OVER TWO MN PEOPLE BEGIN HAJ
TERROR THREAT Security agencies on alert, with Saudi Arabia facing threats from alQaeda, Islamic State and Houthi missiles
MECCA: More than two million Muslims from around the globe started the Haj pilgrimage on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, one of the world’s largest annual gatherings in a country undergoing unprecedented change.
The ultra-conservative kingdom —where religion remains a guiding force amid dramatic social and economic reforms — has mobilised vast resources for the six-day journey, one of the five pillars of Islam.
Every Muslim is required to complete the Haj journey to Islam’s holiest sites at least once in their lifetime if they are healthy enough and have the means to do so.
Tens of thousands of security personnel have been deployed for the pilgrimage, and the kingdom has spent billions of dollars of its vast oil revenues on security.
Saudi Arabia faces threats from al-Qaeda militants and a local faction of the Islamic State group. Days earlier, the interior ministry acknowledged arresting a Saudi wearing an explosive vest in the kingdom’s central al-Qassim region who shot at security forces.
A Saudi-led war in Yemen against Houthi rebels drags on without an end in sight. The Shia rebels have fired over 150 ballistic missiles on the kingdom during a conflict that has seen Saudi airstrikes hit markets and hospitals, killing civilians.
Security measures are also in place across the kingdom, particularly in Mina, where some of the haj’s deadliest incidents have occurred.
The worst in recorded history took place only three years ago. On September 24, 2015, a stampede and crush of pilgrims in Mina killed at least 2,426 people, according to an Associated Press count.
The official Saudi toll of 769 people killed and 934 injured has not changed since only two days afterward. The kingdom has never addressed the discrepancy, nor has it released any results of an investigation authorities promised to conduct over the disaster.
This year, the Saudis have launched a “smart Haj” initiative, with apps to help pilgrims with everything from travel plans to medical care.
The interior ministry said on Saturday that the number of pilgrims arriving in Mecca had already surpassed the two million mark, mostly from abroad including large contingents from Egypt, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Although the kingdom’s young de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, has spearheaded change in the kingdom, religion remains a key force in Saudi Arabia.