News / Interviews

S Arabia incompetent to run Hajj: Analyst

Monday, 30 May 2016 4:07 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 30 May 2016 4:08 AM ]

This file photo shows a view of Masjid al-Haram, where Ka’aba is located, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia. (By Reuters)

Press TV has interviewed Seyed Abdullah Hoseini, a lecturer at the al-Mustafa University, and Jihad Mouracadeh, a political analyst, about Saudi Arabia’s refusal to guarantee the security of Iranian Hajj pilgrims and Iran’s decision to call off the Hajj this year due to the Saudi stance.

Hoseini says Saudi Arabia’s move to hinder Iranian pilgrims from participating in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage is described in the holy Quran as “preventing people from practicing their duties,” because, he notes, it is an obligatory duty for all Muslims to perform the Hajj.

He also says, “Hajj is not a personal issue; it is an Islamic duty that you have to perform.” He says the Saudi government is not the owner of the two holiest mosques in Islam; so, “they cannot under any circumstances prevent any Muslims from entry to those two holy sites, which belong to all Muslims around the world.”

He pointed to a host of issues such as regional developments like the Saudi invasion of Yemen as well as incidents in Saudi Arabia like a crane collapse in Mecca and a crush in Mina last year that left hundreds of Iranian pilgrims dead as the source of tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

He said the tensions between the two countries were initiated and fueled by the Saudis.

According to the academic, the Saudis’ ignorance in securing the lives of pilgrims during the Hajj ritual shows Al Saud’s “incompetency” to hold the Hajj. He further says a body like the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation may be a good candidate to run the pilgrimage.

Mouracadeh, for his part, believes Iran has the right to criticize Saudi Arabia for the two fatal incidents during last year’s Hajj pilgrimage, but the two sides are expected to lower the tensions rather than increase them in order to pave the way for Iranians to take part in the Islamic ritual.

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