Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier, minister of interior and chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, talks to Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh in Mina on Friday evening. — SPA Saudi Gazette report
MINA — Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Naif, deputy premier, minister of interior and chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, visited Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh and members of the Senior Ulema Council in Mina on Friday evening. The Grand Mufti said that many envy the Kingdom. He told the Crown Prince that what happened in Mina is not his responsibility because he exerted great efforts to make sure that pilgrims perform their rituals in ease and comfort. What happened was beyond human control, the Grand Mufti said, stressing that the Saudi leadership carried out its duties fully well. “As for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable,” Al-Asheikh told Crown Prince Muhammad. The Crown Prince has ordered an investigation into Thursday's stampede.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman also ordered “a revision” of how the Haj is organised. chairman of the Shoura Council Abdullah Al-Asheikh stressed that pilgrims must stick to “the rules and regulations taken by the security personnel... In doing so they protect their lives, their security and facilitate their performing of the rituals.” In comments carried late Friday by the Saudi Press Agency, the Shoura chairman called on citizens and Muslims to ignore “the biased campaigns carried out by the enemies of this pure country, to question the great efforts exerted by the Kingdom to serve the holy sites, their construction and expansion, and to serve the visitors and pilgrims.” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that it would be wrong to “point a finger at Saudi Arabia which does its best,” to make the annual Haj pilgrimage possible. “I do not sympathize with the hostile statements against Saudi Arabia,” Erdogan told journalists in Ankara. On Friday King Salman asserted that Saudi Arabia won't allow any hidden hand to tamper with the Arab and Islamic unity, and that the Kingdom will continue supporting the Arab and Muslim efforts for peace and stability. Welcoming the Guests of God, the King said: “As Allah Almighty has honored us to serve the Two Holy Mosques, and the pilgrims to the House of Allah, we — the leadership and people of Saudi Arabia — are dedicated to exert all our efforts and capabilities to ensure ease and comfort for Guests of God, as well as their security and safety.”
