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WORLD NEWS Wednesday 30 august 2017
Hajj pilgrimage entangled in web of Saudi politics

tor of the Arabia Founda- seeking to perform the
tion, a pro-Saudi center in hajj and that King Salman
Washington. “Saudi Arabia would provide flights and
has been extremely careful accommodation to Qatar-
from day one not to restrict is during the hajj.
any Muslim’s access to hajj The Saudis, however, an-
so they never get accused nounced the goodwill
of using hajj for political measures unilaterally and
purposes.” did so after meeting with
The Syrian government, Sheikh Abdullah Al Thani, a
however, says Saudi au- Qatari royal family member
thorities continue to place who resides outside Qa-
restrictions on Syrian citi- tar and whose branch of
zens looking to take part in the family was ousted in a
the hajj. Saudi Arabia has coup more than four de-
no diplomatic ties with Pres- cades ago.
ident Bashar Assad’s gov- “Bringing out a senior mem-
ernment and since 2012, ber of the Qatari royal fam-
requires all Syrians seeking ily member was a political
to make the hajj to ob- coup really,” Shihabi said.
tain visas in third countries Others have gone further,
through the “Syrian High saying that by promoting
A Muslim pilgrim prays in front of the Kaaba, the cubic building at the Grand Mosque, ahead of Hajj Committee,” which Sheikh Abdullah, the Saudis
the annual Hajj pilgrimage in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Aug. 28, 2017. is controlled by the Syrian were attempting to dele-
(AP Photo/Khalil Hamra) National Coalition, an op- gitimize Qatar’s current
By AYA BATRAWY through Saudi embassies form the pilgrimage once position political group. emir. Gerd Nonneman, a
Associated Press abroad and providing ac- in a lifetime. The hajj became further en- professor of International
DUBAI, United Arab Emir- commodation for hundreds Saudi kings, and the Otto- tangled in politics following Relations and Gulf Studies
ates (AP) — More than 1.7 of thousands of people in man rulers of the Hijaz re- the fallout between Saudi at Georgetown University in
million Muslims from around and around Mecca. gion before them, all ad- Arabia and Qatar when Qatar, says the Saudi move
the world have arrived in The kingdom has received opted the honorary title of the kingdom and three was “a transparent propa-
Saudi Arabia for the start of credit for its management Custodian of the Two Holy other Arab countries cut ganda stunt”.
the annual hajj pilgrimage of the massive crowds that Mosques, a reference to all diplomatic and trans- “Given that Qatar’s hajj at-
this week. Once in Mecca descend upon Mecca sites in Mecca and Medina. port links with the small Gulf tendance has inevitably
— the site of Islam’s holiest each year — and blame “Whoever controls Mecca state this year. In a surprise been affected by the boy-
place of worship— they will when things go wrong at and Medina has tremen- this month, Saudi Arabia cott, the hajj was de facto
be reminded that the ruling the hajj. All able-bodied dous soft power,” said Ali announced it would open politicized — there’s no
Al Saud family is the only Muslims are required to per- Shihabi, executive direc- its border for Qatari pilgrims way around it,” he said.q
custodian of this place.
Large portraits of the king
and the country’s founder
hang in hotel lobbies across
the city. A massive clock
tower bearing the name
of King Salman’s prede-
cessor flashes fluorescent
green lights at worshippers
below. A large new wing
of the Grand Mosque in
Mecca is named after a
former Saudi king, and one
of the mosque’s entrances
is named after another.
It’s just one of the many
ways that Saudi Arabia
uses its oversight of the hajj
to bolster its standing in
the Muslim world — and to
spite its foes, from Iran and
Syria to Qatar. Its archrival,
the Shiite power Iran, has in
turn tried to utilize the hajj
to undermine the kingdom.
The hajj has long been a
part of Saudi Arabia’s poli-
tics.
For nearly 100 years, the
ruling Al Saud family has
decided who gets in and
out of Mecca, setting quo-
tas for pilgrims from various
countries, facilitating visas