Saudi Gazette report MAKKAH — Last year a mentally ill man got into a state of frenzy and broke several lamps near Ismail Stone inside the Grand Mosque, Makkah daily reported. Few days ago, a Turkish mental patient killed another patient at Makkah Mental Hospital. The nurses could not break them apart while the Turkish man was calling the victim “Satan”. Eventually, the Sudanese man, the victim, died. Last week, a man who looked mentally ill and wore shabby clothes was shouting at a Grand Mosque supervisor and an Algerian Umrah performer, saying “Makkah is for all Muslims and non-Muslims. No one can stop me from going to the House of Allah. I sleep here, eat here, and drink here.” Luckily, he was in a good mood. Every year, scores of mentally ill patients are seen around or inside the Grand Mosque, searching for peace of mind. However, they are like a ticking bomb that can go off any minute. They could lose control any moment and become violent. The image of those patients can be used by detractors to harm the Kingdom's reputation. Several Umrah performers and visitors of the Grand Mosque shared their encounters with mentally ill patients inside this sacred place. Abdullah Al-Harbi said a mentally ill patient once tugged on his wife's abaya while he and his wife were shopping. “I got out of control and beat him up, not knowing that he was a deranged man. People stopped me and I reported him to authorities to lock him away because he's dangerous,” he said. He called upon authorities to crack down on those patients inside the Grand Mosque. Muhammad Erfan, a Malaysian who had come for Umrah, said those patients threaten security and stability of visitors inside the Grand Mosque, which is a place for worshipping not a hospital for the mentally ill. The patients could attack children and women. Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques' Affairs spokesman Ahmad Al-Mansouri said his teams are working on ending all negative practices inside the Grand Mosque. Makkah Health Affairs spokesman Abdulwahab Al-Shalabi did not respond to the questions sent to him regarding this subject.
