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Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Revival

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

William Ochsenwald
William Ochsenwald
Affiliation:
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg, Virginia
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Extract

The seizure of the grand mosque of Mecca on 1 Muharram 1400/20 November 1979 by a group of Muslim fundamentalists protesting alleged religious laxity in Saudi Arabia raised the issue of Islamic revival in the very birthplace of the Islamic faith. This dramatic action and the ensuing battle for control of the holiest site in Islam, the Kaaba, caused concern and anxiety among hundreds of millions of Muslims. It turned the minds of many to the phenomenon of religious revival. The attack on the Meccan Haram also showed that the revival of Islam was an issue for all Muslim countries, for Saudi Arabia was already one of the most publicly devout and religious nations in the world. If the Saudi government could be seriously accused of a lack of religious fervor, even though the accusers in Mecca were few in number and ultimately unsuccessful in their military action, then other Muslim states might well be liable to even more severe challenges.

Type
Articles
Information
International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 13 , Issue 3 , August 1981 , pp. 271 - 286
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

Notes

The research for this paper was undertaken while at the Middle East Centre. University of Cambridge. I wish to thank Professor Robert Serjeant and Dr. Robin Bidwell of the Centre for their assistance. The Social Science Research Council provided a grant that enabled me during 1979–80 to pursue research on the subject of Islam in Arabia. A version of this paper was presented at the University of Chicago Middle East Center's Conference on the islamic Revival in May 1980.

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