Al Azhar rejects calls for broader management of Haj

Sunday, Sep 04, 2016

Cairo: Al Azhar, Egypt’s influential Sunni Islamic seat of learning, has rejected attempts to forge multilateral management of the annual Muslim pilgrimage Haj in Saudi Arabia, warning that such calls threaten to stir “sedition” in the Muslim world.

“We confirm our vehement rejection of calls by some regional powers to internationalise the management of the two holy mosques in the sacred [Saudi] lands,” Al Azhar’s top body, the Council of Senior Scholars, said in a statement late Saturday, referring to the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet Mohammad Mosque in Madinah.

“The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the one responsible for organising the Haj affairs without any foreign interference. This bizarre suggestion is a new door for sedition, which must be closed.”

The Council of Senior Scholars did not name the regional powers disputing Saudis’ sole handling of the Haj.

But it warned against what it described as “politicising religious rituals”.

Iran has launched vehement verbal attacks on Saudi Arabia for its management of Haj.

Earlier this year, Riyadh cut off ties with Tehran after a mob stormed two Saudi missions in Iran in protest against the execution of anti-government Saudi Shiite cleric Nimr Al Nimr.

Iran has said it will not send its citizens to Haj this year, after they failed to meet the security standards Saudi Arabia proposed.

The two countries held a flurry of meetings to discuss the matter earlier this year, but no solution was reached.

Egypt is a major ally of Saudi Arabia.

Millions of Muslims from around the world flock every year to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj, which is one of Islam’s five pillars.

By Ramadan Al Sherbini Correspondent