Mina- A senior Turkish official said that his country appreciates Saudi Arabia’s flawless organization for Hajj rituals and its professional ability to manage huge crowds on holy sites, confirming that Saudi equipment are enough for four million Pilgrims, not only two millions.
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A senior Iranian official says Saudi Arabia has politicized the Hajj rituals, advising officials in Riyadh against trying Tehran’s patience.
Teheran had accused Riyadh of “blocking the path leading to Allah”.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that some 769 Muslim pilgrims died in a stampede during the ritual in last year’s Hajj, according to Saudi official figures.
Typically Iranians make up around 7 percent of the total number of pilgrims so that is certainly hurting the total number.
Reiterating a point made on Tuesday by King Salman, Prince Faisal said Saudi Arabia does not interfere in Iran’s internal affairs “but we don’t permit the holy sites and the hajj to be used for political ends”.
His claims led to mutual accusations throughout last week.
“Iran has cancelled the participation of its pilgrims in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, which started on Saturday, due to Saudi Arabia’s creation of obstacles in the way of Iranians seeking to perform the rituals”, reports Press TV.
The Iranian official said the deadly incidents during last year’s Hajj rituals in Saudi Arabia have “stigmatized” Al Saud.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council, of which Saudi Arabia is the most powerful member, accused Iran of “a desperate attempt to politicise” the Haj and said Khamenei’s remarks were offensive.
Almost 2 million pilgrims from 160 countries flowed on multiple ramps toward the Jamarat Bridge where the “stoning of the devil” took place under high security and without incident, the interior and hajj ministry spokesmen said.
“God almighty orders that Haj be performed by all Muslims without distinction”.
More than 1.8 million faithful, a lot of them from overseas, are performing the six-day hajj, which officially ends Thursday.
Ronny Sompie, the Law and Human Rights Ministry’s immigration director general, said on Wednesday that the Indonesian government would cooperate with the Philippine government to bring back the haj pilgrims through the Philippines.
Saudi Arabia and Iran back opposing sides in Syria’s civil war and a list of other conflicts across the Middle East, including Yemen.
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Speaking to dignitaries from Muslim countries at a reception at the royal court in Mina, outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, the king added that Muslims should unite to fight what he called an epidemic of “extremism”.
