Saudi Arabia has announced it will hold a
“very limited” hajj this year, with pilgrims already in the kingdom allowed to perform the annual ritual as it moves to curb the biggest coronavirus outbreak in the Gulf.
The kingdom’s hajj ministry said the ritual will be open to various nationalities already in Saudi Arabia, but it did not specify a number. The decision comes as Saudi Arabia grapples to contain a major spike in infections, which have now risen to more than 161,000 cases — the highest in the Gulf — and over 1,300 deaths.
“Saudi Arabia has chosen the safest option that allows it to save face within the Muslim world while making sure they are not seen as compromising on public health,” Umar Karim, a visiting fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, told AFP. In an apparent bid to give the decision a veneer of religious sanction, the Saudi-based Muslim World League said it endorsed the government move for the health and safety of pilgrims, according to state media.
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