Juhayman al-Otaibi
Encyclopedia
Juhayman ibn Muhammad ibn Sayf al-Otaibi (1936 – 9 January 1980) was a militant who led the takeover
of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
, Islam's
holiest site, in the last months of 1979.
tribe and a member of one of the most pre-eminent Sunni
families of the Najd
, he served in the Saudi Arabian National Guard
from 1955 to c. 1973.
His doctrines are said to have included:
In the late 1970s he moved to Riyadh
, where he drew the attention of the Saudi security forces. He and approximately 100 of his followers were arrested in the summer of 1978 for demonstrating against the monarchy, but were released after ibn Baz questioned them and pronounced them harmless.
He married both the daughter of Prince Sajer Al Mohaya and the sister of Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Qahtani.
was seized by a well-organized group of 400 to 500 men under al-Otaibi's leadership.
The Grand Mosque Seizure
lasted three weeks before Saudi Special Forces
attempted to break into the Mosque. They employed many methods to break down the doors of the Mosque
, including tank
s, but failed in the end due to the doors' strength. With the help of the Pakistan Army
SSG commandos, the Minister of Defence and Prince Sultan, finally captured the mosque. Upon entering the mosque, it was full of dead bodies and waste. The fleeing rebels tried to escape through water tunnels around the mosque, which however were then flushed with water to bring the rebels out.
French commandos were brought in and there was a dilemma how to allow a non-Muslim army in Kaaba. Therefore, there were mullas converting the French commandoes to make it look like politically correct. They used chemical weapon to kill the terrorists. Very few of them were alive and unconscious. These were arrested and executed within 10 days.
When Juhayman was arrested he refused to speak to anyone until a group of scholars from Medina
who were his teachers, led by Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti
, visited him in prison and embraced him and wept severely and asked him for his justification. Juhayman replied that he was motivated by the turmoil of that time and that he hoped that if they called on Allah
and asked for forgiveness so that perhaps Allah
would forgive them.
Juhayman and 67 members of his group were subsequently beheaded by the Saudi Government.
Grand Mosque Seizure
The Grand Mosque Seizure on November 20, 1979, was an armed attack and takeover by Islamist dissidents of the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam...
of the Grand Mosque in Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, Islam's
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
holiest site, in the last months of 1979.
Biography
Born in Al-Qassim Province to the 'Utaybah'Utaybah
Utaybah is a large Arab tribe of the Arabian Peninsula. As is the case with many other large tribal confederations in the region, the name Otaibah only appeared within the last few centuries. Otaibah's original territory was concentrated in the area around Taif, but in the 18th century, their...
tribe and a member of one of the most pre-eminent Sunni
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam. Sunni Muslims are referred to in Arabic as ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah wa āl-Ǧamāʿah or ʾAhl ūs-Sunnah for short; in English, they are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis or Sunnites....
families of the Najd
Najd
Najd or Nejd , literally Highland, is the central region of the Arabian Peninsula.-Boundaries :The Arabic word nejd literally means "upland" and was once applied to a variety of regions within the Arabian Peninsula...
, he served in the Saudi Arabian National Guard
Saudi Arabian National Guard
The Saudi Arabian National Guard is a separate military force of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It is not part of the Saudi Arabian Defence Forces, due to its specific role as a counterbalance to the regular military. It serves both as defence force against external threats and as a security force...
from 1955 to c. 1973.
His doctrines are said to have included:
- The imperative to emulate the Prophet's example—revelation, propagation, and military takeover.
- The necessity for the Muslims to overthrow their present corrupt rulers who are forced upon them and lack Islamic attributes since the Quran recognizes no king or dynasty.
- The requirements for legitimate rulership are devotion to Islam and its practice, rulership by the Holy Book and not by repression, Qurashi tribal roots, and election by the Muslim believers.
- The duty to base the Islamic faith on the Quran and the sunnah
SunnahThe word literally means a clear, well trodden, busy and plain surfaced road. In the discussion of the sources of religion, Sunnah denotes the practice of Prophet Muhammad that he taught and practically instituted as a teacher of the sharī‘ah and the best exemplar...
and not on the equivocal interpretations (taqlidTaqlidTaqlid or taklid is an Arabic term in Islamic legal terminology connoting "imitation", that is; following the decisions of a religious authority without necessarily examining the scriptural basis or reasoning of that decision, such as accepting and following the verdict of scholars of...
) of the ulamaUlama-In Islam:* Ulema, also transliterated "ulama", a community of legal scholars of Islam and its laws . See:**Nahdlatul Ulama **Darul-uloom Nadwatul Ulama **Jamiatul Ulama Transvaal**Jamiat ul-Ulama -Other:...
and on their "incorrect" teachings in the schools and universities.- The necessity to isolate oneself from the sociopolitical system by refusing to accept any official positions.
- The advent of the mahdi
MahdiIn Islamic eschatology, the Mahdi is the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will stay on Earth for seven, nine or nineteen years- before the Day of Judgment and, alongside Jesus, will rid the world of wrongdoing, injustice and tyranny.In Shia Islam, the belief in the Mahdi is a "central religious...
from the lineage of the Prophet through Husayn ibn AliHusayn ibn AliHussein ibn ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib was the son of ‘Alī ibn Abī Ṭālib and Fātimah Zahrā...
to remove the existing injustices and bring equity and peace to the faithful.- The duty to reject all worshipers of the partners of God (shirk
Shirk (polytheism)In Islam, shirk is the sin of idolatry or polytheism. i.e. the deification or worship of anyone or anything other than the singular God, or more literally the establishment of "partners" placed beside God...
