Government | Monday 28 August, 2017 1:20 pm |

Egyptian scholars and men of religion have valued the efforts and services provided by Saudi Arabia to pilgrims coming from different countries, so they can peacefully and securely perform their Hajj rituals.
As they expressed their appreciation of the king for inviting 1,000 pilgrims from families of Egyptian army and police martyrs to the Kingdom, and ordered that private jets belonging to Saudia be sent to Doha airport to bring Qatari pilgrims at his expenses, they underscored that Saudi Arabia has put its human and financial resources at the service this season’s Hajj.
They rejected the false allegations politicizing Hajj directed toward the Kingdom, asserting that pilgrims from all nationalities are welcome.
In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Magdy Ashour, scientific adviser to the Egyptian grand mufti, lauded the efforts of the Kingdom, which always strives for the convenience of every pilgrim.
He thanked the Kingdom for hosting 1,000 Egyptian martyrs’ family members, for it truly values the sacrifices made by the Egyptian army and police in combatting terrorist groups’ extremist ideologies.
He said that Hajj, being one of Islam’s pillars, aims to bring Muslims together around religious rituals, rather than generating political tensions. Therefore, Muslims should focus on performing their rituals, instead of listening to calls for division.
Ibrahim Najm, adviser to the mufti of Egypt, affirmed that such allegations promote extremism and terrorism, and contradict the principle of unity, which is the pilgrimage’s main goal.
He commended King Salman, the Saudi people, and all the organizers for the efforts exerted in facilitating this season’s Hajj, and for creating an environment of love, fraternity, peace, security and piety.
Abdul Hamid El-Atrach said that Hajj can only have a religious dimension, never a political one. That is why attempting to bring political disputes into the religious sphere aim to create strife, which is utterly unacceptable.
He then noted that the Kingdom will take any decision deemed necessary to protect the pilgrims, noting that no other country in the world is able to host millions of people in a small area, during such a short period of time.