The Siege of Mecca

The Forgotten Uprising in Islam's Holiest Shrine & the Birth of Al-Qaeda

By: Yaroslav Trofimov

Narrated by: Todd McLaren

On November 20, 1979, worldwide attention was focused on Tehran, where the Iranian hostage crisis was entering its third week. The same morning, the first of a new Muslim century, hundreds of gunmen stunned the world by seizing Islam's holiest shrine, the Grand Mosque in Mecca. Armed with rifles that they had smuggled inside coffins, these men came from more than a dozen countries, launching the first operation of global jihad in modern times. Led by a Saudi preacher named Juhayman al Uteybi, they believed that the Saudi royal family had become a craven servant of American infidels and sought a return to the glory of uncompromising Islam. With nearly 100,000 worshippers trapped inside the holy compound, Mecca's bloody siege lasted two weeks, inflaming Muslim rage against the United States and causing hundreds of deaths.

Despite U.S. assistance, the Saudi royal family proved haplessly incapable of dislodging the occupier, whose ranks included American converts to Islam. In Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini blamed the "Great Satan", the United States, for defiling the shrine, prompting mobs to storm and torch American embassies in Pakistan and Libya.

The desperate Saudis finally enlisted the help of French commandos led by Captain Paul Barril, who prepared the final assault and supplied the poison gas that knocked out the insurgents. Though most captured gunmen were quickly beheaded, the Saudi royal family responded to this unprecedented challenge by compromising with the rebels' supporters among the kingdom's most senior clerics, helping them nurture and export Juhayman's violent brand of Islam around the world.

Written with the pacing, detail, and suspense of a real-life thriller, The Siege of Mecca reveals how Saudi reaction to the uprising in Mecca set free the forces that produced the attacks of 9/11 and the harrowing circumstances that surround us today.

©2007 Yaroslav Trofimov (P)2007 Tantor Media Inc.

Critic reviews

"Solid journalistic and storytelling skills....Trofimov does excellent work in narrating [these events]." ( Kirkus)
"A compelling historical narrative....Casual readers will be well served by this introduction to Muslim fundamentalist terrorism." ( Publishers Weekly)

Just Excellent

Complete and balanced. An essential read (Step NO. One in a process) for anyone really wanting to understand the relationship between the Saudi Arabia's leadership and U.S.A., between Al Qida and other Sunni Arabs; where America (and Russia) went wrong.

Must read - the origins of fanatical Islam

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I have spent 20 years in the Middle East and this book carefully researched captures the events that have led up to the modern shaping of politics in the Middle East and the rise of fanatical Islam. A must read. Written like a novel the truth however is stranger than fiction and the story is so compelling that you cannot put it down.

What did you like best about this story?

Yaroslav Trofimov interviewed and researched this book by getting behind the steel curtain of censorship that is so pervasive in Saudi Arabia.

What does Todd McLaren bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Read with pace and vigor.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely

Find An Arabic Speaker

The narrator butchers even the most basic Arabic words. Publishers should've really tried to have found someone who is either an Arabic speaker or familiar with Islamic terminology. the story itself is interesting, but with a little non useful CT speak. I'd reccomend buying the print copy.

Very Good Narration, Very Bad pronunciation

Would you consider the audio edition of The Siege of Mecca to be better than the print version?

About the same

What aspect of Todd McLaren’s performance would you have changed?

The Arabic word are constantly mispronounced.
Even something as simple as the Saudi ruling family's name is wrongly pronounced as al-saad as opposed to correct pronunciation aal-e-sa'ood.

Roots of Wahhabism

This book describes in luxurious detail the key event that led the Saudi monarchy to embrace that virulent strain of religious extremism called "Wahhabism." It is required reading for all those interested in the roots of radical Islam. All modern terrorists groupsm can be traced back to Wahhabism.

Provides a better understanding

The events chronicled in this book helps one better understand the mind-set of radical Islam and how those thought processes influenced the relationships the US now has with various Middle Eastern countries. Having lived and worked in the Middle East for a year and a half, and getting some insight into the culture, I had the advantage of being able to read between the lines for even greater understanding. I believe the author was very objective in his analysis of the events leading up to the crisis, and those resulting from it. This is a good book for anyone who wants a clearer understanding of US/Middle Eastern politics.

Terror 101

Very well written, thoroughly researched. It's packed with information, but doesn't get bogged down in details. The author keeps it moving like a movie, with a main arc and subplots that enhance. The last chapter tells about the aftermath and presents an argument that the siege was, in a sense, a formative event leading up to the rise of Al Qaeda and ISIS. A must-read for anybody who wants to understand the historical forces behind the age of international terrorism that we now live in.

Accents

Just a performance note. If the audiobook is not dramatized by different narrators, no accents for the different characters please. Even if they're good they still distract too much.

"The Siege" - A Review

If you enjoy connecting the dots of past incidents in the Middle East and seeing their impact on today's world...A MUST "READ"! Fast paced, easily understood. Doesn't get into mundane minutia but flies at 30,000 feet. Fanatic zealots think their guy is the Machti (the prophet the returns to save the world and purge all infidels from the lands of Islam).

To prove their point they seize the grand temple in Mecca and kill hundreds of innocents. This causes the entangling of the House of Saud, the US, other Islamic countries, and France's elite anti-terrorism squadron.

CAUTION: you may miss work sitting in the parking lot, while waiting for the end!

Delivers exactly what it promises.

Not a great deal to say here, in the "happy marriages are all alike" fashion. The book isn't incredibly long, it's focused on a particular incident (along with tying it in with things that preceded and followed), and the prose moved well while covering the material well. I found it fascinating and finished in a consecutive line of commutes in just a few days. Highly recommended to anyone interested enough to be reading this.