Saudis to Put Limits on Haj Pilgrimage
AMMAN, Jordan — Saudi Arabia will temporarily limit the size of the annual pilgrimage to Muslim holy sites in the kingdom, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al Faisal said Wednesday.
Last years’s Haj pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina was marred by bloody clashes between Saudi security forces and Iranian pilgrims in which at least 402 people were killed.
Prince Saud told an Islamic conference in Amman that the decision to set quotas on pilgrim numbers was taken in light of “current circumstances and the increasing number of visitors to the kingdom during the Haj.” This year’s Haj will start in mid-July.
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