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There can be no politicization of Haj pilgrimage: Saudi

Arab News
August 8, 2017

Jeddah, Aug 8: Saudi Arabia rejects all attempts to politicize and internationalize the Hajj, Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, chairman of the Central Hajj Committee, said on Monday.

Prince Khaled, adviser to King Salman and governor of Makkah Region, was speaking at the inauguration of the “Hajj is Worship and Civilized Behavior” campaign. “Hajj is a message of peace,” he said.

On the campaign by Qatar to reduce the role of the Kingdom in providing services to pilgrims, Prince Khaled said: “The answer is in the title of this campaign ... There can be no politicization of pilgrimage.”

Prince Khaled said Saudi Arabia’s leadership, government and people were keen to provide everything to serve the Hajj pilgrims, and to enable them to perform their pilgrimage with ease.

He urged all pilgrims to be infused with Islamic ethics and to be a model of Muslim civilization.

“The campaign since its inception has achieved great achievements and successes, including the reduction of the rate of offenders to 5 percent during the pilgrimage season compared to 9 percent in the previous year,” he said.

“There is a lot of doubting, but the lesson is in the results and the achievement. The regulations will be applied firmly and with Islamic ethics.”

Prince Khaled revealed that the Makkah Region Development Authority had implemented projects worth SR300 million this year to improve Hajj services and develop them in the current season. The authority and the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah would implement a large project in the holy sites to be announced in due course, he said. “All sectors have their achievements in the pilgrimage season.”

The campaign, launched by the emirate of Makkah in 2008, continues to spread the Hajj message of peace. It will work to consolidate the ultimate goal of bringing millions together for performing a pillar of Islam based on peace and spirituality.

The objectives of the campaign are to educate pilgrims to abide by public laws and regulations, thus contributing significantly to a safe and peaceful pilgrimage.

The campaign targets citizens, residents, Tawafa organizations, Hajj companies, the transport sector and the media.

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Agencies
July 31,2020

Makkah, Jul 31: Organising this year's scaled-down hajj required "double efforts" by Saudi authorities amid the coronavirus pandemic, King Salman said Friday after being discharged from hospital following gall bladder surgery.

Only up to 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are participating in this year's pilgrimage, compared with 2019's gathering of some 2.5 million from around the world.

"Holding the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic... required reducing the numbers of pilgrims, but it obliged various official agencies to put in double efforts," 84-year-old King Salman said in a speech read out on state television by acting media minister Majid Al-Qasabi.

"The hajj this year was restricted to a very limited number of people from multiple nationalities, ensuring the ritual was completed despite the difficult circumstances," he said.

The speech came on the occasion of Eid al-Adha, the Muslim festival of sacrifice, a day after the king left hospital following a 10-day stay for surgery to remove his gall bladder.

The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a must for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.

Authorities implemented the "highest health precautions" during the rituals, the king said.

Pilgrims, who were all tested for the virus, are required to wear masks and observe social distancing.

For Friday's "stoning of the devil", the last major ritual of the hajj, Saudi authorities offered the pilgrims pebbles that were sanitised to protect against the pandemic.

In a sign that its strict measures were working, the health ministry reported no coronavirus cases in the holy sites on Wednesday or Thursday.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 12,2020

Riyadh, May 12: Saudi Arabia will impose a full-day lockdown and curfew across the Kingdom during the upcoming Eid holidays from May 23 until May 27, according to the Kingdom’s Interior Ministry.

Details are awaited

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News Network
March 23,2020

Dubai, Mar 23: All inbound, outbound and transit passenger flights to and from the United Arab Emirates – home to one of the world’s busiest hubs – are to be suspended for two weeks.

The UAE’s National Emergency Crisis and Disasters Management Authority (NCEMA) and General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has announced that passenger flights to, from and through the country will be suspended from 25 March for a period of two weeks, in order to “curb the spread of the Covid-19”.

Freight and emergency evacuation flights will still be permitted to operate.

The suspension affects major global hubs in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai-based Emirates has already announced that it will suspend most of its passenger flights from 25 March.

“Additional examination and isolation arrangements will be taken later should flights resume, in order to ensure the safety of passengers, air crews and airport personnel and their protection from infection risks,” state the NCEMA and the GCAA.

Dubai International Airport was the third-busiest airport in the world in 2018, handling 89 million passengers.

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