Qatar accuses Saudi Arabia of politicising annual Hajj pilgrimage

With the illegal blockade of Qatar now almost at the two-month stage, blockading nations are resorting to all possible means to make Qatar budge from its firm stance.    

An unfortunate side effect of the recent blockade has been increasing difficulties faced by Hajj pilgrims as they plan for the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

Recently, Saudi Arabia had imposed curbs on Qatari pilgrims travelling to the country. Earlier, therte had been reports of a Qatari pilgrim being harassed in the Mecca Grand Mosque. Qatar Living writer, in an opinion piece, had spoken about personal experiences in this regard within his own family.  

Now, Qatar has formally accused Saudi Arabia of politicising the Hajj, saying Riyadh has imposed restrictions on Qatari nationals planning to travel to Mecca for the annual Muslim pilgrimage, according to Al Jazeera.

On Saturday, Qatar’s National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) had said that Qatari citizens have been told they can only enter Saudi Arabia through two airports, and that they must travel via Doha to be allowed in. This would be challenging for Qataris who do not live in Doha, such as those studying abroad.

The NHRC said it has filed a complaint with the UN special rapporteur on freedom of belief and religion over the restrictions, which it said were in ‘stark violation of international laws and agreements that guarantee the right to worship.’

As the custodian of Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, Saudi Arabia organises the annual Hajj. The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, which every able-bodied Muslim who is able to afford the journey is obliged to undertake at least once in a lifetime. Hajj is due to begin in early September.

The civil liberties group also said that it will lodge a second complaint against Saudi Arabia with UNESCO for subjecting Qatari nationals to harassment and threats in Saudi territory.

During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, the group claimed that officials in Saudi Arabia forced Qataris who were visiting religious sites to leave their hotel rooms. Unable to fly on commercial flights, which had been blocked from travelling from Saudi Arabia to Qatar, they were forced to use charter flights.