Mohamed Raizwan hardly dared hope he would be selected for this year’s Hajj. Due to the coronavirus, fewer than 10,000 people were able to undertake the annual pilgrimage to Islam’s holiest sites this year, down from more than 2 million who usually attend.
Now, as he and the other lucky few called to take part in the smallest Hajj in living memory head home, he’s awestricken by the experience.
“This has been the best time in my entire life,” the 29-year-old Sri Lankan said, sitting in the shade of Makkah’s Holy Mosque as the setting sun signalled the start of the Maghreb prayer on Sunday.
“I truly felt blessed with this Hajj, never in my life did I think I would experience something like this, it was such a peaceful Hajj.”
At the end of the five-day journey, pilgrims departed from Makkah for their homes across the kingdom, closing Hajj as they began it – with a seven-day isolation to ensure none have caught Covid-19.
But, with no cases detected yet authorities are cautiously celebrating the success of the effort to hold a safe Hajj despite a global pandemic.
"With God's help, then adhering to all health measures we had put in place, we are happy to say that Hajj this year didn't record any Covid-19 cases," Hamed Fehaan, the spokesperson for Makkah Health Authority told The National.
"Now it is time for the third stage of the plan," he said, explaining that pilgrims will remain in isolation at home for seven days.
Saudi authorities implemented a series of stringent health measures this year to enable Hajj to go ahead as it battles the coronavirus pandemic. Face masks were made mandatory and pilgrims were screened on arrival then required to wear electronic bracelets to ensure isolation was maintained during quarantine periods.
Changes were also made to a number of practices, including touching the Kaaba, which was banned this year to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Normally, people come from all over the world to take part in Hajj, but this year only a select group of Saudi residents and citizens were granted permission to attend, with priority given to those serving on the front lines of the coronavirus crisis.
More than 279,000 Covid-19 cases have been confirmed in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the outbreak, but no infections were recorded during Hajj.
Pilgrims were required to maintain social distancing at all times and health experts accompanied each group to advise on preventive measures.
The final Tawaf, in which pilgrims circle the Kaaba, took place on Sunday to the sounds of the Azan. Walking in neat lines along coloured pathways to ensure the correct social distance, the pilgrims presented a very different picture to the crowds that usually gather for this holy ritual.
Most people who come to Makkah for Hajj join one of the largest gatherings of people worldwide to perform the fifth and final pillar of Islam. For Mr Raizwan and those who undertook the journey alongside him in 2020, the experience has been all the more unique. The summer heat and the huge crowds usually make the long days and short nights a tiring journey.
"This had been a great chance for me, I never expected Hajj to be like this when I [came to] perform it; I always thought when I do it will be with much hardship,” he said.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: eight-speed PDK
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Price: Dh683,200
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At a glance
- 20,000 new jobs for Emiratis over three years
- Dh300 million set aside to train 18,000 jobseekers in new skills
- Managerial jobs in government restricted to Emiratis
- Emiratis to get priority for 160 types of job in private sector
- Portion of VAT revenues will fund more graduate programmes
- 8,000 Emirati graduates to do 6-12 month replacements in public or private sector on a Dh10,000 monthly wage - 40 per cent of which will be paid by government
The Indoor Cricket World Cup
When: September 16-23
Where: Insportz, Dubai
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
