The tragedy in Mecca comes as Saudi Arabia under King Salman, who ascended to the throne in January, is embroiled in a deepening war in neighbouring Yemen while a slump in oil prices threatens the biggest deficit in decades.
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“As for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them”.
As the fifth and final pillar of Islam, every able-bodied adult Muslim must undertake a pilgrimage to Mecca, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, at least once in their lives. He said that from his perspective, this year’s hajj went smoothly and that Saudi officials appeared to be doing all they could to safely manage the pilgrimage.
Iran’s state prosecutor says he will pursue legal action against Saudi Arabia’s rulers in worldwide courts over the crush of pilgrims at this year’s hajj, which killed more than 700 people, including 136 Iranians.
Muslim pilgrims and rescuers gather around people who died in Mina, Saudi Arabia during the annual hajj pilgrimage on Thursday, September 24, 2015.
Meanwhile, a group of Nigerian volunteers under the aegis of the Media Awareness Initiative for Hajj (MAI HAJJ), has express shock over the stampede and condoled the entire Muslim Ummah (community) over the tragic incident, the second in less than a fortnight, and called on the World Muslim Council (WMC) to reconsider the handling of affairs of the two holy mosques in Makkah and Madina.
Days before it started, a construction crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site, killing 109 people including many foreigners.
Some two million people are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage, which began on Tuesday.
The effort to uncover the facts and assign blame was likely to grow more acute and possibly more political. “And we will make sure that we will learn from this, and we will make sure that it doesn’t happen again”.
Al-Falih said the stampede “was perhaps because some pilgrims moved without following instructions by the relevant authorities”.
The death of Indians in the stampede near Mecca during Haj has mounted to 18.
Saudi Arabia has not responded to the Iranian accusations regarding the convoy. His remarks after the tragedy followed those of other Iranian officials who criticised the kingdom for failing to safeguard pilgrims.
The country has ordered an investigation into the stampede during a symbolic stoning of the devil ritual by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in Mina, just outside the holy city of Mecca.
Whereas many other nations have so far reacted to the tragedy with a more diplomatic and conciliatory tone, Iran, a bitter rival, has blasted Saudi Arabia.
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“Today’s events show… lack of serious attention to the safety of pilgrims”, said Ohadi.
