Hajj pilgrimage begins amid tight security
MECCA, Saudi Arabia — Saudi Arabia sought to assure the public the kingdom was safe and free of health scares as an estimated two million Muslims streamed into a tent city Thursday near Mecca for the start of the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage.
Earlier this year, Saudi authorities banned people from Sierra Leone, Liberia and Guinea — the countries hardest hit by the Ebola epidemic — from getting visas as a precaution against the virus. The decision has affected a total of 7,400 pilgrims from the three countries.
Ebola is believed to have sickened more than 7,100 people in West Africa and killed more than 3,300, according to the World Health Organization.
The hajj sees massive crowds every year from around the world gathering around the cube-shaped Kaaba in Mecca as part of a five-day spiritual journey meant to cleanse the faithful of sin and bring them closer to God. All male pilgrims dress in simple white robes as a sign of equality before God.
The kingdom has not discovered a single case of Ebola so far and is taking measures to ensure the safety and health of the pilgrims, said Manal Mansour, the head of Saudi Health Ministry’s department for prevention of infectious diseases.
“The most important precaution that (the kingdom) has taken was to restrict visas from the affected areas,” she said.
Upon arrival to the kingdom, pilgrims were asked to fill out “medical screening cards with data” and asked about their travels during the past 21 days, Mansour said.
There were other health concerns related to the hajj earlier this year. The kingdom had to improve its anti-infection measures after it was hit by an upswing in the number of people who had contracted a respiratory virus known as the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome in the spring. There have been more than 750 cases of MERS in the kingdom since 2012, of which 319 people died, including several health workers.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman for the Saudi Interior Ministry, said the kingdom was also facing continuous threats from terrorists, but was prepared to ensure a safe hajj.
Saudi Arabia and four other Arab countries are taking part in U.S.-led airstrikes against Islamic State and al-Qaida fighters in Iraq and Syria. Militants have vowed revenge.
Al-Qaida militants launched deadly attacks about a decade ago in Saudi Arabia aimed at toppling the monarchy, though none were directed at Mecca. No major attacks have happened in recent years during the hajj.
“We have confronted al-Qaida in Saudi Arabia and we have defeated them,” Al-Turki said. “But of course at the same time being we are still considering the threat, which is a continuous threat, and therefore we have actually enforced our security readiness at all the borders of Saudi Arabia.”