Qataris Not to Be Able to Perform Hajj for Second Year

TEHRAN (IQNA) –  It has become clear that Qataris would not be able to perform the Hajj for the second consecutive year on account of the hurdles created by the authorities concerned in Saudi Arabia, local Arabic daily Arrayah reported Friday.

The chances for operating Hajj trips through local companies have almost completely evaporated as the season is approaching its end and the Saudi authorities are still insisting on politicizing the religious rituals, owners of a number of Qatari companies specializing in Hajj trips told the daily.

Given the situation, they said that it is difficult to prepare the necessary logistics such as travel, accommodation, transportation, food and healthcare within the short remaining time for the season to conclude.

In addition, there is no guarantee for the safety and security of Qatari Hajj pilgrims, especially after the hate campaigns launched by the Saudi media, in particular in social media.

The Saudi embassy in Doha is closed, which means there is no point of communication and Qataris are not allowed by the Saudi authorities to travel directly from Qatar to Mecca, either by air or land.

Juma al-Kuwari, a seasoned operator in the business, recalled that such a situation has never happened before in spite of the ups and downs in (P)GCC relationships. He stressed that Hajj operators have already lost all hopes of running any pilgrimage trips from Qatar this year.

Hamad al-Shahwani, owner of a Hajj trips company, pointed out that even individual Qataris would have to avoid Hajj this year due to fears on their safety and wellbeing there as there will be no official representation for them in addition to the hate campaign against them in the Saudi media, Arrayah added.

In June, Jawahir bint Hamad bin Suhaim al-Thani, the wife of Qatar’s Amir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, urged Qataris to boycott Hajj this year.

In 2017, Saudi Arabia, along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt, cut diplomatic and transport ties with Qatar and imposed sanctions on Doha. 

They have insisted that Doha must comply with a 13-point list of demands to refrain from “supporting and sponsoring terror and stop interfering in other countries’ internal affairs”. 

Qatar has denied the charges and upgraded its ties with Iran and Turkey since then to decrease the impact of the sanctions.