Mecca

Mecca

Screengrab from video shot in October 2016 by Saudi state television shows Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan, whom the kingdom named as its grand mufti on 22 October 2025. The graphic on screen in Arabic reads: "Al-Fawzan: The Houthis claim to be Muslims, but God exposed them with this heinous crime." Photo: UNB/Saudi state television via AP

Saudi Arabia names Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan al-Fawzan as new grand mufti

In 2016, a fatwa attributed to him banned the mobile game Pokémon Go, calling it a form of gambling, while ironically, Crown Prince Mohammed now owns major stakes in Nintendo and Niantic, the game&...

Hundreds of thousands of Muslims pray inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca September 15, 2009. REUTERS/Susan Baahil/File Photo

Saudi Arabia allows foreigners to invest in firms with property in Mecca, Medina

Pilgrims circle Kaaba as they perform Tawaf at the Grand Mosque, ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 11, 2024. REUTERS

In photos: Journey to Mecca

Pilgrims leave after offering prayers outside at the Grand Mosque during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, early Friday, 14 June, 2024. Photo: UNB

In Mecca's sweltering heat, Muslims start this year's Hajj pilgrimage

Muslims pray at the Grand Mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia August 6, 2019. File Photo/Reuters

Ramadan: Mecca, Madinah flooded with Umrah visitors

Pilgrims are seen shopping at El-Sa'a mall, as Muslims start arriving to perform the annual haj in the Grand Mosque, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, June 26, 2023. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany

Defying high prices, Muslim pilgrims head to Mecca for haj

Firefighters put out a fire in the building which houses the MKM hotel in Moscow, Russia February 21, 2023, in this still image taken from video. Russian Emergencies Ministry/Handout via REUTERS

8 pilgrims killed and six injured in massive Mecca hotel fire

Photo: Collected

Women drive fast train to Mecca as Saudi workforce evolves

The flooding in Jeddah on Thursday. PHOTO: Amer HILABI/AFP

Two dead as Saudi storm closes schools, cuts main road to Mecca

The initiative was launched by Sheikh Dr. Abdulrahman bin Abdulaziz Al-Sudais, the General President for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque. .Photo :Al Arabiya News

Muslims can now touch the Black Stone in Mecca virtually

While social distancing measures were lifted, the authorities said visitors must be fully vaccinated against coronavirus and must continue to wear masks on mosque grounds. Photo: Straits Times

Grand Mosque in Mecca drops social distancing

Photo: BSS/AFP

Saudi to allow only ‘immunised’ pilgrims in Mecca during Ramadan

A small group of worshippers pray at Kaaba in the Grand Mosque while practicing social distancing, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease, during the holy month of Ramadan, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia May 4, 2020. Saudi Press Agency/Handout via Reuters

Car rams into gate of Mecca's Grand Mosque, driver arrested