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Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
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February
2008
Volume 14 -
Number 1 |
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Issues
in Hajj
By: Mutlaq Alsubaie Hajj is the fifth pillar of Islam where every Muslim,
who is able, must perform at least once in his/her lifetime. To do so, they
must travel to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This pilgrimage should
be a spiritual journey for the Muslims. However, due to the vast amount of
Muslims worldwide, more than two million people each year advance to Mecca
causing a lot of chaos that turns into deadly disasters. The surrounding
areas of Mecca, where most of the pilgrimage occurs, are geographically small
areas that cannot accommodate such a great amount of pilgrims simultaneously.
Extraordinary efforts from government of Saudi Arabia is needed and has been put to organize this journey to try to make it as safe as possible and to grant the Pilgrims the spiritual journey they came for. However, they are faced with many challenges such as health issues like spread of diseases or epidemics, stampedes, fires and security issues like preventing possible terrorist attacks. Stampedes are considered one of the most common deadly incidents during this season. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were trampled to death while performing the stone throwing ritual. The reason for such a disaster is the lack of organization and the lack of the ability to control hundreds of thousands of people, all of which, want to perform a specific ritual in a short period of time and crowded in a small area. Also the difficulty in communicating the instructions to pilgrims from multiple origins and who speak various languages may add to the complexity of organizing Hajj. Some pilgrims don’t understand what they are instructed to do which results in the occurrence of fatalities. In an attempt to better organize and improve the entire Hajj process the Saudi government, last year, spent approximately 1.5 billion dollars on the construction of a highly organized bridge which consists of four different levels that will accommodate four times the number of pilgrims it did in the past. The first stage of this project has been completed and was opened for use last Hajj. They also distributed thousands of military forces around the entire area to direct traffic. These strategies proved to be effective since the number of victims from stampedes in 2006 decreased to 364 people and in 2007 there were no fatalities. Another issue that authorities were faced with in the past was preventing and putting out wind-spread fires. Since the pilgrims camp out in tents for a few days in Mina, which is 5 kilometers away from Mecca, any small flame could be catastrophic. In 1997, a huge fire destroyed 70,000 tents and killed 343 pilgrims. The fire was started accidentally by a pilgrim cooking a meal on a gas stove. The officials responded promptly to this issue by erecting fire-resistant tents to house pilgrims in the following year. Furthermore, the security issues that face the authorities are the most difficult to deal with due to the increasing worries in the Islamic world – Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2007, two days prior to the beginning of Hajj, Saudi security officers arrested suspected Al-Qaeda militants in various cities in the Kingdom. The suspects were planning an attack during the Hajj that would cause “security confusion” and undermine all Hajj plans, according to the Ministry of Interior spokesman. Tensions between Sunnis and Shias the two main sections of Islam who are gathered together for the days of hajj have also risen. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said the kingdom is capable of maintaining security and preventing any attempt to threaten the safety of the pilgrims. Saudi officials have showed obvious efforts and progress in minimizing the risks associated with this complex procedure. However, they must continue to do so to stay ahead of evolving threats and emerging vulnerabilities |