This year’s Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca ended in tragedy, with more than 1,300 people losing their lives earlier this month.
While many observers have pointed to a searing heat wave in Saudi Arabia as the main cause of the catastrophe, eyewitnesses and officials say the situation was made worse by unscrupulous tour companies taking advantage of a lax visa system.
“There are some companies, a lot of them are in Egypt, and they promise people to go to Hajj for a cheap price, but they give [pilgrims] a tourist visa, and then when they arrive in Mecca, they have to figure everything out for themselves,” said Myassar Hassan, a 67-year-old pilgrim from Jordan who went to Hajj this year.
This forces people without the right permits to sneak into the city, skirting security checkpoints, and navigate the crowds in brutal heat without access to basic necessities, including water.
This year’s staggering death toll has led authorities in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere to crack down on illicit operators exploiting the country’s visa system.
How Muslims get to Hajj
Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which means that every Muslim who is physically and financially able must go to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.
With approximately two billion Muslims worldwide, and millions of them ready to perform Hajj, Saudi Arabian officials have a quota system in place.
On average, about two million pilgrims come to Mecca every year.
Each country receives a specific number of Hajj visas each year, based on the size of its Muslim population, and these visas are distributed to individuals based on a lottery system.
For Canada, that number was capped at 1,951 in 2023. Places like Egypt, a country with 95 million Muslims, had 50,000 pilgrims registered this year.
Most Muslims who get a visa for Hajj tend to sign up with a licensed tour company in their home country that will do all the paperwork for them. These companies also provide pilgrims with an Islamic guide — typically an imam who will accompany them and also prepare them for what to expect at the three-day event.
Tour groups take responsibility for transportation between sites in Mecca, as well as daily meals, hotel and tent accommodations when pilgrims are required to sleep in nearby Mina, also known as the “city of tents.”
“They gave us a very specific plan, scheduled times on where to go for the entire trip, and taught us everything we need to know before we arrive in Mecca,” Hassan said about her experience this year.
Circumventing the system
Purchasing a Hajj package deal with a tourism company can be costly. One licensed company based in Calgary lists package fees starting at around $20,000 per person.
The cost and the competitive lottery makes it easy for some unlicensed companies to exploit people’s desperation.
One major problem is that some companies will give pilgrims a tourist visa, not a Hajj visa. Those without the right visa are forced to find alternate ways into Mecca, away from police checkpoints, which often means navigating through the city’s very dry, hot and rocky landscape.
“From what I heard, they’re just usually dropped off somewhere around Mecca and sometimes told to walk and find a way into the city, around all the checkpoints,” said Hassan.
This poses a challenge for authorities, who need to know how many pilgrims are expected to arrive, so they can ensure Hajj is orderly and safe for everyone.
Police officers are placed around the borders of Mecca, ensuring only those with special Hajj permits are allowed in. Hassan, who rode a bus from Amman, Jordan, to Mecca, says her bus was inspected.
“I remember being so worried. I couldn’t find my permit, I had to dig through my purse until I found it, I would not be allowed in otherwise,” said Hassan.
Skirting the quotas
Saudi media reports that anyone “violating Hajj regulations and instructions without a permit” faces fines of as much as 50,000 riyals ($18,000 Cdn) and imprisonment of up to six months.
During her time on Mount Arafat, which is about 20 kilometres from the main pilgrimage site, Hassan witnessed some of the ways that Saudi officials were cracking down on unregistered pilgrims.
“We had one woman who we kept in our tent, we gave her juice, and some food, but we couldn’t keep her in, we had to make her leave or we’d be fined for it,” said Hassan.
She added that this woman was one of many she saw who had to bear the scorching sun on the mountain, deprived of food, water and shelter.
“I saw people collapsing on Mount Arafat, some people were vomiting. I saw some people pouring water on those that were collapsing,” said Hassan. “The sun was just so hot.”
The highest temperature reached during the event was around 50 C, but Hassan felt it was much hotter than that.
“There were lots of people. It was like an oven.”
What’s next for the safety of pilgrims
In a statement, Saudi Arabian health officials say they provided “specialized treatment” to 141,000 people who didn’t have official authorization to perform Hajj.
The health ministry says 83 per cent of those who died in Mecca were unregistered pilgrims.
More than 660 of them were Egyptian. This prompted Egypt to take action, with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly ordering 16 tour companies to be stripped of their licenses for illegally facilitating pilgrims’ travel to Mecca.
While it was her first time at Hajj, Hassan says she has long heard about pilgrims coming in unregistered.
“A lot of people want to come [to Mecca], and sadly there will always be companies that will cheat and lie in the face of people,” she said.
Hassan acknowledges that Hajj is essential for every Muslim, and says her experience was spiritually rewarding.
“I felt so at ease there, and that I was close to Allah. I was just so happy,” she said. “I never felt like this in my life before. I can’t even explain it.”
She hopes pilgrims become more aware of dodgy tour operators and are more mindful to avoid chaos and tragedy in the future.
“I just wish people would have some common sense, and maybe avoid these illegitimate companies and be patient for their turn,” she said.
“I had to wait all my life [to perform Hajj], and wait for my children to grow up, and save up until I was able to go.
“We are Muslims, we are better than this. Patience is one of the beautiful elements of Islam.”