), including worshipers of AliAli' |Ramaḍān]], 40 AH; approximately October 23, 598 or 600 or March 17, 599 – January 27, 661).His father's name was Abu Talib. Ali was also the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and ruled over the Islamic Caliphate from 656 to 661, and was the first male convert to Islam...
, FatimahFatimahFatimah was a daughter of the Islamic prophet Muhammad from his first wife Khadijah bint Khuwaylid. She is regarded by Muslims as an exemplar for men and women. She remained at her father's side through the difficulties suffered by him at the hands of the Quraysh of Mecca...
and MuhammadMuhammadMuhammad |ligature]] at U+FDF4 ;Arabic pronunciation varies regionally; the first vowel ranges from ~~; the second and the last vowel: ~~~. There are dialects which have no stress. In Egypt, it is pronounced not in religious contexts...
, the KhawarijKharijitesKharijites is a general term embracing various Muslims who, while initially supporting the authority of the final Rashidun Caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib, the son-in-law and cousin of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, then later rejected his leadership...
, and even music.- The duty to establish a puritanical Islamic community which protects Islam from unbelievers and does not court foreigners.
In the late 1970s he moved to Riyadh
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of Riyadh Province, and belongs to the historical regions of Najd and Al-Yamama. It is situated in the center of the Arabian Peninsula on a large plateau, and is home to 5,254,560 people, and the urban center of a...
, where he drew the attention of the Saudi security forces. He and approximately 100 of his followers were arrested in the summer of 1978 for demonstrating against the monarchy, but were released after ibn Baz questioned them and pronounced them harmless.
He married both the daughter of Prince Sajer Al Mohaya and the sister of Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Qahtani.
Juhayman's charge against the Saudi leadership
Juhayman said that his justification was that the Al Saud had lost its legitimacy through corruption and imitation of the West, an echo of his father's charge in 1921 against Abd al Aziz.Takeover of the Grand Mosque
On November 20, 1979 — the first day of the Islamic year 1400 — the Grand Mosque in MeccaMecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
was seized by a well-organized group of 400 to 500 men under al-Otaibi's leadership.
The Grand Mosque Seizure
Grand Mosque Seizure
The Grand Mosque Seizure on November 20, 1979, was an armed attack and takeover by Islamist dissidents of the Al-Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest place in Islam...
lasted three weeks before Saudi Special Forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
attempted to break into the Mosque. They employed many methods to break down the doors of the Mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, including tank
Tank
A tank is a tracked, armoured fighting vehicle designed for front-line combat which combines operational mobility, tactical offensive, and defensive capabilities...
s, but failed in the end due to the doors' strength. With the help of the Pakistan Army
Pakistan Army
The Pakistan Army is the branch of the Pakistani Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The Pakistan Army came into existence after the Partition of India and the resulting independence of Pakistan in 1947. It is currently headed by General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani. The Pakistan...
SSG commandos, the Minister of Defence and Prince Sultan, finally captured the mosque. Upon entering the mosque, it was full of dead bodies and waste. The fleeing rebels tried to escape through water tunnels around the mosque, which however were then flushed with water to bring the rebels out.
French commandos were brought in and there was a dilemma how to allow a non-Muslim army in Kaaba. Therefore, there were mullas converting the French commandoes to make it look like politically correct. They used chemical weapon to kill the terrorists. Very few of them were alive and unconscious. These were arrested and executed within 10 days.
When Juhayman was arrested he refused to speak to anyone until a group of scholars from Medina
Medina
Medina , or ; also transliterated as Madinah, or madinat al-nabi "the city of the prophet") is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, and serves as the capital of the Al Madinah Province. It is the second holiest city in Islam, and the burial place of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, and...
who were his teachers, led by Shaykh Muhammad al-Ameen ash-Shanqeeti
Muhammad Ash-Shanqeeti
Muhammad Al-Ameen Ibn Muhammad Al-Mukhtaar Ibn 'Abdil-Qaadir Al-Jaknee Ash-Shanqeetee was a Muslim scholar from Mauritania. His compound name was Muhammad Al-Ameen, just like the name of his father Muhammad Al-Ameen Ibn Muhammad Al-Mukhtaar Ibn 'Abdil-Qaadir Al-Jaknee Ash-Shanqeetee (1907–1973)...
, visited him in prison and embraced him and wept severely and asked him for his justification. Juhayman replied that he was motivated by the turmoil of that time and that he hoped that if they called on Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
and asked for forgiveness so that perhaps Allah
Allah
Allah is a word for God used in the context of Islam. In Arabic, the word means simply "God". It is used primarily by Muslims and Bahá'ís, and often, albeit not exclusively, used by Arabic-speaking Eastern Catholic Christians, Maltese Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Mizrahi Jews and...
would forgive them.
Juhayman and 67 members of his group were subsequently beheaded by the Saudi Government.