Muslim pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat during the annual hajj pilgrimage, outside the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia September 11, 2016.
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Saudi Arabia issued a death toll of 769 but figures compiled from foreign officials in more than 30 countries gave a tally nearly three times higher.
The statement prompted Saudi Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh’s remarks who said Iranians were not Muslims and that their hostility towards Muslims was an old one.
Saudi King Salman said today the kingdom rejects any attempt to play politics with the Haj, the annual pilgrimage which has added to tensions between Riyadh and Teheran. Chanting “here I am at thy service, O Lord”, the faithful climbed the craggy hills outside Mecca where Islam holds that God tested Abraham’s faith by commanding him to sacrifice his son Ismail and the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon.
The diplomatic mission then highlighted Iran’s “technical and non-political” efforts to dispatch the nationals to this year’s hajj pilgrimage, denouncing the Riyadh regime for its political attitude towards Hajj, resorting to media hue and cry, trying to put the blame on Iran and shirking responsibility for the religious event. The series said 300 Iranian pilgrims caused last year’s crush by taking a wrong turn in the direction opposite where they had been assigned to move.
On Sunday, pilgrims prayed on Mount Arafat at the climax of haj.
“I was awaiting the worst and in the end everything took place perfectly”, said a French pilgrim who gave his name only as Abdullah, 33.
The pilgrims come from every corner of the globe.
But a number of safety measures have been taken and pilgrims on Monday expressed no concern.
Among these is the distribution of bracelets which store pilgrims’ personal data.
Pilgrims have told AFP they feel safe and have noticed organisational improvements. “We are truly at ease here in Arafat”, Youssef al-Mehri, 24, of Oman said with a prayer rug slung over his shoulder.
Helicopters have been monitoring the flow of pilgrims, while police have been directing them on the ground to make sure there are no bottlenecks.
For the first time in nearly three decades, Iranians will not participate in this year’s pilgrimage to Makkah after talks on logistics and security fell apart.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it had launched a television channel to broadcast the hajj rituals in the Persian language, also known as Farsi, spoken in Iran.
In his message to the Yemenis on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice) which fell on Monday this year, Abdulmalek Badreddin al-Houthisaid Saudi Arabia has deprived a large number of Muslims from this year’s Hajj due to political reasons like the way many Palestinians are being barred from entering the Al-Aqsa Mosque in the occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds.
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But that’s not enough for Iran, which opted instead to endorse an alternative pilgrimage to Karbala, an Islamic holy site in Iraq.
