Every Hajj pilgrim is to be accounted for. This is the aim of a new law legislated recently by the Saudi government, reports the Saudi daily Arab News.
The new law aims at reorganizing the travel and accommodation of the pilgrims in order to prevent them from squatting in public places. Each year more than a million pilgrims from within the kingdom and from abroad attend the Hajj festival in Mecca, where the religion of Islam was born.
During the Hajj season of 2004, 244 pilgrims were killed in a stampede, and another 244 were injured. The tragedy happened during the ancient stone-throwing ritual.
“Under this law, Saudis and expatriates will not be allowed to perform Hajj except through licensed service companies,” Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani said on Monday.
Existing Hajj service companies will be allowed to continue until their licenses expire, the Saudi Press Agency said, quoting the law. Private agencies serving foreign pilgrims shall be banned from providing services to domestic pilgrims.
The companies, reads the law, must be financially sound and must have capable administration to get licenses. They must extend their services at reasonable rates and employ only Saudis for administrative jobs and contracting pilgrims.
The new law will not be applied this year as it comes into effect 90 days after its publication in the official gazette. This year’s Hajj begins on January 8, 2006 when an estimated 2.5 million pilgrims will assemble in the tent city of Mina, near Mecca.