Muslims laud successful Hajj season

JEDDAH: As Hajj winds down, congratulations poured in hailing the peerless facilities by the government of Saudi Arabia in giving pilgrims a memorable experience of a lifetime journey.
Hajj season of this year was a huge success and an incredible way to show the world the spirit of a united religion, international media and social media played a major role in proofing that to the globe by sharing many articles, videos, and picture of this huge event.
Reaction from all over the Arab and Islamic world was overall positive complimenting the overarching organization, relentless efforts and the wide range of service provided by all agencies involved in Hajj from security personnel to Saudi Boy Scouts and female volunteers.
Anwar Gargash, UAE State Minister for Foreign Affairs, took to Twitter his praise the successful Hajj season. “In a nutshell, the huge success of Saudi Arabia in the Organization of Hajj is a success for all Muslims and Arabs,” Gargash tweeted.
Hajj this year was a success according to the Adviser to King Salman Prince Khaled Al-Faisal.
Prince Khaled thanked him and all Saudi officials for their efforts in organizing Hajj, saying the pilgrimage “was exceptional this year on all levels through the provision of services, execution of plans and conduct of workers.”
He expressed hope that reporters convey pilgrims’ “message of peace,” adding: “We do not tolerate any violations in Hajj... We reject the politicization of Hajj, and hope that all pilgrims come for worship, not for politics.”
The Kingdom does not interfere in the affairs of other countries, and does not allow any country to interfere in its affairs, Prince Khalid said, adding that Saudi Arabia is open to all Muslims.
“We do not claim to be perfect, but every year we will improve transport and accommodation services,” he said, confirming that this year’s Hajj saw more than 2 million pilgrims. He expressed hoped that the services provided by the Kingdom matched their expectation.
Saudi Arabia’s King Salman received a cable of congratulations from His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, prince of Kuwait, on the occasion of the success of this year’s Hajj season.
He mentioned the great efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia’s wise government represented by all sectors and concerned authorities that have harnessed their utmost energies to serve pilgrims.
For his part, Kuwait’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Sheikh Khaled Jarrah Al-Sabah sent a cable to Saudi Interior Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Saudi congratulating him on the successful organization of Hajj season. He lauded the tremendous efforts of the Saudi Interior Ministry and all security personnel who ensured pilgrims safety and the smoothness of their movement during rituals.
A similar cable was also received by King Salman from King Hamad bin Isa Al-Khalifa of Bahrain on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha noting the great and sincere efforts of the wise government in serving and caring for the guests of God, Kuwaiti news agency (KUNA) reported.
Dr. Ahmed Atiyah, Yemeni minister of Endowments and Guidance, announced the success of the pilgrimage season for this year without recording any accidents among Yemeni pilgrims.
Atiyah said in a statement to the media that “the success of the Hajj season for this year came as a result of the efforts of specialized technical committees and ministry staff, and the accredited marketing agencies to promote the Yemeni pilgrims.”
According to Al-Tahlia News, the head of the Office of the Affairs of the pilgrims of Nigeria, Abdullah Mukhtar Mohammed, stressed that what has been provided this year can not be described, considering the success of the Hajj season this year, especially with the increase in the number of pilgrims as it is a witness to the good management and organization of the Kingdom’s Hajj system.
Meanwhile, several Hajj-related hashtags have been trending in the past 48 hours as Muslims from all over the world extensively circulated pictures and videos captured in Hajj while lauding the Saudi government’s efforts in making this year’s Hajj a success. #CustodianOfTheTwoHolyMosques hashtag was circulating with more than 23 million tweets, according to Sky News Arabia, where people recalled the word of King Salman in which he thanked God for enabling his country to serve pilgrims.
The second hashtag on the list was #SaudiArabiaWelcomesTheWorld, which was trending even before the Hajj days started, where it received 17 million interactions and tweets within just two days of its launching.
The third hashtag was #GodsGuests, which received more than 11 million tweets.