Struggle for the Sacred Mosque

Struggle for the Scared Mosque

Eight days in Mecca that shook the Muslim world

Mohammed al-Quraishi's eyes burned with ambition. He was 26 and for six months he had studied theology in Mecca; he said that the Islamic revolt in Iran heralded a new dawn. Two weeks ago, he and his followers seized the Sacred Mosque in Mecca. It is Islam's holiest of holy places, since it contains the Kaba, a cube-shaped structure that is believed to have been built by Abraham in God's honor. Last week the siege was lifted after eight days of fighting; but the assault had shaken the Islamic world and rocked Saudi Arabia's ruling family, the House of Saud. The chronology of the attack was pieced together by TIME Cairo Bureau Chief Dean Brelis. His report:

The first day (Tuesday, Nov. 20). "Who is this madman?" exclaimed Prince Sultan, the Saudi Minister of Defense. Shortly after 4 a.m., some 200 followers of Mohammed had seized the mosque, using weapons concealed inside 14 coffins. They demanded that the worshipers recognize Mohammed as the long awaited Mahdi (messiah).* At first, the worshipers could not believe any harm could come to them, since it is a precept of Islam that no blood be shed inside a mosque; by nightfall they knew that they were hostages. Blood had already been shed within the mosque; when several guards had tried to arrest Mohammed and his band, they had been killed. Outside the locked doors, Saudi authorities were baffled. The only way to open the doors was to blast them open with cannon. But to damage a holy place required a ruling by the 'Ulama, the kingdom's religious leaders.

The second day. The Saudis claimed, wrongly, that the mosque had been retaken, and the invaders beheaded. In fact, Mohammed and his band were still in control; they were said to be treating their hostages with courtesy and giving them food and water. Prayers continued: Mohammed alternately preached and gave military commands.

The third day. The 'Ulama denounced the seizure of the Sacred Mosque as "a highly detestable and ignoble crime and an act of atheism in the House of God." Saudi troops blasted open the doors and charged the mosque, and the place became an inferno of fire and crossfire. No one knows how many died. Many Saudi soldiers were mowed down as they charged forward, chanting "To die in this battle is to enter paradise." Mohammed's men showed surprising skill in breaking up into small groups, setting up fields of fire, and counterattacking. Prince Sultan called for reinforcements.

The fourth day. Saudi troops finally gained a toehold within the mosque. Several minarets were set afire in the battle.

The fifth day. Documents found on the bodies of several of the invaders established that they were South Yemenis; some of their wallets contained pictures of Iran's Ayatullah Khomeini. Mohammed's men were now fighting hit-and-run skirmishes. Many descended into the cavernous maze of the basement, which is honeycombed with the foundations of previous mosques built on the site.

The sixth day. The Saudis announced that they had retaken the mosque. Nonetheless, gunfire echoed from the cellar, where the fighting continued.

The seventh day. Smoke still rose from the mosque. The Saudis claimed they had captured Mohammed alive, and that he would face the "maximum penalty."

The eighth day. All but a few of Mohammed's followers were routed from the basement. As they surrendered, they spat at the Saudi troops. Many were students in their early 20s. They said they did not believe their leader had been captured.

Who were the invaders? Most accounts still held that they were predominantly Saudis, probably members of the nomadic 'Utaibah tribe and several other tribal groups. Many were thought to belong to a fundamentalist sect that had previously agitated against TV, radio and women's rights. Yet it was clear that they were well trained, probably in South Yemen, and that the operation had been well planned. Said one Western intelligence official in the Middle East: "This was a direct attack against the House of Saud. You can be sure that the end of the battle of the Sacred Mosque is not the last we will hear of trouble in Saudi Arabia."

*An ancient popular belief that has recurred throughout Islamic history. In the colonial era, several "Mahdis" announced themselves as liberators. Perhaps the most famous was the "Mahdi of the Sudan," Mohammed Ahmad ibn Abdullah, whose dervish troops killed General Charles ("Chinese") Gordon and the other defenders during the siege of Khartoum in 1885.

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