And Yet Another Tragedy

The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is obligatory for every able-bodied Muslim once in his lifetime, if he can afford it through his own resources. It is the highest form of worship when a Muslim wears white robes (ahraam) and spends his time praying to the Lord. He abstains from all worldly pleasures, including even stitched clothes. (This last restriction is not applicable to women). The culminating ritual before one can have shave his head and change from the ahraam and its attendant restrictions is the stoning of the devil.

There are three pillars, called jamarat, located at the places where the devil is said to have attempted to lead the Prophet Abraham (AS) astray. But the Prophet’s determination to sacrifice his own son in the path of God Almighty did not decrease. The Muslims throw seven stones each at the three pillars representing the devil, or more generally, all evil. They are supposed to do it throughout the three days of Eid-ul-Adha, the three-day Muslim festival corresponding with the 10th, 11th and the 12th day of the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar. The place is congested and when the sea of millions of people tries to get near the pillars each day, there is literally mayhem. Although there were 15,000 security and rescue personnel on standby, a sudden and forced entry of authorities with ambulance sirens wailing could have caused more panic and more casualties.

Some people try to complete the ritual early in the morning, not only because there is less of a rush and lower temperatures in the early hours, but also to free themselves for other commitments for the rest of the day. Unfortunately, that fateful morning of February 1st, many million people thought that way and by half past seven in the morning the crowd had surged to unmanageable levels. Although women, old people, and the weak are exempted from performing the ritual themselves, most prefer to do it on their own rather than through proxy.

At 8:05 a.m. the surging numbers making their way from behind pushed the ones in the front to the extreme and then there was a general confusion; some lucky ones jumped inside the walls around the pillars and escaped with minor injuries, since there was foam spread all around inside. However, the panic caused a stampede and many hundreds died under the feet of the running crowds or due to suffocation. There were a few, of course, who died due to cardiac arrest. By the time the situation was brought under control, 251 men and women, representing a broad cross-section of age and gender, nationalities and ethnic backgrounds, had lost their lives. It is a tragedy for the whole Muslim world but greater still for the members of the bereaved families.

The space in Mecca is what it is, and the number of pilgrims in the coming years is likely to grow due to a multiplicity of factors including rising standards of living and economic status in many parts of the world and faster and cheaper modes of communication and travel. Not the least contributor is the fact that Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world because of higher birth rates and many conversions due to tableegh and da’wa activities.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the current Saudi dynasty can take credit for the enormous development in the two holy cities of Mecca and Medina over the past three decades. Both cities are now gleaming with broad roads and underpasses, tall buildings, modern shopping malls, international food chains like Pizza Hut and KFC, and also universities, offices, and banks. The renovation and expansion of the Masjid-al-Haram complex alone has cost a whopping 70 billion Saudi riyals over the past 20 years.

But can this investment absolve the Saudi government of responsibility for the February 1 calamity? Only totalitarian regimes can survive blunders by the sheer force of bayonets. Could the Italian government survive a stampede killing that many people during the annual Christmas Eve Mass at the Vatican? Could the government of the East Punjab in India survive a stampede or a fire at the Golden Temple in Amritsar? But in Saudi Arabia, even the minister for Hajj did not feel enough moral responsibility to offer to tender his resignation. The resignation of the minister on a point of principle, even if only for symbolic value, would be a sign of respect. But such notions have not yet been accepted in the Middle East, except, and let us be honest, in Israel.

This was the seventh major accident during the Hajj since 1987. Fire broke out two times in the tents of Mina and there have been four stampedes. Once there was a violent armed clash between Saudi security forces and Iranian pilgrims protesting against the West. Each time the death toll was above one hundred.

Unlike the previous years, this time the Saudi response was more than symbolic. The Saudi government announced the very next day a 20-year plan for modernization of Mecca and the surrounding areas where the Hajj rituals take place. King Fahd also established a commission headed by Minister for Municipal Affairs Prince Miteb. Minister for Hajj Iyad Madani, Mecca Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, and Medina Governor Prince Miqrin have also been appointed to the commission, plus a few religious scholars, and some urban engineering experts.

The Saudis have also decided to construct a nine-storey structure around the jamarat that will include four bridges for pilgrims. The pedestrian walkways in Mecca will be expanded from the present 60,000 sq. meters to 120,000 sq. meters, while the parking space will be increased to be able to accommodate 45,000 vehicles. The accident has also underlined the need for trees and green areas, and it has hence been decided that parks will be developed over an area of 30,000 sq. meters.

The Senior Scholars Council has also convened an emergency meeting to be held shortly to discuss the Shariah related issues pertaining to these rituals. The ulema plan to deliberate on ways to minimize such accidents.

Many proposals have been offered in the media of the Muslim world. One way would be to allow a select group of religious leaders representing the pilgrims of each country to do the stoning on behalf of all pilgrims from their country. Another might be to enable one third of the pilgrims to perform the ritual for all three days on any one day from the 10th, the 11th, and the 12th of Dhu’l-hijja. That is to say, instead of throwing seven pebbles each at the three pillars for three days, the pilgrims would be obliged to throw 21 pebbles in one go at each pillar in a single day. The next day would be reserved for the next third and the last day for the last third. Whether it would be permissible under the Shariah and if at all it would be technically possible are issues to be dealt with by the ulema and the engineers, respectively.

Part of the credit for encouraging the Saudi government to be more responsive this year should go to the media, which has expanded its outreach and influence in the Muslim world. Each incident gets reported promptly and the live discussions on the small screen put pressure on governments to respond. The 20-year plan is welcome, but it could have been initiated earlier and other Muslim countries should also be allowed to participate.

HG/HG

End

MNA