What happened in Mina could happen anywhere in the world. No doubt, it was a sad incident that shocked everybody, but the world should know the whole truth and not just one side of the story.
Those who wage a propaganda campaign against the Kingdom are of two types: Either they have never been to the Kingdom during Haj and did not see the vast extensive arrangement by the Saudi authorities to serve the pilgrims, or they are paid by some countries to write against the Kingdom.
Those who have written and tried to show others that we have made mistakes and cannot make proper arrangements for Haj, should tell us about the human rights situation and about the poverty rate in their countries. Those who wrongly hold Saudi Arabia responsible for the death of 767 pilgrims in Mina tragedy should also speak out against those who killed children and people in Syria.
Those who blew this incident out of proportion to malign the Kingdom should know that they cannot manage a gathering of 2,000 people in a small place, let alone helping and serving 2 million in an area less than 4 km. Saudi Arabia is considered a pioneer in managing huge crowds, thanks to Haj and presence of a large number of Umrah pilgrims during Ramadan.
Saudis feel proud and honored to serve pilgrims from all over the world and teach the younger generation to do so. It maintains the highest degree of equality when dealing with pilgrims and does not prefer Saudi pilgrims to others. They are all treated alike.
Saudi Arabia strictly considers Haj as a religious duty and so pilgrims do not pay any taxes. They get everything at fair price. All pilgrims are provided health services for free. Big movable hospitals provide health services at the holy places free of any charge.
The Kingdom also hosts every year thousands of people who do not have the ability to come for Haj. Then there are guests of the king who perform Haj. No country is able to deal with such a big number of people who speak different languages and are from different social backgrounds.
In Saudi Arabia all ministers personally supervise the Haj operation, the higher leadership including the crown prince is also involved and briefed about the operation.
Most of security personnel during Haj do not carry weapons because all pilgrims know they're in the safest place in the world. Only in Saudi Arabia security men provide services to the pilgrims besides their usual job.
There may have been mistakes and shortcomings but things should be seen in a broader perspective. Saudi Arabia serves the pilgrims with all its resources considering it as its religious responsibility toward Muslims.
Even expats, who have been here for decades can definitely attest to the fact that when it comes to the management holy sites and Haj, KSA does not compromise on safety standards. Maximum efforts are made to ensure safe and smooth Haj.
The problem compounds as pilgrims from some countries do not follow instructions and rules. I will not pinpoint these countries but I'll give an example of Malaysia. Malaysians demonstrate excellent behavior when in the holy cities. They are properly trained and educated by their respective Haj/Umrah organizations before they embark on this journey. They are never seen misbehaving or shoving in these places.
Whereas, during the Umrah season, you'll see how cadets and security personnel within the Grand Mosque have difficulties in clearing areas for prayers due to pilgrims from certain countries who do not listen. During circumambulation of Kaaba, they crowd areas that cause congestion. So before the blame game, we need to look into this particular area of discipline and what the countries are actually doing to train their pilgrims.
The Haj organizations in their countries need to properly train them on how to perform their pilgrimage in a disciplined and safe and sound manner.
— The writer is lecturer at King Abdul Aziz University.
