Rights groups demand Saudi Arabia stop using Hajj to 'repress' dissidents

A number of human rights teams and Muslim organisations have joined a marketing campaign condemning Saudi authorities for allegedly utilizing the Hajj pilgrimage as a way of oppression, both by barring sure Muslims from attending or luring others into the nation, solely to have them arrested and deported to international locations the place they’re in danger.

The Sanad Rights Basis mentioned in an announcement on Thursday that Saudi authorities had been utilizing the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages as a way to “repress dissidents” who challenged the nation’s insurance policies.

“The Saudi authorities adamantly and repeatedly politicises the Two Holy Mosques of Makkah and Medina, and made Hajj and Umrah a device of repression, a way of eliminating opponents, and a manner of supporting some authoritarian regimes,” it mentioned.

In 2019, there have been 2.5 million Muslims worldwide who carried out Hajj. Nonetheless, only one,000 Saudis carried out the annual Islamic ritual in 2020 within the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. The determine elevated to 60,000 Saudi pilgrims in 2021.

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This yr, the dominion’s Ministry of Hajj and Umrah introduced that the variety of pilgrims had reached a million. All pilgrims have to be underneath 65 years outdated, totally vaccinated towards Covid-19, and present a detrimental antigen check inside 72 hours of reaching Saudi Arabia.

Whereas the pilgrimage has opened as much as Muslims world wide, the rights teams are involved in regards to the safety and safety of pilgrims who attend.

Center East Eye has reported on circumstances wherein Muslim Uyghurs had been detained in Saudi Arabia after coming into the nation to carry out a pilgrimage to the Muslim holy metropolis of Mecca.

US activists protested in April on behalf of 4 members of the Muslim minority group, calling on Saudi Arabia to not extradite them to China, saying they danger arbitrary detention, torture, and persecution if they’re returned.

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In 2019, MEE additionally revealed that Saudi Arabia denied Hajj visas to round 70 Palestinian refugees from Syria. A yr previous to this, Qatar accused Riyadh of denying its pilgrims the chance to carry out the Hajj pilgrimage – an act that’s compulsory for each ready Muslim to finish at the very least as soon as of their lifetime. The dominion denied these claims.

“The Saudi regime additionally prevents many Muslims from performing Hajj or Umrah merely as a result of their political or ideological stances on some points or for exercising their proper of free speech,” Sanad mentioned in its assertion.

MEE reached out to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah for remark however didn’t obtain a response by the point of publication.

‘Mecca is for all’

For almost 100 years, Saudi monarchs have all adopted the honorary title of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, a manner of bolstering their standing as leaders within the Muslim world.

Whereas the dominion has acquired credit score for its administration of the pilgrimage, the ruling Al-Saud household has additionally been criticised for having full say over who attends.

In 2020, Al Haramain Watch, a non-governmental organisation, launched an internet petition calling for a “unified Muslim administration from all Muslim international locations” to handle the 2 Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina.

The petition, which was signed by greater than 100 Muslim students, accused Riyadh of gross human rights violations and proscribing minorities’ entry to the holy cities.

Final week, Iran’s supreme chief, Ali Khamenei, known as on Saudi authorities to make sure the security and safety of all pilgrims, together with Iranians, visiting Mecca to carry out Hajj, saying that the sacred home of Kaaba belongs to the folks.

“There are heavy tasks on the shoulders of the nation internet hosting the pilgrimage, Mecca is just not for them, Mecca is for all,” he mentioned about Saudi Arabia when talking to Iranian officers.

“Ultimately, there’s a state that has governance and manages issues there, so it should act within the curiosity of the Islamic world and never in its personal curiosity,” he added.

Over 450 Iranian pilgrims had been killed in a stampede throughout the 2015 Hajj in Mecca, and Iranian officers on the time accused Saudi authorities of mismanagement that led to the catastrophe.