Saudi Arabia announced on Monday that it will celebrate a “very limited” hajj this year, with pilgrims already in the kingdom authorized to perform the annual ritual as it moves to curb the largest coronavirus outbreak in the Gulf.
The decision marks the first time in modern Saudi Arabia’s history that Muslims outside the kingdom are prohibited from performing Hajj, which last year attracted 2.5 million pilgrims.
The move to cut the five-day event, slated for the end of July, is fraught with political and economic dangers and comes after several Muslim nations withdrew from the ritual that forms one of the main pillars of Islam.
The kingdom’s hajj ministry said it will be open to various nationalities already in Saudi Arabia, but did not specify a number.
“It was decided to celebrate the pilgrimage this year with a very limited number … with different nationalities in the kingdom,” the official Saudi press agency said, quoting the ministry.
“This decision is made to ensure that hajj is performed safely from a public health perspective … and in accordance with the teachings of Islam.”
Hajj, a must for Muslims without disabilities at least once in their lives, could be a major source of contagion, as it takes millions of pilgrims to crowded religious sites.
The decision comes as Saudi Arabia struggles to contain a significant increase in infections, which have now grown to more than 161,000 cases, the highest in the Gulf, and more than 1,300 deaths.
But despite the increase, Saudi Arabia on Sunday moved to end the nightly coronavirus curfew across the kingdom and lift restrictions on businesses, including cinemas and other entertainment venues.
Sensible decision
The announcement of celebrating a limited hajj will likely disappoint millions of Muslim pilgrims from around the world who often invest their lifelong savings and endure long waiting lists to make the journey.
But it would probably appease domestic pilgrims, who feared the ritual would be canceled entirely for the first time in recent history.
“Saudi Arabia has chosen the safest option that allows it to save face within the Muslim world and at the same time ensure that they are not viewed as detrimental to public health,” Umar Karim, visiting member of Royal United Services, told AFP Institute of London.
“But there are many unanswered questions: What is the exact number of pilgrims that will be allowed? What is the criteria for your selection? How many Saudis, how many non-Saudis?
Saudi authorities said the Hajj ministry will hold a press conference on Tuesday to give details.
In an apparent attempt to give the decision an appearance of religious sanction, the Saudi Arabia-based Muslim World League said it supported the government’s move to the health and safety of pilgrims, according to state media.
The decision still runs the risk of upsetting hardline Muslims outside the kingdom for whom religion trumps health concerns.
It could also push Saudi Arabia’s rivals to renew scrutiny of its custody of Islam’s holiest sites, the kingdom’s most powerful source of political legitimacy.
A series of deadly disasters over the years, including a 2015 stampede that killed more than 2,300 worshipers, sparked criticism of the management of the hajj kingdom.
“Difficult year”
A diluted hajj would represent a major revenue loss for the kingdom, which is already recovering from the twin shocks of the virus-induced slowdown and a drop in oil prices.
The smallest year-round pilgrimage was already suspended in March.
Together, they add $ 12 billion to the Saudi economy each year, according to government figures.
“This has been a really difficult year, with Saudi Arabia facing declining incomes from all sectors: oil, tourism, domestic consumption and now umrah and hajj,” Karen Young, an academic at the American Enterprise Institute, told AFP.
A large-scale hajj with millions of pilgrims was unlikely after authorities advised Muslims in late March to postpone preparations due to the rapidly spreading disease.
Earlier this month, Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim nation, emerged as one of the first countries to withdraw from the pilgrimage after pressuring Riyadh to clarify. An Indonesian minister called it a “very bitter and difficult decision.”
Malaysia, Senegal, and Singapore did the same with similar announcements.
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