Realising Haj dream in uncertain times

“More than 1mn Muslims are gathering in Makkah for the Haj pilgrimage overshadowed by the Middle East war, as animosity smoulders across the region despite a fragile ceasefire. This year's rites, drawing Muslim worshippers from across the world, including Iran, follow waves of Iranian attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbours. Saudi officials are keen to keep conflict far from the minds of visitors, who have travelled long distances for one of the world's biggest annual pilgrimages. However, for Fatima, a 36-year-old German housewife travelling with her family, 'there was no second thought' about coming to Makkah. 'We know we are at the safest place in the world,' she told AFP. As of this week, more than 1.2mn pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the multi-day pilgrimage starting on Monday, officials said. Because of the 'wartime situation', only about 30,000 Iranian pilgrims out of an expected 86,700 had travelled to Saudi Arabia for Haj, according to the IRNA state news agency. The Haj has been a point of tension in the past between Riyadh and Tehran, with repeated outbreaks of violence and unrest involving Iranian visitors. In the years following Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution, Saudi authorities accused Iranian pilgrims of triggering stampedes and other violence, while also chanting political slogans. A Saudi state broadcaster this week posted a warning from the interior ministry saying that any chanting or raising political or sectarian flags was strictly prohibited during the Haj. Relations were severed in 2016 after protesters attacked Saudi Arabia's embassy in Tehran and consulate in the northwestern city of Mashhad. No Iranian pilgrims were allowed that year, as the two sides were unable to organise a protocol for them to attend. Experts, however, said authorities would do their utmost to prevent any unrest from rattling this year's pilgrimage. 'Saudi Arabia and Iran have kept their political engagement open' despite the war, said Umer Karim, an expert on Saudi foreign policy. The two sides only re-established relations in a surprise 2023 deal brokered by China, which saw tensions ease and embassies reopen in their respective capitals. However, the detente was upended following the US and Israeli attack on Iran in late February that set off Iran's wide-ranging retaliation against its Gulf neighbours. Energy installations, airports, export terminals, ports and other civilian infrastructure were targeted by Tehran, as Iranian attacks on the Strait of Hormuz choked Gulf oil and gas exports to the outside world. Despite the ongoing situation, pilgrims were overcome with emotion as they kickstarted the Haj pilgrimage in Makkah. 'Haj has been the dream of a lifetime for me,' Ahmed Abo Seta, 47, told AFP. 'And it is finally coming true.'

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