According to Dawn, the latest death toll for the Hajj 2024 heat-related incident stands at around 1,126 with more than half of the deceased belonging to Egypt.
Ahram Online
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly recently ordered the revocation of licenses for 16 tourism companies and referred their managers to the public prosecutor. This decision came after these companies were found to have organized unauthorised pilgrimages to Mecca. Such actions violate the strict regulations governing the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages, which are considered sacred duties for Muslims.
The prime minister has ordered the licences of these companies to be revoked, their managers to be referred to the public prosecutor and the imposition of a fine to benefit the families of the pilgrims who died because of them.
The Hajj pilgrimage, one of the Five Pillars of Islam, requires significant preparation and adherence to official guidelines to ensure the safety and spiritual integrity of the event. Saudi Arabia, where Mecca is located, imposes stringent controls on the issuance of Hajj permits to manage the large number of pilgrims and ensure proper conduct during the pilgrimage. Unauthorized trips not only bypass these controls but also pose risks to the participants and undermine the official pilgrimage framework.
This most recent step from the Egyptiam prime minister is followed by the recent incident which took place during the Hajj pilgrimage, where over 1,000 pilgrims died due to the increased heat, leading to many pointing out the mismanagement from the Government bodies in charge of managing that the Hajj pilgrimage goes smoothly. According to Dawn, the latest death toll for the Hajj 2024 heat-related incident stands at around 1,126 with more than half of the deceased belonging to Egypt. The news further revealed that Arab diplomats are now stating that around 658 Egyptian pilgrims have died in Hajj this year, with 630 of them being unregistered pilgrims.
Although Hajj comes at a steep price, thousands of applicants from all around the country look forward to getting an opportunity to perform the pilgrimage. However, as more and more unregistered pilgrims are able to crack through the system through such tourism companies, people who are following set rules and guidelines are being pushed further back in line, having to wait years for their turn to perform Hajj. Although it becomes clear that Egypt is not the only country with such a high number of unauthorised pilgrims getting into Saudi, the Egyptian Government was forced to face the increasing issue due to the high number of deaths of unregistered pilgrims at Hajj this year. With this, it becomes clear that proper guidelines need to be put in place and followed in order to ensure that every person who is making the hefty payments to perform their Hajj gets an equal opportunity to do so.
In addition to taking away opportunities from people who have been waiting to perform their Hajj, unauthorised pilgrimage trips also often do not meet safety and accommodation standards, putting participants at risk.
