Buried in a densely formulated statement, released on 22 June by the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah (the ‘lesser pilgrimage’ which can be undertaken at any time of the year), the government announces that whereas technically the pilgrimage is not cancelled, by implication of the severe restrictions that are now imposed it effectively is. Because as per the official statement ‘it has been decided that Hajj for this year (1441 H/2020 AD) will be held whereby a very limited number of pilgrims from various nationalities who already reside in Saudi Arabia, would be able to perform it’.
Media around the world were quick to pick up on this news item; the New York Times reported widespread grief among Muslim worldwide. In contrast, others noted both disappointment and acceptance on the part of would-be pilgrims.
Under normal circumstances, over 2 million pilgrims take part in this important religious rite. The Hajj is a key obligation which every Muslim with the financial means and required physical condition is required to perform at least once in a lifetime. It is considered one of the so-called ‘Five Pillars of Islam’.
It is exactly for that reason that Muslims around the world so eagerly awaited a formal position from Saudi Arabia on what would happen with Hajj because of the Covid-19 pandemic. For that same reason, the Kingdom held off a definitive stance for as long as possible. With so much at stake, Saudi Arabia played for time, while simultaneously swinging into action to curb the spread of the dreaded Coronavirus. Even before the Kingdom recorded its first real breakouts, religious scholars invoked Islamic law to backup government measures to restrict access to the Grand Mosque of Mecca and Mosque of the Prophet in Medina.
When domestic infection rates began to grow, lockdowns were imposed and strictly enforced. Even during the month of Ramadan, the authorities did not relent. Traditionally, this annual month of fasting is a festive period, and Eid al-Fitr, the feast celebrating the end of the fast, is a joyous occasion comparable to Christmas – also in terms of its economic significance. As noted elsewhere, the Saudi government also took advantage of Ramadan to postpone a decision on the Hajj: Dealing with the immediate concerns of Ramadan first, before turning its attention to the pilgrimage as the next high-risk event amidst the Covid-19 situation.
For some Muslim countries, the suspense was too much to bear, and they took measures in their own hands. On 2 June, Indonesia, the most populous Muslim country in the world, had already prohibited its citizens from taking part, other countries followed suit so that prior to the announcement by the Saudis, several countries had decided to prevent pilgrims from travelling to the Kingdom.
Such measures, and especially this year’s drastic decision to bar all foreign pilgrims from entering the country, also comes at a huge economic cost. Aside from the astronomical revenues from oil exports, religion is Saudi Arabia’s second ‘export commodity’: A large portion of that, US$ 12 billion or no less than 7% of Saudi GDP, is generated by pilgrim expenditures.
Hosting the pilgrimage is also a matter of huge prestige and has been throughout history. This is why, in 1986, the Saudi monarch adopted the title ‘Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques’, a style also held by other rulers who have held control of the cities of Mecca and Medina, where the Prophet Muhammad resided during his mission in the seventh century. Also, since the 1980s, Saudi Arabia has deployed massive amounts from its wealth derived from oil exports to expand the mosques of Mecca and Medina. The then ruling King Fahd bin Abdulaziz (r. 1982-2005) awarded this project to the construction company of the Bin Laden family, whose scion Osama later became a severe embarrassment to the Kingdom. These projects have also invited criticism for other reasons, namely because of its negative effects on the architectural heritage in the two cities.
In the past, performing Hajj was full of danger, throughout the arduous journey across often inhospitable terrain and into the deserts of Arabia, the pilgrims were exposed to threats of all kind, ranging from exposure to inclement weather and disease, to robbery by marauding tribes and other forms of violence in times of conflict and political turmoil. As we have now learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, disease remains a real risk. In order to prepare pilgrims for possible bad news, the Saudi authorities released a study by the King Abdulaziz Foundation for Research and Archives (KAFRA), pointing out that since the tenth century there have been some 40 instances when the Hajj was either cancelled or severely disrupted due to warfare or pandemics.
With the advent of modernity, other challenges are added. New means of transportation, first the steamship, then the automobile, and finally the introduction of commercial aviation, has led to an increase in the volume of pilgrim traffic from the nineteenth century onward. But especially in the last few decades, pilgrim numbers have mushroomed as levels of prosperity throughout the Muslim world have risen significantly. Increasing numbers of Muslims are joining the middle classes, acquiring the means to undertake the coveted journey to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
The combined effect of modern transport technology and economic development has turned the Hajj also into a logistics nightmare for the organising country. To meet the challenge of shepherding millions of worshippers through the very confined spaces of the city of Mecca and surrounding valleys in the course of the exactly appointed period of three days, the Kingdom has established a special ministry, charged with coordinating between the other ministries and government agencies involved in this demanding and delicate operation.
Especially since the new millennium, the figures of those making it to Saudi Arabia have grown exponentially, peaking at 3.5 million pilgrims in 2012. In the following years, numbers hovered between 2 and 2.5 million, as the Saudis reduced the international quota by 25% and for domestic pilgrims by 50%, so as to not inhibit the execution of further projects for the expansion and improvement of facilities in and around Mecca.
Even with such measures in place, and leaving aside outbreaks like the Covid-19 pandemic, also in this time and age, performing the pilgrimage is not free of risk and danger. In recent years, there have been various incidents, ranging from people getting crushed in stampedes or by collapsing cranes on construction sites, to pilgrims falling victim to fires raging through campsites.