Hajj permits are allocated to countries with a quota system (File)
Cairo, Egypt:
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly on Saturday ordered 16 tourism companies to strip their licenses and refer their managers to the public prosecutor's office for illegally facilitating the journey of pilgrims to Mecca, the cabinet said.
The order came after several countries reported more than 1,100 deaths during this year's hajj, many of which were attributed to the heat.
Arab diplomats told AFP earlier this week that Egyptians were responsible for 658 deaths, of which 630 were unregistered pilgrims.
“The Prime Minister has ordered that the licenses of these companies be revoked, that their managers be referred to the public prosecutor and that a fine be imposed in favor of the families of the pilgrims who died as a result,” the Egyptian cabinet said in a statement declaration. rack.
It said the increase in deaths among unregistered Egyptian pilgrims stemmed from a number of companies “organizing the hajj programs using personal visit visas, preventing its holders from entering Mecca” through official channels.
On Friday, a senior Saudi official defended the Gulf kingdom's management of the pilgrimage.
Hajj permits are allocated to countries with a quota system and distributed to individuals through a lottery.
Even for those who can obtain them, the high cost is an incentive for many pilgrims to perform the hajj without a permit, although they risk arrest and deportation if caught by Saudi security forces.
The irregular route, which can save pilgrims thousands of dollars, has become increasingly popular since 2019, when Saudi Arabia introduced a blanket tourist visa, making it easier to enter the Gulf kingdom.
The senior official said the Saudi government had confirmed 577 deaths during the two busiest days of the hajj: Saturday, when pilgrims gathered for hours for prayers in the blazing sun on Mount Arafat, and Sunday, when they took part in the “stoning of the devil'. ritual in Mina.
“This happened amid difficult weather conditions and a very harsh temperature,” the official said, while acknowledging that the figure of 577 was partial and did not cover the entire hajj, which formally ended on Wednesday.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims who have the means must complete it at least once in their lives.
Saudi officials had previously said that 1.8 million pilgrims participated this year, a similar total to last year, and that 1.6 million came from abroad.
The timing of the Hajj is determined by the Islamic lunar calendar and moves forward each year in the Gregorian calendar.
In recent years, the mainly outdoor rituals during the sweltering Saudi summer have disappeared.
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