Modern Era · Middle East · Religion
1979
Grand Mosque seized in Mecca
November 20, 1979
Hundreds of armed Saudi militants led by Juhayman al-Otaybi seized the Grand Mosque in Mecca, declaring his brother-in-law the Mahdi. Saudi forces, after two weeks of bloody siege, retook the holy site with help from French commandos. The event pushed the Saudi royal family toward a more conservative religious posture that would reshape global Islam.
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