Yaroslav trofimov, a reporter with the wall street journal, talks about the 1979 siege of the grand mosque at mecca in saudi arabia. Growing up in punjab and london in the 1960s, ziauddin sardar turned to the kabah not only when he prayed. Hundreds were killed as saudi security forces fought to. It is the birthplace of muhammad, the direction to which muslims turn when they pray, and the site of pilgrimage, isbn 9781620402665 buy the mecca. In 1979 islamic militants seized control of the grand mosque in mecca, the holiest site in islam. The forgotten uprising in islams holiest shrine and the birth of al qaeda. In the siege of mecca, acclaimed journalist yaroslav trofimov pulls back the curtain on a thrilling, pivotal, and overlooked episode of modern history, examining its repercussions on the middle east and the world on november 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on tehran, where the iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. The forgotten uprising in islams holiest shrine and the birth of alqaeda by yaroslav trofimov on november 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on. The insurgents declared that the mahdi the redeemer of islam had arrived in the form of one of their leaders, mohammed abdullah alqahtani, and called on muslims to obey him. On november 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on. The forgotten uprising in islams holiest shrine and the birth of alqaeda. It is the holiest site in islam, and gunmen held it for two weeks. Mecca is the shrine of islam, with the kabah, a cube of black stone, at its centre.
Trofimov argued that this event eventually led to the creation of al. That same morning, gunmen stunned the world by seizing. Bbc world service witness history, the siege of mecca. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Yaroslav trofimov talked about his book the siege of mecca. The forgotten uprising in islams holiest shrine and the birth of alqaeda trofimov, yaroslav on. The siege of mecca npr coverage of the siege of mecca. That same morning, gunmen stunned the world by seizing the grand mosque in mecca, creating a siege that trapped 100,000 people and lasted two weeks. Apocalyptic motivations behind the formation and development of the.