The Mecca Uprising - An Insider's Account of Salafism and Insurrection in Saudi Arabia

On 20th November 1979, the Salafi Group, led by a charismatic figure named Juhaiman al-Utaibi, seized control of the Scared Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in the Muslim World. The Salafi Group was not trying to establish an Islamic state. Instead, its members believed they were players in a prophetic script about the End of Time. After a two-week siege, the Saudi government recaptured the mosque, threw the survivors into prison, and had them publicly executed. offers an insider's account of the religious subculture that incubated the Mecca Uprising, written by a former member of the Salafi Group, Nasir al-Huzaimi. Huzaimi did not participate in the uprising, but he was arrested in a government sweep of Salafi Group members and spent six years in prison. In 2011, he published his memoir, Days with Juhaiman , offering the most detailed picture we have of the Salafi Group and Juhaiman. The Mecca Uprising had profound effects on Saudi Arabia and the Muslim World. The Saudi government headed off opposition from religious activists and made efforts to buttress the ruling family's legitimacy as the guardians of Islam. Huzaimi's memoir sheds light on the background of this religious and political landscape, and is the most detailed account we have of the Salafi Group and Juhaiman. The English edition is complete with an introduction and annotations prepared by expert David Commins to help readers understand the relevance of the Meccan uprising and how it fits into the history of the Islamic World.

Product details

• Authors: Nasir al-Huzaimi, David Commins
• Publisher: Tauris, I.B.
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2020
• EAN: 9780755600113
• ISBN: 978-0-7556-0011-3
• No. of pages: 208
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature > Letters, diaries; Non-fiction book > Politics, society, business > Biographies, autobiographies; Social sciences, law, business > Political science > Political science and political education; Naher und Mittlerer Osten, Terrorismus, bewaffneter Kampf, POLITICAL SCIENCE / Terrorism, RELIGION / Religious Intolerance, Persecution & Conflict, Memoirs, Politics / Current Events, SOCIAL SCIENCE / Islamic Studies, POLITICAL SCIENCE / World / Middle Eastern, Islamic Studies, Saudi Arabia, Arabian Peninsula, Religious intolerance, persecution and conflict, Religious intolerance, persecution & conflict, Relating to Islamic / Muslim people and groups, Social groups: religious groups and communities, BIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY / Memoirs