King Salman rejects questioning of Saudi role as hajj organiser

The Indonesian Haj Commitee (PPIH) said on Friday that it had identified three more Indonesian pilgrims who died in the stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia, bringing the country’s death toll in the incident to 123.

Our correspondent reports that NAHCON had on Thursday confirmed the death of 99 Nigerian pilgrims, 42 injured and 214 others missing in the September 24 stampede in Mina, Saudi Arabia.

Odd behavior from the people who title themselves the “Custodians of the Two Holy Mosques” (Masjid-al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid-al-Nabwi in Medina), isn’t it?

The delay in announcing new figures may come from wanting not wanting to fuel more criticism from Iran, or because of the kingdom’s traditional top-down governance. “We had raised the issue on 7th of October itself with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and asked for strict action in the matter and severe punishment for the sponsor,” he said. The king delivered his remarks during a Cabinet session in the capital Riyadh.

Minister Matior Rahaman had overseen the procedure to rent houses in Saudi Arabia, he said, adding that he “cannot do anything if the head of the ministry makes the decisions”.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), the second worst tragedy during Hajj before this one was in 1990 when 1,436 worshipers lost lives in stampede as pilgrims were rushing out of tunnel in Makkah. The street where the crush took place is surrounded by iron gates, behind which are tents for pilgrims.

The chairman said that the Saudi authorities took finger prints of the deceased and that DNA tests would be conducted on mutilated bodies to ascertain whether those declared missing were dead or alive. The pilgrimage, which all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform once in a lifetime, is a chance for believers to wipe away past sins.

Iran has blamed the disaster on Saudi Arabia’s “mismanagement” and accused the kingdom of a cover-up, claiming the real death toll is over 4,700, without providing any evidence for this assertion.

Two weeks earlier, preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca’s Grand Mosque killing 109 people.

It escalated with Iranians protesting against Saudi Arabia outside its Embassy in Tehran, and Iranian lawmakers and clerics calling on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to manage the hajj.