THE recent and tragic incident following a stampede in Mina during this year's Haj was really saddening. The incident left more than 700 pilgrims dead and over 900 injured in one of the Mina streets. After many years, since the last incident in Haj, the recent one came as a surprise. It broke our hearts to see the number of casualties rising every hour after the crush had happened until the toll was announced. Our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their families, and we pray for a speedy recovery of the injured. It was sad, at the same time, to see some voices, ignoring the gravity of the situation, taking advantage of this incident to achieve a political agenda. Since the establishment of Saudi Arabia and the country has been taking care of Haj and the pilgrims. It is spending billions and billions of dollars to serve the pilgrims and ensure a safe and smooth Haj. Only the sick-minded and ill-hearted persons will deny what Saudi Arabia has done and is doing to serve the pilgrims. It is a pride for all of Saudis that we have the honor to serve. The accident should not overshadow the effort by the country to do all what is needed to serve the pilgrims. And people should be well-advised to leave the politics out of the religious duty. The Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al-Asheikh has strongly warned against politicizing the pilgrimage and said this is totally against Islam. The sacred Islamic duty should not be turned into a political forum or used for other worldly purposes that may nullify the noble Islamic meanings of the pilgrimage. He said in a statement, "Politicizing the pilgrimage is against Shariah. It also represents a gross violation of the Kingdom's rules and regulations." To those who are attacking the Kingdom, I ask them to be fair and not narrow-minded. Do they even know how challenging it is to control over two million pilgrims in a space of 8 square kilometers? Do they know how challenging it is to conduct safe movement of all pilgrims from Mina to Arafat and back again to Muzdalifah and then Mina? Do they know how challenging it is to control this large number of pilgrims inside the Jamarat bridge? Have they seen the Saudi youth at holy sites providing aid to those in need. Have they seen the security officials working round the clock — awake when they are asleep and at all location when they need them? Saudi Arabia is used to such unjustified criticism and unnecessary attacks, and the country will not pay any heed to them. It is, however, reported that the reason behind the Mina stampede was the reversing of the flow of movement, which should have been unidirectional, by a group of 300 pilgrims, who ignored the rules and direction given to them, by going against the flow of the crowd of people going to Jamarat. The flow of pilgrims from two opposite directions resulted in the overcrowding. This caused panic and chaos, which in this case proved a nightmare and a killer. Innocent souls were lost in this tragedy following the stampede and crush that ensued. Despite that the Saudi security forces and all departments should be commended for their quick response and their tremendous effort. Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman was quick to act and ordered a review of the Kingdom's Haj plans and entire procedures for the annual Haj pilgrimage. He directed the agencies concerned to carry out a prompt investigation into circumstances that led to the tragedy, and present him the report at the earliest. King Salman said, "Regardless of the findings of the investigations, we will not stop the process of improving the mechanism and style of functioning during the Haj season. Our responsibility and obligation in serving the Guests of God are immense and we see it as an honor." We will wait for the official results of the investigation to be announced and till then we all should not jump to any conclusions. To the voices against the Kingdom we say, we are not waiting for a thank you from anyone when we are proudly serving the pilgrims. We take pride and honor in our work and service to the pilgrims. I would like to remind all, in case they have either forgotten or do not know, that many families send their children to volunteer in serving pilgrims during Haj because it is a great honor. As for the country that is instigating hatred against Saudi Arabia, well, I suggest they look into their past history in Haj and the chaos they have caused before they even open their mouth. It is no secret now that they have announced their ill intentions against our country. Yet, we will always look forward and look for the best ways to serve the pilgrims. We will pay no attention to them mocking our efforts. They should know that we are a very positive and forward-looking nation in facing every challenge that comes our way. — The writer can be reached at [email protected]. Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
