Saudi Arabia’s management of the largest annual human migration on the planet is closely watched due to the importance of the rite in the Islamic religion, the participation of Muslims from around the globe and the immense logistical complexities of the event. This year’s Hajj was exceptionally challenging for authorities with a trifecta of serious threats including two public health concerns — MERS and Ebola — and ISIS-inspired religious extremism. With the 2014 Hajj now coming to a close, it appears the Kingdom can claim another successful year in managing over 1.3 million visitors.
In separate announcements by Saudi Arabia’s Minster of Health and a Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman, the Kingdom confirmed that it has safeguarded the event from disease and extremist threats in what the Reuters news agency called a “sigh of relief” from authorities.
A man performing the Hajj prays. Photo via SPA.
Saudi Arabia was battling two public health threats in the recent rise of Ebola in nearby countries in West Africa and the emergence of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) virus in Saudi Arabia earlier this year that led to the replacement of Saudi Arabia’s health minister. The spread of MERS has recently subsided from worrisome levels earlier in the year, and to help combat the new threat from Ebola, the Kingdom banned pilgrims form Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia from performing the Hajj this year.
“I am pleased to announce the hajj was free of all epidemic diseases,” said acting Minister of Health Adel Al Fakeih, who also serves as Minister of Labor, as reported in The Guardian.
With the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, Saudi Arabia’s government and religious establishment have been actively denouncing the group as it joins the United States, European, and other Arab states in countering the group’s territorial gains in Syria and Iraq.
During the Hajj, Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti delivered a sermon specifically denouncing extremist sentiments. “Your religion is threatened. Your security is threatened….These criminals carry out rapes, bloodshed and looting,” he said, according to the AFP via Al Arabiya.
In photos released by Saudi Arabia’s SPA, security was shown to be tight, but not restrictive to the flow of the million-plus in attendance in Mecca and Medina. Some photos show security forces actively helping the elderly and others in Mecca. Reuters reports that Saudi security services “ringed Islam’s sacred city with checkpoints and other measures to prevent people arriving for the pilgrimage without authorization.”
“Everything went as planned … and security was at its best situation,” said Saudi Interior Ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki.
Saudi Arabia capped the number of pilgrims this year in order to ensure that the under-construction Grand Mosque in Mecca was able to handle the flow of pilgrims. Photos showed numerous cranes and related construction equipment dotting the Mecca skyline.
King Abdullah congratulated the Kingdom’s citizens and leaders for a successful Hajj. “I congratulate you on this occasion of the blessed Eid Al-Adha . . . on your honorable service and colossal efforts toward the visitors to God’s House [Hajjis], enabling them to conduct their rituals with ease and comfort and in peace and tranquility,” according to Asharq Alawsat. “You are the grandsons of great men who, together with their leader, the founder of this nation, King Abdulaziz, built this country. Today, you are continuing their mission of generosity and sacrifice, a great and serious responsibility which can only be undertaken by those whose hearts are filled with faith, loyalty and sincerity.”
Officials from the Health Ministry announce an epidemic-free Hajj. Photo via SPA.
