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
Muhammad in Mecca Medina signed a 10-year truce called the Treaty of Hudaybiyah under which Arab tribes were given the option of joining one or the other of the parties, who would come to their aid should any of their allied tribes face aggression. After the Quraysh-allied Banu Bakr tribe attacked and killed many of the Muslim-allied Banu Khuza'a, Muhammad gathered a large army to attack the Quraysh and take Mecca from them. The large Muslim army entered Mecca on Monday, 11 December 629 (18 Ramadan 8 hijrah) and after only a small skirmish took control of the city. The "opening" of Mecca