This refers to the report “Haj through the eyes of a Russian secret agent.” (Sept. 8)
Saudi Arabia’s handling of Haj management is impeccable. It leaves no stone unturned in facilitating pilgrims at every stage of the pilgrimage to make them perform the rituals with much ease.
A hundred years back it was not that easy to undertake journey to Haj. Besides adverse climatic situation and difficult roads, there was always the fear of being looted by desert robbers.
The Saudi government, since the time of King Abdul Aziz, began making efforts gradually to make pilgrimage a very safe and hassle-free journey. This earned much appreciation from the pilgrims from all over the world, as also all the Muslim governments.
It is in this regard that Iran’s undue criticism of the Haj management is unjustifiable. Iran should change its attitude for the sake of global peace and Muslim unity. It has been observed that the country looks for flimsy grounds to target the Saudi government and its managing of Haj affairs, maybe for some ulterior motive.
Iran has a history of having troubled relations with its neighboring countries. This is besides its muscle-flexing policy in the matter of certain countries like Yemen, Iraq, Lebanon by setting up proxy wars through the help of Houthis, Hezbollah, which is condemnable. — Anees Lokhande, Jubail
Iran’s Haj politics
