The land of the two holy mosques, Saudi Arabia, plays host to millions of pilgrims who come to the country for Haj and Umrah every year. For the individuals involved, the pilgrimage is an event of a lifetime, but from the news point of view it is a new, massive story every year — the sheer logistics, the organization and the Kingdom’s efforts to enhance services for the guests of God would make it front page news anywhere; add to that the millions of personal stories behind it — the long journeys, the hardships, the devotion, the longing, the joy. From the very beginning, Arab News published reports on the Haj on its front page with pictures throughout the five-day event. Additional reports, stories and photos are published on inside pages reflecting the importance given by the paper to the pilgrims. That has continued for the past 30 years.
Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena takes special interest in the coverage of Haj, the largest annual gathering of Muslims in the world. Every year, he sends a contingent of reporters and photographers from the paper to the holy sites. He has also himself played the role of international commentator of the event, appearing on TV stations such as CNN, BBC and NBC, emphasizing the significance of Haj and its spiritual and peaceful message.
In the beginning, the paper was dependent heavily on dispatches from the Saudi Press Agency, the official news agency of the Kingdom. Things are very different now. Thanks to its dedicated band of editors and reporters, Arab News provides its readers first-hand information about what is happening at the holy sites.
Siraj Wahab, Mahmoud Ahmad, Faisal Ali, Essam Al-Ghalib and Hassan Adawi, to name a few, have revolutionized coverage. Apart from the day to day reporting, their discerning eye has caught the unexpected, communicated the personal stories and impressions of the pilgrims and, when necessary, turned the spotlight on problems encountered by the faithful. Siraj Wahab’s informative and interesting Haj Reflections in the last four years have given the readers a new dimension of the pilgrimage. The team have also been there to report news on the occasional tragedies that sometimes happen at such a mammoth gathering.
The presence of foreign news agencies in recent years has further improved coverage with excellent pictures and reports. Although SPA was hitherto a source for photos, they often lacked proper captions. SPA reports on Haj events, too, were often monotonous, lacking color and much-needed information. Its reports, in disorganized bits and pieces (instead of updated comprehensive reports like other agencies), made the editors’ task extremely difficult.
That said, SPA remains an important source for official news relating to the event, especially messages from Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd and from Crown Prince Abdullah to pilgrims and the government’s Haj regulations. Also SPA’s confirmation is needed to publish reports of accidents during Haj seasons. From it also come the announcement on the beginning of Haj and the date for the standing in prayer on the plain of Arafat.
The various ministers of Haj over the years, entrusted with the task of administering pilgrimage affairs, have done a fine job in enhancing media coverage. Particular credit should go to Iyad Madani, a former media executive, who during his period in office ensured improved coverage. He used the electronic media to convey information about Haj management and related matters. Dr. Fouad Al-Farsy, the present Haj minister, is expected to develop this area.
Soon after taking office, Al-Farsy met with Haj Ministry officials to study what more needs to be done to improve Haj services. He has already instructed foreign travel and tourism agencies providing Haj services to sign individual contracts with pilgrims explaining their services in order to avoid malpractice. At present most of the 1,300 foreign Haj service providers do not provide individual contracts.
Al-Farsy’s move should help solve many problems faced by foreign pilgrims. There were reports, highlighted in Arab News, that many companies failed to provide accommodation to pilgrims in Makkah, leaving them to fend for themselves and bed down on the streets and courtyards of the Grand Mosque.
During the last Haj season, the ministry had to assign a new local Haj company to look after more than 2,700 pilgrims after the company which brought them failed to deliver on its promises. Fake firms complicate the problem leaving many pilgrims in the holy sites without food or shelter, which they have paid for.
Arab News has been a valuable source of information for both our readers and pilgrims. Our veteran Islamic Affairs Editor Adil Salahi publishes a series of articles on Haj before the beginning of the event every year, explaining every religious duty of Haj, its message and significance. He also answers questions of our readers on Haj and Umrah.
The last three decades have witnessed massive development in the Kingdom’s services for pilgrims, which again the paper has always highlighted. The government had made it a point that all the amenities available to the pilgrims be state-of-the-art, while hugely enhancing the sites of the holy mosques themselves. Arab News has focused on these government efforts through its regular reports as well as through special supplements.
Anticipating considerable growth in the number of faithful undertaking the pilgrimage, King Fahd ordered a complete review of the Haj amenities as well as the design of the holy sites. The result was that in 1988 the king laid the foundation stone for what is in fact the third Saudi expansion of the Haram Mosque in Makkah.
This expansion is arguably the most spectacular and is part of a multibillion-riyal modernization program for both holy mosques. The works at the Grand Mosque site in Makkah have included the expansion of the western wing of the existing mosque. The mosque can now accommodate more than a million worshippers during the peak Umrah and Haj seasons.
Arab News also witnessed the expansion of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah, the largest in history. Work on the project actually started in 1985 before the enhancement of the Haram Mosque in Makkah. The result is that the Madinah Mosque can now accommodate over a million worshippers during peak seasons.
The King Fahd Haj Research Institute, an affiliate of Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah, has played a major role in promoting Haj services. Since its inception, the institute has carried out over 300 studies and research works to help government and Haj related agencies provide best possible services for pilgrims, thus avoiding the problems encountered in previous Haj seasons.
According to its dean, Dr. Osama Al-Bar, the institute carries out studies on sites and buildings in Makkah and Madinah as well as on the potential obstacles in the search for solutions to ensure the smooth movement of pilgrims.
The redesigning of the Jamrat (stoning) area in Mina is another major project carried out by the institute, Al-Bar said. Taking three years to plan and designed to raise the throughput from 100,000 to 500,000 pilgrims an hour, it incorporates safety features and state-of-the-art crowd control measures to reduce the possibility of repeats of the stampedes and resultant deaths that have marked some Haj seasons in recent years.
These behind-the-scenes stories are all part of the bigger Haj story which Arab News tells afresh each year. And each year coverage of Haj and Umrah events is a fresh challenge — informing pilgrims of the Kingdom’s rules and regulations, taking the woes and problems of pilgrims to authorities, discovering new personal stories, recounting new personal tragedies and triumphs. There is always room for improvement and the paper is always ready to come up with new ideas — but much of that depends on feedback from readers.
(P.K. Abdul Ghafour is a senior journalist specializing in Islamic and Saudi affairs.)
