A large-scale hajj, which attracted around 2.5 million pilgrims last year, seems unlikely this time. (File)
Riyadh:
Saudi Arabia is set to cut or cancel this year’s hajj pilgrimage for the first time in modern history, observers say, a perilous decision as cases of coronavirus increase.
Muslim nations are pressuring Riyadh to make its very late decision whether the annual ritual will take place as planned in late July.
But as the kingdom negotiates an appeal sown with political and economic risks in a tinderbox region, time is running out to organize the logistics of one of the largest mass gatherings in the world.
Large-scale hajj, which attracted around 2.5 million pilgrims last year, seems increasingly unlikely after authorities advised Muslims in late March to delay preparations due to the rapid spread of the disease .
“It is a mix between holding a nominal hajj and suppressing it,” a South Asian official in contact with the Saudi hajj authorities told AFP.
A Saudi official told AFP: “The decision will soon be made and announced.”
Indonesia, the most populous Muslim nation in the world, withdrew from the pilgrimage this month after pressuring Riyadh for clarity, a minister calling it “a very bitter and difficult decision”.
Malaysia, Senegal and Singapore have followed suit with similar announcements.
Many other countries with Muslim populations – from Egypt to Morocco to Turkey, Lebanon and Bulgaria – said they were still awaiting the decision from Riyadh.
In countries like France, religious leaders have urged Muslims to “postpone” their pilgrimage plans until next year because of the risks that prevail.
Hajj, a must for Muslims valid at least once in their life, represents a major potential source of contagion because it takes millions of pilgrims to congested religious sites.
But any decision to limit or cancel the event risks annoying Muslim extremists for whom religion prevails over health problems.
It could also trigger a new review of the Saudi guardian of the holiest sites in Islam – the kingdom’s most powerful source of political legitimacy.
A series of deadly disasters over the years, including a scramble in 2015 that killed up to 2,300 worshipers, has drawn criticism over the kingdom’s management of hajj.
“Saudi Arabia is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea,” Umar Karim, visiting researcher at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AFP.
“The delay in announcing his decision shows that he understands the political consequences of canceling the hajj or reducing its magnitude.”
“Buy time”
The kingdom “saves time” by walking with caution, said the South Asian official.
“At the last minute, if Saudi Arabia says” we are ready to do a complete hajj, “(logistically) many countries will not be able to” participate, “he said.
In the midst of a continuous suspension of international flights, a reduced hajj with only local residents is a likely scenario, added the official.
The decision to cancel the pilgrimage would be a first since the kingdom was founded in 1932.
Saudi Arabia has successfully organized the pilgrimage during the previous Ebola and MERS epidemics.
But it has struggled to contain the virus amid a surge in daily cases and deaths since authorities began to loosen the lock nationwide in late May.
Sources in Saudi hospitals say intensive care beds are filling quickly and an increasing number of health workers are contracting the virus, with the total number of cases exceeding 130,000. On Monday, the death toll has exceeded the 1,000.
To counter this spike, authorities have tightened locking restrictions this month in the city of Jeddah, the gateway to the pilgrimage city of Mecca.
“Sorry”
“Hajj is the most important spiritual journey in the life of any Muslim, but if Saudi Arabia proceeds in this scenario, it will not only put pressure on its own health system,” said Yasmine Farouk of Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“He could also be held largely responsible for the mitigation of the pandemic.”
A canceled or watered down hajj would represent a significant loss of revenue for the kingdom, which is already in shock from the two shocks of the slowdown induced by the virus and the fall in oil prices.
The year-long Umrah pilgrimage was already suspended in March.
Together, they add $ 12 billion to the Saudi economy each year, according to government figures.
A negative decision would likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims around the world who often invest their lives and endure long waiting lists for travel.
“I can’t help but be heartbroken – I’ve been waiting for years,” Indonesian civil servant Ria Taurisnawati, 37, told AFP, sobbing.
“All my preparations were made, the clothes were ready and I received the necessary vaccination. But God has another plan.”
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
