Friday, April 25, 2025
10:17 AM
Doha,Qatar
Prince Khaled al-Faisal

Makkah chief in Iran swipe over Islam divide

The governor of Saudi Arabia's Makkah region on Wednesday urged Muslim religious leaders to fight sectarianism, an indirect criticism of Shia Iran.

Prince Khaled al-Faisal was speaking at a news conference to discuss the annual hajj pilgrimage, which ends on Thursday and has added to tensions between Riyadh and Tehran.
"I call on Muslim leaders, whether they are political leaders, ulemas (scholars), or intellectuals, to combat sectarianism," Faisal said.
For the first time in nearly three decades, Iran's 64,000 pilgrims are not attending the hajj in Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia after the two regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.
"Combat this sectarian divide between Muslims. Islam is one and only one religion," Faisal said in Mina, a pilgrimage site on the edge of Makkah.
He said this year's hajj occurred without incident despite "the lies and allegations... of those who wanted to place in doubt the capacity of the kingdom to serve the pilgrims."
Among its concerns over Iranian participation in this year's hajj, Riyadh said Tehran had demanded the right to organise demonstrations.
Tehran in turn accused Riyadh of "blocking the path leading to Allah".
Security was one of the contentious issues following last year's hajj stampede which, according to foreign officials, killed roughly 2,300 people.
Iran reported the largest number of victims, at 464.
Just days before the hajj began on Saturday Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei questioned Saudi Arabia's right to manage Islam's holiest sites.
Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti Abdulaziz al-Sheikh retaliated by telling a newspaper that Iranians "are not Muslims".
Reiterating a point made on Tuesday by King Salman, Faisal said Saudi Arabia does not interfere in Iran's internal affairs "but we don't permit the holy sites and the hajj to be used for political ends".
More than 1.8 million faithful from around the world have been attending the annual pilgrimage.

Comments
  • There are no comments.

Add Comments

B1Details

Latest News

SPORT

Canada's youngsters set stage for new era

Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when you are saying farewell to those that have left a positive impression. That was the case earlier this month when Canada hosted Mexico in a friendly at BC Place stadium in Vancouver.

1:43 PM February 26 2017
TECHNOLOGY

A payment plan for universal education

Some 60mn primary-school-age children have no access to formal education

11:46 AM December 14 2016
CULTURE

10-man Lekhwiya leave it late to draw Rayyan 2-2

Lekhwiya’s El Arabi scores the equaliser after Tresor is sent off; Tabata, al-Harazi score for QSL champions

7:10 AM November 26 2016
ARABIA

Yemeni minister hopes 48-hour truce will be maintained

The Yemeni Minister of Tourism, Dr Mohamed Abdul Majid Qubati, yesterday expressed hope that the 48-hour ceasefire in Yemen declared by the Command of Coalition Forces on Saturday will be maintained in order to lift the siege imposed on Taz City and ease the entry of humanitarian aid to the besieged

10:30 AM November 27 2016
ARABIA

QM initiative aims to educate society on arts and heritage

Some 200 teachers from schools across the country attended Qatar Museum’s (QM) first ever Teachers Council at the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) yesterday.

10:55 PM November 27 2016
ARABIA

Qatar, Indonesia to boost judicial ties

The Supreme Judiciary Council (SJC) of Qatar and the Indonesian Supreme Court (SCI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on judicial co-operation, it was announced yesterday.

10:30 AM November 28 2016
ECONOMY

Sri Lanka eyes Qatar LNG to fuel power plants in ‘clean energy shift’

Sri Lanka is keen on importing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Qatar as part of government policy to shift to clean energy, Minister of City Planning and Water Supply Rauff Hakeem has said.

10:25 AM November 12 2016
B2Details
C7Details