02000cam a2200289 4500 758543290 TxAuBib 20071016120000.0 070221s2007||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2007007520 9780385519250 hbk. 0385519257 hbk. (OCoLC)85162242 DLC DLC BAKER BTCTA JED C#P BUR DLC TxGR TxAuBib Trofimov, Yaroslav. The siege of Mecca [Book] : the forgotten uprising in Islam's holiest shrine and the birth of al Qaeda / Yaroslav Trofimov. 1st ed. New York : Doubleday, 2007. xii, 301 p., [16] p. of plates : ill., map ; 25 cm. Includes bibliographical references (p. [265]-289) and index. On November 20, 1979, the first morning of a new Muslim century, hundreds of gunmen stunned the world by seizing Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. These men came from more than a dozen countries, launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. 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, the bloody siege lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the U.S. and causing hundreds of deaths. The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos, who prepared the final assault. The Saudi royal family ultimately compromised with the rebels' supporters, helping to set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today. 20071016. Terrorism Religious aspects Islam. Terrorism Saudi Arabia. Mecca (Saudi Arabia) History Siege, 1979. RV8