aj3u@wilbury.cs.virginia.edu (03/15/91)
In article <1991Mar8.122018.1473@cbnewsj.att.com> twheeler@cbnewsj.att.com (theodore wheeler) writes: > > In article <8bpay9S00WBK81=6hW@andrew.cmu.edu> mh52+@andrew.cmu.edu > (Mohamed Adzlee Harun) writes: > > Are you sure they are terrorist who want to takeover the Haram? As I > > recall, the group ( I forgot the name, Jumain(?) - but to refer to > > certain tribe ) has a history of enmity with the al-Saud family. They > > lost during the Al-Saud took over Hijaz from the Ottoman Empire. The > > incident cannot be referred as an attempt to takeover Haram. Why would > > they want to takeover the Haram? How would they sustain such takeover? > > Previously, they might probably try to topple the Al-Saud regime. They > > tried to find a safe haven in Haram when they were attacked since no > > bloodbath can take place in the Haram. They actually congregated to > > the Haram with their family - wife and children. I don't know what > > happened to the members of their family. > > > > I hope somebody can shed some light on this. > > > > Peace, > > Mohamad > > > > For more information on the attempted takeover of the mosque, check > National Geographic. Just look at the index. I'm sure you must have > the copy. Isn't there some kind of law that requires everyone to keep > back issues of NG? |-) > Also a good summary of the episode can be found in the New York Times of the 25 Feb (and 19 Feb) 1980, where there is a full-page article on the background to the takeover. I would recommend against the earlier newreports since most of them were based on unreliable sources and were later proved false (for example the report in the NYT that the group that took over the Haram was Iranian. Soon after this incorrect report Khomeini retorted by charging the US with initiating the takeover. What was interesting was that when it became apparent that the gunmen were primarily Saudis the NYT lashed out at the Islamic Republic for its "malicious" slander, completely forgetting its own irresponsibility). Also in the report I mention above, value-loaded words like "zealot", "fanatic", and "xenophobic" are used rather excessively. I will briefly summarize the account here. The entire article is too long to be transcribed. I will try to maintain chronological ordering. After the historical background and the details of the takeover itself, I have included some excerpts from the writings of the leader of the takeover. The leader of the group that took over the Haram was called Juhayman Bin Muhammad Bin Seif Al-Oteiba, and was a student of theology at the University of Madina till 1973, (when he was 22). At this point he dropped out of the university "after clashing repeatedly with his teachers over their interpretation of the application of Islamic law to day-to-day life. "In 1974, he decided to pursue his studies independently. Several other theology students soon joined him. His most important follower was Muhammad Bin Abdullah al-Qahtani, who dropped out of the Madina school at the age of 21. Together they rented a house and began to gather a following."... Somewhere during this period he wrote his seminal work, "Rule, Allegiance and Obedience". "In 1974 Mr Oteiba was arrested several times and questioned by the Saudi authorities", but was always rescued by his teachers from Madina and by his tribe. The Saudis claim that he had been arrested on charges of possessing liquor, charges to which he apparently confessed after his final arrest (these, however do not appear to be very credible). In 1975 he went into hiding protected by his supporters and his tribe the Oteibas. Of his followers about 80% were Saudis and the rest were Egyptians, Moroccans, Yemenis, Kuwaitis, Sudanis, Iraqis and Pakistanis. The takeover of the Haram was allegedly inspired by a dream Juhayman had at the beginning of 1979, after which he declared Al-Qahtani the Mahdi. Various "experts" believe that this did not have any connotations of divinity (contrary to the insistance of the Saudi authorities), but rather was "a political move with Islamic foundations." The takeover was executed by carrying into the Haram arms concealed in coffins (which are frequently taken inside for funeral services). Having entered, the group of about 250 sealed the doors and spread out across the building, and then allowed the pilgrims to leave in peace. At this point almost all of the 45000 pilgrims inside came out. After repeated assaults and considerable casualties on both sides the Saudis managed to remove the group from the Haram. The groups included 20 women. The 63 people who were recovered alive were beheaded on the 9th of January 1980. According to a report in Newsweek (citing Western European intelligence sources) the attack was an attempt to kidnap King Khalid, who had been planning to visit the Haram that day. The plan was to hold him until three demands were met : The establishment of a puritanical Islamic republic, a cutback in oil production, and a loosening of Western ties. The monarch had cancelled his trip due to a sore throat. Here are some excerpts from Juhayman's writings and interviews : "The Khalifa or the leader of the Islamic people must be a Muslim chosen by the people and must uphold the religion. Yet we are living today under an imposed royalty, where it is not the Muslims who choose the Khalifa but the rulers have imposed themselves on the ruled, and where the disapproval of the Muslim does not result in removing the monarchy... "The best and most obvious example [of the deception by the rulers] is the founder of their state, King Abdul Aziz and the tribal elders who share his power, who are in agreement and in support of his policies, or silent about his wrong doings. He called upon the Ikhwan, may God rest their souls, to support him on the basis of the Quran and the tenets of the religion as the imam of all Muslims. They fought for him, spread the faith and opened the country for him. But as soon as his power was established and as soon as he secured what he wanted, he allied himself with the Christians and stopped the struggle outside the peninsula. "Anyone with eyesight can see today how they represent religion as a form of humiliation, insult and mockery. These rulers have subjected Muslims to their interests and made religion into a way of acquiring materialistic interests. They have brought upon the Muslims all evil and corruption. "Those who seek degrees from universities do not mean to uphold the religion. They mean to secure a job, to acquire material wealth, to increase their possession of real estate, cars and clothes. Education is not a way of serving God but a way for them [the rulers] to fill jobs and use people." "I am a Muslim, who happens to be born in a place they named Saudi Arabia... the message is to challenge all these rulers who have no rights of obedience upon us" ...