Every year before the start of the pilgrimage season, the Ministry of Haj, in cooperation with the Haj missions of other countries, launches an education campaign. The aim of the campaign is to tell pilgrims what they need to know about Haj in order to facilitate their time in the Kingdom. One contentious issue of concern to ministry officials, Haj missions and the pilgrims themselves is the pilgrims’ accommodation in Mina, the plain outside Makkah where pilgrims stay for most of the period of the Haj. This is particularly important because many pilgrims find themselves obliged to stay outside the recognized boundaries of Mina. Scholars have ruled that in view of the large numbers of pilgrims and the limited space available not all pilgrims can be accommodated within the borders. Thus it is permissible to stay outside the boundaries as long as the tents are joined together.
It is this very use of tents instead of more convenient solutions that has complicated the situation. Spacious, comfortable, fire-proof tents have been put up at a cost of some SR3 billion but even this has not solved the problem.
Many pilgrims still have to stay outside the original boundaries. The ministry continues to deal with the situation as a fait accompli, hoping to avoid unpleasant reactions from pilgrims who may notice that they have been accommodated a long way outside the boundaries.
In their home countries, their local scholars tell them each pilgrim must spend the night inside the boundaries of Mina. Failure or inability to do so means that the pilgrim must sacrifice an animal. Though this is the ruling of most Islamic schools of thought, many still say the requirement is not mandatory. Nevertheless, each year thousands of pilgrims leave their accommodation when they realize the tents are outside Mina. They then move inside the boundaries and overrun already crowded areas and exacerbate the problems.
The ministry must be excused for dealing with the situation by seeking to defuse the tension. Those who should not be excused, however, are all the other authorities. Though they are aware of the problem, they have failed to come up with a solution. In fact, there is a simple one: build multi-story buildings capable of accommodating the large numbers of present and future pilgrims. Not only is this reasonable but it is also something that could be done within the accepted boundaries of Mina and so satisfy all religious scholars and opinions.
— Arab News Local Press 24 September 2003
