The Disaster of the Hajj 1445/2024

This year’s Hajj season witnessed a true disaster and a humanitarian tragedy, as hundreds of pilgrims lost their lives due to the mismanagement of the Hajj by the Saudi authorities under the leadership of Mohammed bin Salman. This catastrophe could have been avoided either through better organization and arrangement of the Hajj process or by providing immediate medical assistance to the pilgrims after they fell. However, what happened was extremely unfortunate; the pilgrims were left to die in the streets without any medical aid, which is an affront to human dignity and the dignity of the pilgrim in particular, and a complete abdication of the responsibility that the Saudi government claims to perform perfectly.

Despite the occurrence of this disaster and the spread of dozens of videos documenting it, the Saudi government announced the success of the Hajj season, ignoring the hundreds of pilgrims who lost their lives. Not only that, but it also has not issued any official statement or clarification explaining what really happened. On the contrary, it instructed its media apparatus and affiliated electronic accounts to deny the occurrence of the massacre. As of the writing of this statement, thousands of pilgrims are still missing, increasing the likelihood of a higher death toll.

We condemn and denounce this disaster in the strongest terms and hold the Saudi authorities fully responsible for these deaths due to negligence and mismanagement of the Hajj season. We call for an impartial and transparent investigation involving regional and international parties to uncover the truth of what happened.

We also extend our deepest condolences to the families of this year’s Hajj victims, and we pray for mercy for the deceased and a speedy recovery for the injured.