A million fully vaccinated Muslims from around the world have gathered in the holy city of Mecca for the five-day Hajj. It's a big increase in number since the pandemic upended the annual Saudi event in 2020. While foreign pilgrims have returned, a government-organised lottery system has put a squeeze on the numbers, creating much frustration.
The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, with every able-bodied Muslim expected to make the journey at least once in their lifetime.
Because of Covid-19, Saudi Arabia barred pilgrims outside the kingdom from travelling to Mecca in both 2020 and 2021. This year, they have introduced new rules.
The 2022 Hajj is open to 1 million foreign and domestic pilgrims who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus, have tested negative, are under 65 and have not undertaken the Hajj in the last five years.
Authorities estimate around 850,000 percent have arrived from abroad – far lower than the 1.9 million overseas pilgrims in 2019.
🇸🇦 The #Hajj is Back!
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During the height of the #Covid19 pandemic, the Saudi Government curbed religious tourism.
For the first time since 2019, #pilgrims arrive in #Mecca in large numbers.
FRANCE 24's @ShirliSitbon has more ⤵️#News #SaudiArabia #Islam pic.twitter.com/DQ1ybg7Y0R
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The Saudi government had already introduced annual quotas based on each nation’s Muslim population and, this year, those quotas have been sharply reduced.
Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim country, has sent just 100,000 pilgrims.
Nigeria, which has the largest Hajj quota among African nations, saw its allocation halved – from 95,000 in 2019 to 43,000 this year.
Prospective pilgrims from Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand have faced the added challenge of having to apply online in June via the government-backed Motawif website.
Eligible candidates were then randomly selected via a lottery.
France was awarded just 9,000 places – well below the average of between 20,000 to 25,000 who undertake the Hajj each year.
The decision to change the process of travelling to Hajj for western Muslims has proven a big source of frustration for both worshippers and the Saudi-approved agencies in France (CHF) that organise the trips.
“The internet site claims to replace the offer that Saudi-approved travel agencies were advertising. But the advantage of having agencies in the country of origin is that they could be sued by the judiciary in the pilgrim’s country of origin,” Salim Bouhidel, vice president of CHF, told RFI.
“That guarantees the pilgrim has a right to recourse in their own country if a service isn't delivered.”
Faced with the lack of guarantee, many French pilgrims opted to delay their trip altogether.
“We knew nothing about the [Saudi] agency and there was no available information to allow us to travel and accomplish the Hajj with serenity,” a man who had backed out of the pilgrimage told RFI.
“Serenity is also a condition of doing the Hajj and this new procedure hasn't fulfilled those conditions."
Some of the CHF agencies reportedly discouraged pilgrims from going through the Saudi website – preferring to hang on to customers for another year when the booking rules could change. One woman told RFI she found the practice unacceptable.
“I decided to enrol on the site because I thought the agencies had a conflict of interest,” she said. “I said to myself I shouldn’t listen to them and I was losing nothing by enrolling.”
Fewer restrictions
This year, pilgrims are not required to be masked or socially distanced as they have been the last two years.
But for the third year running they are banned from touching and kissing the black stone on the Kaaba – the holiest shrine in Islam – at the centre of the Grand Mosque's courtyard.
The Hajj is also showcasing de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's latest efforts to loosen social restrictions and transform the kingdom.
Saudi Arabia officially began allowing women to perform the Hajj without a male guardian, or “mahram," last year.
Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige and a powerful source of legitimacy for Saudi rulers.
It's also a big source of revenue. Religious pilgrimages brought the kingdom $12 billion before the pandemic – accounting for the largest percentage of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product after oil.
