Watan-The “Observatory for Violations during Hajj and Umrah” has revealed escalating concerns among many about visiting the holy sites to perform religious duties and rituals, which Mohammed bin Salman has turned into a source of worry and fear due to increasing repression and arbitrariness in the Kingdom.
The Observatory stated in a report monitored by (Watan) that significant fears accompany Muslims worldwide regarding visits to the holy sites, due to the authoritarian behavior and brutality practiced by Saudi authorities, violating the most basic freedoms and human rights.
The report affirmed violations by Mohammed bin Salman’s authorities of the right to perform religious rituals for those with diverse political backgrounds, “making the pilgrimage restricted to those who conform to the Sultan’s desires,” according to the report’s description, making Hajj and Umrah a politicized matter.
تتعرض مناسك #العمرة اليوم للاستغلال السياسي، في محاولة لتحويلها إلى أداة سلطوية؛ لإسكات الأصوات السلمية المعارضة لسياسات السعودية. pic.twitter.com/uSHB6ekepm
— مرصد انتهاكات الحج والعمرة (@HajjIsNotSafe) March 4, 2024
Mohammed bin Salman turns Hajj and Umrah into a source of worry and fear
Among those fears is the risk of arbitrary arrest, crackdown on freedom of expression, personal searches, and mistreatment, turning travel to Saudi territories into a venture fraught with danger for anyone who tweets or expresses a stance contradicting Saudi authorities’ public policy.
Anyone diverging from the authorities’ path and intelligence may likely be arrested or harmed by Saudi authorities. This has happened to many without any criminal activities or violations of the law, subjected to this tightening without cause.
Muslims going to the Kingdom for Hajj and Umrah are surprised by the scale of repression and authoritarianism exercised by Mohammed bin Salman’s authorities against anyone not aligned with the crown prince and his intelligence. Their fate could be arrest and deportation, at best, if not abduction and enforced disappearance.
The “Observatory for Violations during Hajj and Umrah” believes that Saudi authorities granting visas should ensure safety and refrain from harming anyone entering for the same purpose for which the visa was issued.
لا يحق للسعودية أن تتملَّك الحرمين الشريفين كبعض عقارها فتمنع منه من تشاء وتُدخل فيه من تشاء. pic.twitter.com/D6CoJ4HEJd
— مرصد انتهاكات الحج والعمرة (@HajjIsNotSafe) March 4, 2024
Blatant violation of treaties and conventions
Therefore, issuing Hajj and Umrah visas by Saudi authorities to some scholars, journalists, and ordinary Muslims, then arresting them upon arrival due to their opposition to some of Saudi Arabia’s policies, constitutes a blatant violation of all treaties and conventions.
The report calls on all human rights organizations, institutions concerned with the rights of pilgrims and Umrah performers, and human rights organizations to urgently intervene to halt the violations facing pilgrims, especially after the Gaza war, as Mohammed bin Salman’s authorities have turned into repressive tools aimed at silencing any voice praying for Palestine.
The Observatory also mentions that these institutions should adopt the causes of those prohibited from performing Hajj and Umrah or those detained by the Saudi government while performing these rituals, and open legal files in international courts to hold accountable the Kingdom’s officials who have turned the state into a source of worry and fear when carrying out one of the most important rituals in Islam and the fifth pillar of Islam.
It is worth noting that Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states, “Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance,” a right blatantly violated by Saudi Arabia by preventing many figures from performing these rituals.
يجب على السلطات السعودية أن تضمن بقاء شعائر الحج والعمرة شعائر عامة بعيدة عن أية محاولات لتسييسها. pic.twitter.com/LePKYvcQUP
— مرصد انتهاكات الحج والعمرة (@HajjIsNotSafe) March 4, 2024
Saudi authorities and their relationship with occupation
There is growing anger over the Saudi position ignoring the catastrophe Palestinians are experiencing due to the war launched by the occupation army since last October against Palestinians, and the arrest of anyone sympathizing with Palestine and its cause.
The Saudi regime’s disregard has reached the point of openly normalizing with Israel, without any consideration for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza due to the terrible Israeli war.
Observers describe the positions of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the de facto ruler of the Kingdom as moving beyond tolerance and silence to complicity, and perhaps alliance with Israel to eliminate Palestinian resistance and expedite normalization afterward.
In 2017, Saudi authorities arrested 39 Egyptian pilgrims and forcibly deported 65 others to Egypt on political grounds, a serious violation condemned by human rights organizations at the time, and it continues to occur to this day.