TAIF, 26 December 2006 — Makkah becomes a haven for illegal residents who flock to the holy city not just to perform their duty before God, but also to earn a little extra cash during the high holy season. Many manage to sneak through despite the security checkpoints that ring the city. Usually they simply try to blend in by donning the white fabric wrap (the ihram) that is the uniform of the Muslim pilgrim. One illegal resident, however, took it a little too far, and instead of being nondescript, he was very prominent, according to a report in yesterday’s Al-Watan Arabic daily. The man decided not only to put on the ihram, but also to wear a red houndstooth shumagh, the Saudi headdress. Of course police immediately noticed the weirdo in the ihram and the shumagh trying to whistle casually past the police checkpoint. They detained him — not for the fashion faux pas, but for not having a residency visa.
