudi police protecting the mosque were armed with little more than batons.

[25] Two guards were killed immediately.

[26] Many others ran for their lives.

[27] Many of the pilgrims in the mosque began chanting, Allaho Akbar, or God is the greatest, something Muslims often do in trying moments.

[28] Soon the militants also joined in the chant, and the chaos reached a climax, just as Jaheimann announced that he and his men were now in control.

[29] And with that, it was clear.

[30] Islam's holiest sight and 100 ,000 people had been taken hostage.

[31] The siege of Mecca, an event that would forever change Saudi Arabia and the Muslim world, had begun.

[32] What was Saudi Arabia like before 1979?

[33] We were living a very normal life, like the rest of the Gulf countries.

[34] Women were driving cars.

[35] There were movie theaters in Saudi Arabia.

[36] Women worked everywhere.

[37] We were just normal people developing like any other country in the world until the events of 1979.

[38] Saudi Arabia is in the news constantly.

[39] It's a major player in the affairs of the Middle East and the U .S .'s closest ally in the region other than Israel.

[40] For decades, it's been one of the world's biggest exporters of oil.

[41] But that's not the only thing it's exported.

[42] Saudi Arabia's religious authorities have actively spread their interpretation of Islam, Wahhabism.

[43] Through these efforts, their ultra -conservative, literalist version of the faith has traveled around the world and inspired hatred and even violence.

[44] Saudi Arabia also has a poor human rights record, especially when it comes to women.

[45] Until recently, women could not vote, drive, or travel without a male relative's permission.

[46] The country's de facto leader, Mohamed bin Salman, whose voice we just heard a moment ago is a 34 -year -old prince of the Saudi royal family, who has tried to reverse some of these trends by loosening restrictions on women, social media, and public mingling of the sexes.

[47] Bin Salman has often cited the year 1979 as a turning point for Saudi Arabia, when the country's clerics began to exert more power in the affairs of the nation.

[48] His interpretation of history and the sincerity of his efforts are up for debate.

[49] Under his rule, Saudi Arabia has targeted journalists imprisoned dissidents and bombed civilians in a war against his neighbor, Yemen.

[50] But he's right about one thing.

[51] When Jahayman and Rottabi and his band of militants took over the Grand Mosque in 1979, they inadvertently opened up an opportunity for Saudi clergy to grab power.

[52] So in this episode, we're going to take you back to the 15th century.

[53] 15 -day siege of Mecca that changed Saudi Arabia and continues to shape the Muslim world.

[54] True line, which is an awesome podcast show.

[55] Thank you.

[56] Bye.

[57] Support for this podcast and the following message come from Wise, the app that makes managing your money in different currencies easy.

[58] With Wise, you can send and spend money internationally at the mid -market exchange rate, no guesswork, and no hidden fees.

[59] Learn more about how Wise could work for you at Every Muslim who can afford it is expected to make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in their life.

[60] While there, pilgrims will spend a lot of their time in the Grand Mosque, a massive facility that covers over 400 ,000 square feet.

[61] It's a sanctuary where violence, even in its smallest form, is forbidden.

[62] So as you can imagine, many of the pilgrims who were there in the mosque on the morning of November 20th realized just how serious this situation was.

[63] Most people were horrified by what had happened.

[64] Most people that were inside the mosque were besides themselves.

[65] This is Joe Kishishian.

[66] I'm a senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies.

[67] And Joe says, as the rebels delivered their manifesto, chaos erupted in the mosque.

[68] The militants have blocked all of the gates to prevent hostages from getting out.

[69] Once the chaos died down, there were tens of thousands of pilgrims trapped in the mosque, being controlled by hundreds of armed gunmen.

[70] Initially, there wasn't a major response from local authorities.

[71] It appeared as though the entire city was in shock.

[72] But at this point, you might be asking, who is Jahayman?

[73] What motivated him?

[74] And how did he end up staging this attack?

[75] Before we answer any of that, we have to go over some very important.

[76] basics about Saudi Arabia and get a sense for what was happening there in the years leading up to 1979.

[77] These are the treasure houses of an ancient desert kingdom, a land the size of Western Europe.

[78] The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is named after the family of Al -Sahud.

[79] Starting in the 1800s, they tried to unite Bedouin tribes to take control of the peninsula.

[80] They captured and lost control of some parts of Arabia, but never fully controlled it for long periods of time.

[81] But after generations of struggle, they were finally able to become rulers of Arabia in 1932 after the fall of the Ottoman Empire.

