‘Political slogans’ not allowed during Haj: Riyadh

RIYADH: The Saudi minister of Hajj said that political slogans have no place during the pilgrimage as he announced that 1.2 million Muslims had arrived in the kingdom, reports foreign media.

“Hajj is for worship, not for any political slogans,” Tawfiq Al-Rabiah said on Thursday, in response to a question by a reporter about the rules and punitive measures governing “political and sectarian slogans”. “This is what the Kingdom’s leadership, may God preserve it, is working on, ensuring that Hajj truly embodies the highest levels of devotion, tranquility, and spirituality,” he added.

Al-Rabiah said in previous years there has been “a high level of compliance” with these rules.

The Saudi Supreme Court on Thursday announced that the annual Hajj will begin on 14 June and Eid al-Adha will be marked two days later.

Israel’s devastating war on Gaza has drawn condemnation from Muslims around the world, but protests are illegal in Saudi Arabia.

Saudi imams have publicly prayed for Gaza and the Palestinians in weekly Friday sermons since October, but the rules announced by the Hajj minister suggest such expression could be restricted.