The International Monitoring Committee for the Saudi Administration of the Two Holy Mosques (Al Haramain Watch) condemned Saudi authorities for what it said “exploitation of Hajj and Umrah pilgrimage for business purposes.”
In a statement issued Tuesday, the committee pointed out that the Mecca hotel prices, up to 74,000 riyals per night, are through the roof.
The committee further said that the Saudi government is working on destabilising the peaceful environment and spiritual atmosphere for pilgrims by turning the Hajj season into a business.
Saudi local papers also pointed out that the Saudi authorities had given top priority to develop the two holy mosques ever since the Kingdom was formed, even during the economic crises.
Al-Riyadh newspaper stated that the Saudi Vision 2030 seeks to increase the Hajj and Umrah pilgrims to 30 million per year, aiming to double the financial revenues.
This year, Saudi Arabia will allow a million hajj pilgrims to perform Hajj with Covid precautions.
Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, as the custodianship of Islam's holiest sites is the most powerful source of their political legitimacy.
The Hajj and the lesser Umrah pilgrimage together rake in some $12 billion, keeping the economy humming in Mecca, home to two million people and marble-bedecked skyscrapers towering over Islam's most sacred sites.
A construction boom in recent years has added shopping malls, flats and luxury hotels, some offering spectacular views of the sacred Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure in the Grand Mosque towards which Muslims around the world pray.
The Hajj season is probably one of Saudi Arabia’s most valuable treasures due to the money it generates for Mecca and Medina.
