The Siege of Mecca The Siege of Mecca The Siege of Mecca: The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine and the Birth of Al Qaeda is a 2007 book by Wall Street Journal correspondent Yaroslav Trofimov about the 1979 Grand Mosque seizure in Mecca. Hundreds of Islamic radicals led by Saudi preacher Juhayman al-Otaybi invaded the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Islam's holiest shrine, on Nov. 20, 1979. The intruders included men from all over the Muslim world and a handful of American converts. Tens of thousands of worshipers were trapped inside the compound. The battle for the shrine lasted two weeks, causing hundreds of
Mecca, California people (46.4% of the population) lived in owner-occupied housing units and 4,599 people (53.6%) lived in rental housing units. 49% of all Mecca residents are employed in Agricultural work. The community's population fluctuates several times throughout the course of the year with up to an additional 5,000 seasonal farmworkers coming into Mecca to serve the Valley's winter and summer harvesting seasons. Mecca has an elementary school, but no public high school. 1.4% of residents hold a college degree, with 17.7% continuing education after high school, ranking Mecca the 17th least-educated city in the United States. The focal point of the