As hajj nears, Saudi Arabia aims to avoid another disaster
Saudi Arabia initiated new steps for the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca that began Friday to avoid last year’s disaster when hundreds, if not thousands, of worshipers were crushed to death.
Officials will issue e-bracelets that contain personal and medical information on each worshiper and have GPS devices to help navigate the event that draws millions of Muslims from around the world each year.
A thousand new security cameras were installed to monitor crowds, and help desks will be set up to assist people, according to Reuters.
The actions come as Iranian pilgrims refuse to take part in this year’s ritual after more than 400 Iranians were killed in last year's stampede in Mina, outside of Mecca — the largest death toll of any country.
How many died is disputed. Saudi Arabia said 769 people were killed in the crush, but The Associated Press and Reuters estimated more than 2,400 died. The cause is still under investigation, and Saudi Arabia has yet to release any findings on why it happened.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blames Saudi Arabia for the high number of deaths, saying Saudi authorities acted as bystanders rather than rescuers, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.
“The government of Saudi Arabia must be held accountable for this incident,” Rouhani said Wednesday at a weekly Cabinet meeting, according to the AP. “Unfortunately, this government has even refrained from a verbal apology to Muslims and Muslim countries.”
Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, met Wednesday with families of those killed last year and declared the Saudis unfit to host the hajj, which lasts through Sept. 14.
The hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is a requirement for all Muslims who are physically fit and financially able to complete at least once in their lives.
Khamenei began a bitter exchange between the two countries on Monday, disparaging the Saudis as "heartless and murderous" in their handling of last year's tragedy by allegedly denying medical treatment to victims.
"They murdered them," Khamenei said on his website.
Saudi Arabia's grand mufti, Abdul-Aziz al-Sheikh, responded Tuesday that Iranians are not true Muslims. And Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef accused Iran of trying to politicize the holy event.
Saudi Arabia's handling of last year's hajj is the latest flash point in a bitter rivalry between the two Muslim countries. At the core is Islam's centuries-old schism between Sunni Muslims — the majority in the oil-rich Saudi Kingdom — and Shiites, who dominate in Iran.
The two nations wage a proxy war in poverty-stricken Yemen, where the Saudis lead a local coalition fighting to defeat Shiite-dominated Houthi rebels threatening to unseat the government.
In Syria, Iran supports embattled President Bashar Assad, while Saudi Arabia backs Sunni rebel groups locked in a five-year civil war against Assad.