In February 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Iran, overthrew the Shah and established an Islamic Republic. A shudder of excitement and fear ran through Muslims everywhere. In November - and bin Laden was later to refer to this as a crucial, formative event - Islamic radicals seized the grand mosque at Mecca and held it against Saudi government forces. Bin Laden, young, impressionable, increasingly devout but still unsure of himself and his vocation, was stunned. Eventually, after much bloodshed, the rebels were defeated. 'He was inspired by them,' a close friend told The Observer last month. 'He told me these men were true Muslims and had followed a true path.' [snip]