The Washington Post
Saudi Arabia-and the world-must take steps to make hajj safer for Muslims
Saudi Arabia-and the world-must take steps to make hajj safer for Muslims
By Mahjabeen Islam January 1 2016
Mahjabeen Islam is former president of the
Islamic Center of Greater Toledo.
It has become clear that thousands
of hajj pilgrims died Sept. 24 in Mina, Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi government
is sticking to its story of 769 fatalities — the number released two days after
the disaster. The combined numbers reported by various Muslim governments far
surpass this total — Iran alone reported more than 460 deaths
— and counts made by the Associated Press and Agence France-Presse news
agencies exceed 2,000, with hundreds more unaccounted for. Less than a week
after the tragedy, the Saudi vice minister of health stated that the death toll
had reached 4,173,
but the figure was later retracted.
An inquiry was promised, but the prognosis for
a speedy and fair investigation is poor. Transparency and accountability are
not Saudi strong suits. Still, more than enough is known to draw one important
conclusion: Muslims planning to take part in the annual five-day pilgrimage to
Mecca should be aware that until better crowd-control measures are put in place,
they will be putting their lives at risk.
The hajj is a journey of a lifetime for Muslims
and a transformative experience for many people. I, too, had some dramatic
experiences during my one hajj and two umrahs (minor pilgrimages), and I
treasure those memories. But I wouldn’t go again. Saudi arrogance and hostility
toward visitors, especially women, are too great.
Poor preparations of the pilgrims, along with a
language barrier, are significant problems. Far too many of the Saudi boy scouts
and soldiers who monitor and guide pilgrims speak only Arabic, so the majority
of pilgrims from the Muslim world are out of luck. Travel agencies in the various
countries are supposed to guide their clients through the steps of the hajj.
But a handful of people cannot accompany hundreds each step of the way. And
instructions can be misunderstood or forgotten.
During my hajj in 2004, we had been repeatedly
admonished to avoid attempting to retrieve lost sandals during the stoning of
the devil, or Jamarat, ritual, but I saw my friend do exactly that. She was
being swallowed up by a vortex of people, and we extricated her just in time
from a deadly crush. The death toll
was more than 240, and the moment is forever stamped in my memory. Two years
later, during the same ritual, 345 people were killed in a similar stampede.
Afterward, international outrage forced the Saudis to reconstruct the entrance
and exit to the area, and there were no more incidents. Until September’s
catastrophe.
What’s known about what happened is that a
panic broke out on narrow streets near the entrance to the Jamarat site, about
three miles from Mecca, but reports have been contradictory. Iran
and many other countries blamed Saudi mismanagement. The Lebanon-based
newspaper Ad-Diyar, citing witnesses, reported that a convoy escorting Prince
Mohammed bin Salman played a role in the incident by making some pilgrims turn
against the flow of the crowd. Saudi authorities denied this report and instead
blamed pilgrims for not following instructions. Other witnesses said closed
exits touched off the panic.
It’s clear that some simple, workable steps
need to be taken.
The administration of the hajj should be a
fully international effort. All Muslim countries should send a large contingent
of guides to Saudi Arabia months in advance. These guides should receive ground
training at each of the sites where the hajj rituals occur, especially with
regard to crowd control. During the hajj, they could then be stationed at
important locations wearing colored jackets denoting the country they represent
or the language they speak.
Each Muslim country should be responsible for
training its pilgrims. A training course on hajj rituals and crowd
responsibility should be created by Saudi Arabia and translated into the
various necessary languages. Formal hajj training sites should be established
in all countries with significant Muslim populations, and a hajj visa should be
issued only if a certificate of training is attached to the passport.
The hajj is a pillar of Islam and must be
completed once in our lives. But why would any Muslims make the pilgrimage
knowing that they risk injury or death? Muslims will not announce that they are
boycotting the hajj, for that seems blasphemous and could invite retribution.
But as parents and breadwinners with responsibilities to their families, they
simply will refrain from making travel plans.
The Saudis have a strong incentive to act. It
would be naive for them to think that Muslims won’t think twice before making
the hajj until definite, credible arrangements are made to ensure their safety.
According to the Al-Hayat
newspaper, Saudi Arabia received $16.5 billion from Muslim
pilgrimages in hajj in 2012. Saudi Arabia’s main source of revenue is oil.
Falling oil prices have contributed to a Saudi budget deficit of $98 billion
this year, with a projected shortfall next year of $87 billion. The Saudi
intervention in Yemen is costly. Discontent in
the royal family and rumors of a possible palace coup have been
reported. High
unemployment remains a problem. And now a horrific tragedy has
struck the hajj. Riyadh can no longer afford complacency.
Muslim countries and Saudi Arabia badly need to
conduct a transparent inquiry into the cause of September’s hajj crowd collapse
and make swift arrangements for a detailed, international orchestration of hajj
for the future. The survival of pilgrims is not all that is at stake. The Saudi
monarchy may be as well.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/saudi-arabias-deadly-pilgrimages/2016/01/01/593f66a6-b00e-11e5-b711-1998289ffcea_story.html
