Saudi Arabia’s government has warned Muslims who are visiting the Kingdom to perform Hajj in August 2019 from “politicizing” the spiritual journey.
The warning was made last week during a meeting of the Saudi cabinet chaired by King Salman who urged pilgrimages to be considerate of the privacy and spirituality of the holy cities and not to engage in politics or mix it with religion.
The Saudi Minister of Media has also urged pilgrims to refrain from “raising any political or doctrinal slogans” during the Hajj rituals.
Boycotting hajj is a proof that political Islamists and being a good muslim are two different things. They actually contradict with each other in many ways.
— don (@unit16ed) July 28, 2019
Islam should not be about politics. You dont go hajj because you like x or y. You go because it the fifth pillar of Islam.
In a time Saudi Arabia has been accused of increasing security measures on the Iranian and Qatari pilgrims because of political tensions between the Kingdom and their countries in addition to banning many of them of entering the country to perform the Hajj. Authorities have used the media to imply the opposite with videos and interviews with some Iranian pilgrims who were allowed into the Kingdom.
The warning has also followed the Iranian Supreme Leader’s threats of disruption and possible political demonstrations by Iranians pilgrims during this year’s Hajj season.
This is fake news & bullshit. Stop playing politics involving Hajj.
My maternal grandmother is performing hajj this year & they’re very much satisfied with the arrangements of the government in Makkah & Medina.
Please stop ✋— Daniyal Khalid Khokhar (@Daniyal1566) July 27, 2019
For the past two years, discussions about Hajj and politics have seemed to be inseparable.
There are growing calls among Muslims around the world to boycott Hajj for several reasons; including the Kingdom’s atrocities in leading a war on Yemen, accusations of involvement in the killing of Saudi dissents inside and outside the Kingdom in addition to the crackdowns on activists critical of the government.
Adding to this the fact that performing Hajj for Muslims have become an expensive trip that would cost around $2,000 per person and many Muslims insist on lending money to perform and complete this spiritual journey. Critics of the Saudi government have also argued that the Kingdom uses the millions of dollars they gain from Hajj into purchasing weapons, instead of using it for the benefit of poor Muslim countries.
can you stop throwing the word islamophobia everytime someone criticizes saudi arabia lmfaooooo 0 correlation there are muslims literally avoiding to do the hajj because of the country's politics like stfu if you don't know what you're talking about https://t.co/6NBeDPTPcr
— unfortunately... NOT beyoncé (@busanbey) July 19, 2019
This year, calls to boycott the Hajj were renewed by many Muslims around the world.
In Australia, many Muslims have called to boycott of one of the pillars of Islam citing the war on Yemen and the Kingdom’s politics as a few reasons.
#SaudiArabia’s atrocities have provoked persistent global condemnation, with calls for banning arms trade with it—plus calling for a boycott of the country from its largest annual contingent of tourists during the hajj (with $12bn annually).#BoycottHajj https://t.co/9CfeaXmbrm
— Aziz Mahdi ? (@AMAGuudcadde) July 7, 2019
