In Mecca, a strictly supervised pilgrimage

All the pilgrims come from Saudi Arabia and have been vaccinated against Covid-19.

Controls are frequent and violators face heavy fines.

AP - Amr Nabil

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The great Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca begins this Saturday, July 17.

This year, only 60,000 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia were allowed to visit the holy city. 

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The esplanade surrounding the Kaaba, the holiest place in Islam, will once again welcome only a handful of worshipers. While the great pilgrimage to Mecca is once again disrupted by the coronavirus, the ministry in charge of its organization claims to have wanted to take "

the strictest health precautions

".

The borders are closed to pilgrims. Like last year, only Saudi citizens or foreigners living in Saudi Arabia are allowed to do Hajj. Out of more than 500,000 applications,

only 60,000 were selected

. This is almost six times more than in 2020, but very little compared to the 2.5 million pilgrims from all over the world who go there each year. All are between 18 and 65 years old and have been vaccinated against Covid-19. A permit was specially issued to them to access the Great Mosque of Mecca. 

On site, frequent checks are carried out, reports our regional correspondent,

Nicolas Keraudren

.

Violators face a heavy fine and in some cases jail time.

The authorities hope in this way to limit the spread of the disease.

And this while the vaccination campaign is slowing down in Saudi Arabia.

Even though more than 20 million doses have been administered, less than 10% of the Saudi population is fully vaccinated. 

However, the kingdom announced last May that vaccination will become compulsory from next month, in particular to enter government and private establishments as well as public transport.

The measures that frame the hajj have a cost for the country.

An economic cost, because the pilgrimage usually brings in more than 10 billion euros to the kingdom, but also political: these restrictions feed frustration in the Muslim world with regard to Saudi Arabia.

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To read also: Religious tourism devastated by the Covid-19

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  • Saudi Arabia

  • Coronavirus

  • Religion

  • Islam