1 million Muslims to perform Hajj as Saudi Arabia eases COVID-19 restrictions – National | Globalnews.ca

One million Muslim pilgrims converged on Saudi Arabia’s holy city of Mecca on Wednesday for the largest hajj since the coronavirus pandemic severely restricted access to one of Islam’s five pillars.

Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow some 850,000 Muslims from abroad to make the annual pilgrimage, which begins Thursday, marks a big step back toward normalcy after two years of a drastically scaled-down hajj restricted to Saudi residents.

The million pilgrims from home and abroad who take part is still far fewer than the 2.5 million Muslims who traveled in 2019 for the pilgrimage, which is typically one of the world’s largest gatherings. Those performing the ritual this year must be under 65, vaccinated against the coronavirus and have tested negative for COVID-19 within 72 hours of travel. Pilgrims are chosen from millions of applicants through an online lottery system.

Saudi officials inspected the holy site on Wednesday, emphasizing their “readiness” to receive pilgrims in order to “maintain public health.”

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Muslim pilgrims perform ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual during annual Hajj

After the coronavirus hit in 2020, Saudi authorities allowed only 1,000 pilgrims already residing in the kingdom to attend, leading historians to compare the disruption to the storming of the site by religious extremists and the dramatic closure in 1979.

Last year, the hajj was similarly restricted to 60,000 fully vaccinated Muslims living in Saudi Arabia. The unprecedented restrictions sent shock waves throughout the Muslim world, devastating many believers who had spent years saving for the religious rite.

This year, however, the Saudi authorities are set to relax virus restrictions. Religious pilgrimages generated $12 billion before the pandemic, representing the largest percentage of Saudi Arabia’s gross domestic product after oil.

Although virus cases have risen steadily to more than 500 a day in Saudi Arabia, the government last month lifted the country’s indoor mask mandate and other precautions against the virus. Approximately 70% of the country has been vaccinated against the virus.

The Qur’an says that all physically and financially capable followers of Islam must make the pilgrimage once in their lifetime. Pilgrims travel to Mecca from all over the world for five intense days of worship, carrying out a series of rituals.

The hajj follows a route traveled by the prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago and is believed to follow in the footsteps of the prophets Ibrahim and Ismail, or Abraham and Ishmael, as they are called in the Bible.