Saudi Arabia has asserted its role as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques after accusing Yemen's Houthi group of launching a drone attack towards Mecca. However, about a century ago, the custodianship of Mecca and Medina was held by descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW. How did the control over these two holy cities of Islam shift to the ruling family of Saudi Arabia (the al-Saud family)?
The story begins in September 1924, six years after the Allied powers defeated the Ottoman Sultanate. At that time, the victors of the war began to reshape the Arab territories that were previously under Ottoman rule.
At that time, the Sharif of Mecca and King of Hejaz, Hussein bin Ali, a descendant of Prophet Muhammad SAW from the Hashemite family, faced a threat from a closer region.
The Ikhwan forces of the ruler of Najd, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, a religious-military militia group, had invaded Hejaz and captured the city of Taif. They then moved towards Mecca, threatening Hussein's control over the two holiest cities in Islam, Mecca and Medina.
According to reports from India Today, Sunday (20/9/2026), as his position became increasingly precarious, Hussein sought help from the Allies who, eight years earlier, had armed and funded his rebellion against the Ottomans. Those allies were the British.
Hussein asked London to help counter Ibn Saud's advancing forces. However, Britain refused.
This decision was a great irony. Britain had previously maintained relations with both rivals in the Arabian Peninsula.
According to American author and journalist James Wynbrandt, in his book A Brief History of Saudi Arabia, Britain signed an agreement with the ruler of Najd, Ibn Saud, in 1915. London paid him 20,000 pounds, supplied 1,000 rifles, and later provided a subsidy of 5,000 pounds per month.
On the other hand, the Hashemite King Sharif Hussein also received 125,000 pounds per month in British gold, in addition to weapons and military advisors.
By the end of 1925, Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah were under Ibn Saud's control.
Ibn Saud then unified the region to form the country now known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, establishing the House of Saud, the family that still rules the oil-rich kingdom today.
However, Hussein's Hashemite dynasty did not disappear.
His sons were placed in the new order established by Britain after the collapse of the Ottoman Sultanate. Prince Hashemite Faisal bin Hussein became the ruler of Iraq, while Prince Abdullah bin Hussein emerged as the ruler of Transjordan—the territory east of the Jordan River that is now Jordan.
Why is the 100-Year-Old Story Relevant Again?
This century-old story has resurfaced due to recent conflicts in the Middle East.
On September 15, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia—founded by Ibn Saud and still ruled by his descendants—stated that its air defenses intercepted a Houthi drone south of Mecca before it entered the restricted airspace of the holy city.
The Iran-backed Houthi group denied the accusation.
Saudi Arabia's Coalition Spokesperson for the Restoration of Legitimacy in Yemen, Major General Turki al-Malki, called the security of the two holy mosques and their pilgrims a "red line."
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), dominated by Muslim countries including Saudi Arabia, condemned what it called an attack that violated the sanctity of holy sites.
Pakistan, which has signed the Mecca Defense Treaty with Saudi Arabia, also reaffirmed Saudi Arabia's position as the guardian of Islam's holiest sites.
Mecca is the location of the Grand Mosque and the Kaaba. Medina, where Prophet Muhammad migrated, is the location of the Prophet's Mosque. Both are the two holiest cities in Islam.
The current King of Saudi Arabia holds the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" or Khadim al-Haramayn al-Sharifayn.
King Fahd bin Abdulaziz officially adopted this title in 1986, decades after his father, Ibn Saud, conquered Hejaz.
Saudi Arabia's role as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques is re-emphasized to garner support regarding the sanctity and protection of Islam's holiest sites.
But how did a dynasty centered in Riyadh come to control Mecca and Medina in Hejaz? And how did the Hashemite family, descendants of Prophet Muhammad SAW who previously controlled Mecca, end up ruling Jordan?
The answer involves not only war and conquest but also British money, agreements, dashed hopes after the war, and London's efforts to build a new order in the Middle East from the ruins of the Ottoman Sultanate after World War I.
Long before the founder of Saudi Arabia, Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, controlled Mecca, the holy city had its own ruler called the Sharif of Mecca.
American Middle East historian Mary C. Wilson, in her book King Abdullah, Britain and the Making of Jordan, writes that the position of Sharif of Mecca existed before the Ottoman conquest of Hejaz in the 16th century.
Under Ottoman rule, the Sharif retained considerable local authority. Meanwhile, the Ottoman sultan held the title Khadim al-Haramayn, meaning Servant or Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.
The Hashemite family's connection to Mecca is even deeper than merely holding the highest political office in the city.
Sharif Hussein bin Ali, the King of Hejaz, was from the Hashemite family. This family is genealogically linked to Prophet Muhammad SAW.
His son, Abdullah bin Hussein—who later became the ruler of Jordan—was born in Mecca in 1882 from this Sharif lineage.
