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Tribune News Network
Doha
Qatar has accused Saudi Arabia of barring its nationals from performing this year's Hajj by blocking an online link for registration for the annual pilgrimage and placing hurdles in the path of its citizens and residents.
Around 1,200 Qatari citizens are allowed to attend the pilgrimage under a quota system, but Qatari officials say it has become impossible to register for the annual religious rite.
Qatari nationals are also banned from entering Saudi Arabia, which is leading a four-nation bloc imposing an unjust siege on Qatar.
In June, Saudi Arabia's ministry for the Hajj announced the opening of a website, which allowed Qataris to register for the pilgrimage. However, those in Qatar say registration is impossible.
Abdullah al Kaabi of Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) said Saudi Arabia had shut down the system used by travel agencies to obtain permits.
"There is no chance this year for Qatari citizens and residents to travel for Hajj," he told the Reuters news agency."Registration of pilgrims from the State of Qatar remains closed, and residents of Qatar cannot be granted visas as there are no diplomatic missions."
Three travel agencies in Doha also have told Reuters they had stopped trying to sell Hajj packages.
"Last year, we lost a lot of money as the crisis started after we had booked everything in Makkah and Madina and we had to refund the people," said the manager of a travel agency in Doha."This year, no agency is really trying to send people for Hajj as everybody understands that there is no way to reach there in the present circumstances and with all the hurdles being enforced by Saudi Arabia," he said.
Despite Saudi's public stance on opening the doors of Hajj to Qatari pilgrims, most people in Qatar still believe that Makkah has become a mere political tool in the hands of Riyadh. The formidable hurdles Riyadh has put in the path of Qatari pilgrims are proof of Riyadh's politicisation of Hajj, they believe.
Abdul Nasser Fakhro, a Hajj and Umrah campaigner in Qatar, has told Aljazeera TV that Saudi's decision is a painful blow as it comes from a brother rather than a stranger. Blocking of Qataris from carrying out Hajj is a stabbing in the back, he says.
According to Majdi Rizk, director of the Hajj and Umrah Office, the estimated losses to various agencies in Qatar from the Hajj ban amounts to around QR3 million.
Riyadh temporarily opened the land border for the Hajj last year, but has not done so this year. Qatar Airways has also been prevented from entering Saudi airspace and landing at its airports. Qatari nationals are also denied currency in Saudi territory.
Last week, Saudi Arabia's daily 'Okaz' ran a front page story calling on Qataris to choose between the 'House of God' and the Qatari government.
