Saudi and Challenges of Upcoming Haj, “Guests of God” Pay High Price”

Madawi Al-Rasheed visiting professor at the Middle East Centre at the London School of Economics and Political Science and columnist for Al-Monitor in the shadow of crane collapse in the Mecca which killed and injured more than 400 hajjis ask “Has the commercialization of the pilgrimage to Mecca overshadowed the Saudi claimed “leadership’s goal of serving Muslims?”
Trouble seems to have found this year’s pilgrimage to Mecca before the season even started. On Sept. 11, a huge crane being used in the ongoing expansion of the Mecca precinct collapsed, killing more than 100 pilgrims and injuring many others.