Saudi Arabia clears Makkah of over 300,000 unregistered pilgrims ahead of hajj | The Business Standard
Skip to main content
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard

Tuesday
June 10, 2025

Sign In
Subscribe
  • Latest
  • Economy
    • Banking
    • Stocks
    • Industry
    • Analysis
    • Bazaar
    • RMG
    • Corporates
    • Aviation
  • Videos
    • TBS Today
    • TBS Stories
    • TBS World
    • News of the day
    • TBS Programs
    • Podcast
    • Editor's Pick
  • World+Biz
  • Features
    • Panorama
    • The Big Picture
    • Pursuit
    • Habitat
    • Thoughts
    • Splash
    • Mode
    • Tech
    • Explorer
    • Brands
    • In Focus
    • Book Review
    • Earth
    • Food
    • Luxury
    • Wheels
  • More
    • Sports
    • TBS Graduates
    • Bangladesh
    • Supplement
    • Infograph
    • Archive
    • Gallery
    • Long Read
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Magazine
    • Climate Change
    • Health
    • Cartoons
  • বাংলা
TUESDAY, JUNE 10, 2025
Saudi Arabia clears Makkah of over 300,000 unregistered pilgrims ahead of hajj

Middle East

BSS/AFP
09 June, 2024, 12:05 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2024, 12:07 pm

Related News

  • Eid-ul-Adha celebrated in parts of Munshiganj, Faridpur, Satkhira, Chattogram today
  • Muslim pilgrims 'stone the devil' as hajj concludes in Saudi
  • Million-plus pilgrims to begin hajj under blazing sun
  • 87,157 pilgrims reached Saudi for Hajj
  • Saudi Arabia, Qatar to provide financial support to Syria's state employees: Saudi foreign minister

Saudi Arabia clears Makkah of over 300,000 unregistered pilgrims ahead of hajj

Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which drew more than 1.8 million Muslims last year, according to official figures

BSS/AFP
09 June, 2024, 12:05 pm
Last modified: 09 June, 2024, 12:07 pm
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual haj pilgrimage, in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia July 6, 2022. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that security forces had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Makkah ahead of the hajj which begins next week.

Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which drew more than 1.8 million Muslims last year, according to official figures.

Those turned away in recent days from the holy city, home to the Grand Mosque, include 153,998 foreigners who travelled from abroad on tourist visas rather than the required hajj visas, the official Saudi Press Agency said.

The Business Standard Google News Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel

In addition Saudi authorities have rounded up 171,587 others who are based in Saudi Arabia but are not residents of Makkah and did not have hajj permits, SPA said.

The hajj, which begins on June 14, must be undertaken at least once by all Muslims with the means.

It involves a series of rituals completed over at least four days in Makkah and its surroundings in the west of Saudi Arabia.

Many seek to complete the rites through unofficial channels as obtaining the formal permits and travel packages can be extremely costly, with limited quotas for pilgrims from each country.

Saudi Arabia is home to the holiest shrines in Islam at Makkah and Medina, and the Gulf kingdom makes billions of dollars each year from the hajj and from pilgrimages, known as Umrah, undertaken at other times of the year.

The pilgrimages are also a source of prestige for the Saudi monarch whose official title includes "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Makkah and Medina.

Large crowds have proved hazardous in the past during the hajj, most recently in 2015 when a stampede during the "stoning the devil" ritual in Mina, near Makkah, killed up to 2,300 people in the deadliest-ever hajj disaster.

Fears of a repeat have spurred Saudi officials to crack down on off-the-books pilgrims.

More than 1.3 million registered pilgrims had arrived in Saudi Arabia for the hajj as of Saturday, Makkah regional authorities said on X.

World+Biz

Saudi Arabia / Hajj 2024

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus leaves for a four-day visit to the United Kingdom from the Dhaka airport on 9 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    CA Yunus leaves for UK; discussion expected on renewable energy investment, laundered money
  • Donald Trump. Photo: Reuters
    Trump defends sending National Guard to LA as California governor to sue administration
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom. File Photo: REUTERS/Fred Greaves
    California Governor Newsom to sue Trump over National Guard deployment amid LA protests

MOST VIEWED

  • On left, Abdullah Hil Rakib, former senior vice president (SVP) of BGMEA and additional managing director of Team Group; on right, Captain Md Saifuzzaman (Guddu), a Boeing 787 Dreamliner pilot for Biman Bangladesh Airlines. Photos: Collected
    Ex-BGMEA SVP Abdullah Hil Rakib, Biman 787 pilot Saifuzzaman drown in boating accident in Canada
  • A photo showing the former president on his return to Dhaka today (9 June). 
Source: Collected
    Former president Abdul Hamid returns to Bangladesh from Thailand
  • File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar
    Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do
  • Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus leaves for a four-day visit to the United Kingdom from the Dhaka airport on 9 June 2025. Photo: CA Press Wing
    CA Yunus leaves for UK; discussion expected on renewable energy investment, laundered money
  • Inside the aid ship stormed by Israeli forces on 9 June 2025. Photo: BBC
    Israeli forces stormed aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg bound for Gaza: Freedom Flotilla Coalition
  • Enhanced surveillance at Ctg airport amid rising global Covid-19 cases
    Enhanced surveillance at Ctg airport amid rising global Covid-19 cases

Related News

  • Eid-ul-Adha celebrated in parts of Munshiganj, Faridpur, Satkhira, Chattogram today
  • Muslim pilgrims 'stone the devil' as hajj concludes in Saudi
  • Million-plus pilgrims to begin hajj under blazing sun
  • 87,157 pilgrims reached Saudi for Hajj
  • Saudi Arabia, Qatar to provide financial support to Syria's state employees: Saudi foreign minister

Features

File photo of Eid holidaymakers returning to the capital from their country homes/Rajib Dhar

Dhaka: The city we never want to return to, but always do

21h | Features
Photo collage shows political posters in Bagerhat. Photos: Jannatul Naym Pieal

From Sheikh Dynasty to sibling rivalry: Bagerhat signals a turning tide in local politics

2d | Bangladesh
Illustration: TBS

Unbearable weight of the white coat: The mental health crisis in our medical colleges

5d | Panorama
(From left) Sadia Haque, Sylvana Quader Sinha and Tasfia Tasbin. Sketch: TBS

Meet the women driving Bangladesh’s startup revolution

5d | Panorama

More Videos from TBS

US and China to meet in London for trade talks

US and China to meet in London for trade talks

10h | TBS World
The forbidden point on Cox's Bazar beach is like a death trap

The forbidden point on Cox's Bazar beach is like a death trap

12h | TBS Today
Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

Israeli forces seize Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg

14h | TBS World
Which way will the anti-immigration campaign in Los Angeles turn?

Which way will the anti-immigration campaign in Los Angeles turn?

15h | TBS World
EMAIL US
contact@tbsnews.net
FOLLOW US
WHATSAPP
+880 1847416158
The Business Standard
  • About Us
  • Contact us
  • Sitemap
  • Advertisement
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
Copyright © 2025
The Business Standard All rights reserved
Technical Partner: RSI Lab

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net