[82] They established a country and named it after themselves.

[83] And by controlling Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, they became...

[84] Khadem al -Haramain -Sherifane in Arabic, which means the custodian of the two holy mosques.

[85] An incredible responsibility.

[86] But in order to achieve this position, the House of the House of the House of the Churches and El Saoud enlisted the help of conservative Muslim fighters, called the Ikwan, or brothers.

[87] The Ikwan were followers of the Wahhabi interpretation of Islam.

[88] Wahhabis reject any attempts to modernize Islam and proselytize an often historically inaccurate, puritanical view.

[89] Their religious fanaticism made them extremely effective soldiers for the Saudi army.

[90] The country that the Saudi family controlled was poor and extremely underdeveloped.

[91] Most people lived as they had for centuries, but in 1938, a major resource was discovered in Saudi Arabia, oil.

[92] A land of too little water and too much oil.

[93] That would probably describe the dilemma of a country which is only just realizing its importance in the 20th century.

[94] By the late 1970s, oil revenues meant that the kingdom was slowly but surely modernizing.

[95] It was developing.

[96] It was opening up to the outside world, which irked some of the most conservative.

[97] elements in the kingdom.

[98] This is Yaroslav Troufimov.

[99] I've been covering the Muslim world for nearly two decades for the Wall Street Journal.

[100] He's a longtime Middle East reporter who wrote the book, The Siege of Mecca.

[101] Things like television were still very controversial and the attempts by the royal family to bring the country into more modern age.

[102] Women went to the beach wearing swimsuits.

[103] They wore the abaya, but the abaya, it was not an imposed item.

[104] but this apparent betrayal of Wahhabi principles wasn't the only thing that angered many conservatives.

[105] Economic progress in the country wasn't happening everywhere.

[106] In many small towns and villages, Bedouins didn't always have the same access to resources as their fellow city -dwelling citizens.

[107] So many of the Ikwan, who fit in that second group, felt not only disgusted by the modernization in the country, but they also felt left behind by it.

[108] In a monarchy, obviously, they're always injustices.

[109] We're not talking about a democracy or a democratizing society.

[110] So there are always individuals that are left out of the system.

[111] And one young Bedouin, the son of an Ikwan fighter, felt both of these lights.

[112] His name was Jahayman al -Otebi.

[113] Juhayman -Otebi comes from one of the most prominent tribes of Saudi Arabia at the Al -Otebi.

[114] And he was at the beginning destined to become a foot soldier in the National Guard.

[115] Jahayman served in the National Guard, Saudi Arabia's army, for many years.

[116] But eventually, he became more and more interested in studying Islam.

[117] He started studying the Islamic University of Medina and Sheikh bin Baz, who was a leading cleric and then would later become the Mufti of Saudi Arabia.

[118] And he became enamored by the teachings.

[119] of several prominent clerics.

[120] He started getting the following that he had at the Islamic University in Medina.

[121] And started to prostitize as much as possible the potential changes that he wished to bring to the country.

[122] Shohamana Routabee opposed the presence of foreigners, the presence of Western embassies to him were anathema.

[123] And obviously things like television, like women on television.

[124] He rejected the establishment.

[125] he thought that there was an alternative and that there ought to be an alternative to the ruling family.

[126] Juhammand really opposed any non -Muslim, non -whalhabi penetration of Saudi Arabia.

[127] So he didn't like the fact that the Western embassies.

[128] He decried the fact, you know, why is the flag of the cross, you know, flying of the buildings in our country?

[129] And what he calls is for justice.

[130] He calls for the rule of law and that he himself is going to go ahead and put everything back in order.

[131] He's going to save someone.

[132] of Arabia, from these bad rulers.

[133] So he really wanted to sort of create a pure Islamic state, which is not all the different from what, for example, ISIS wanted to do in more modern times.

[134] Jehaman was a true believer.

[135] He lived an austere, pious life.

[136] He refrained from modern luxuries like television.

[137] And he was an excellent recruiter for the conservative movement.

[138] He wrote and shared his thoughts widely and began to organize his followers.

[139] He created this band, let's say.

[140] say, of individuals.

[141] At some point that alarmed the Saudi authorities.

[142] Dozens of members of Jeheman's organization were detained, and Joheeman enlisted his former teacher, Sheikh bin Baz, to help.

[143] And then Sheikh bin Baz intervened.

[144] All of the detainees were released.

[145] This could have crushed the movement.

[146] But instead, Jeheman's group...