Ahead of the hajj, which starts next week, Saudi Arabia announced on Saturday that security agents have removed hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah.
One of the five pillars of Islam, the annual pilgrimage, attracted over 1.8 million Muslims last year, and crowd control is a key worry during that time, according to government statistics.
According to the official Saudi Press Agency, 153,998 tourists who entered the holy city—which is home to the Grand Mosque—on tourist visas as opposed to the necessary hajj permits were among those turned away in recent days.
Furthermore, 171,587 other Saudi nationals who are based in Saudi Arabia but do not live in Makkah and do not possess hajj licenses have been apprehended by Saudi authorities, according to SPA.
The hajj, which begins on June 14, must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims with the means.
It involves a series of rituals completed over at least four days in Makkah and its surroundings in the west of Saudi Arabia.
Many seek to complete the rites through unofficial channels as obtaining the formal permits and travel packages can be extremely costly, with limited quotas for pilgrims from each country.
Saudi Arabia is home to the holiest shrines in Islam at Makkah and Medina, and the Gulf kingdom makes billions of dollars each year from the hajj and from pilgrimages, known as Umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.
The pilgrimages are also a source of prestige for the Saudi monarch whose official title includes “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques” in Makkah and Medina.
In the past, large gatherings have proven dangerous during the hajj. The deadliest hajj tragedy ever occurred in 2015 when a stampede occurred during the “stoning the devil” ritual in Mina, near Makkah, killing up to 2,300 people.
Saudi authorities are taking harsh measures against unregistered pilgrims out of fear that this would happen again.
As on Saturday, more over 1.3 million pilgrims with valid visas had reached Saudi Arabia to do the hajj, according to Makkah regional authorities on X.
