Media campaign to spell out Haj do’s and don’ts

Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, who is also chairman of the Central Haj Committee, will inaugurate the fifth national media campaign for Haj pilgrims on Saturday. “The fifth edition of the media campaign carrying the theme ‘Haj is a Worship and Refined Conduct’ will continue to counter the challenge of unlicensed Haj pilgrims, who squat on roads and disrupt services such as the utilities, transport, residence and health service offered by government departments and private agencies to pilgrims,” Abdul Aziz Al-Khodairy, undersecretary at the Makkah governorate and chairman of the preparatory and executive committees for Haj activities, said in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency yesterday. The campaign achieved remarkable success in the past years, Al-Khodairy said. “Its success in the past enabled the government and private sector to offer excellent service to the pilgrims, thereby achieving the government’s aspiration to offer quality service to pilgrims,” he added. He said the Kingdom’s services to pilgrims are inspired by its sense of commitment and its awareness that serving the guests of Allah is a great honor. More than 30 agencies representing government and private sectors are participating in the campaign. They include the ministries of Haj, Culture and Information, Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance, Education, and Commerce and Industry. Also participating are the Public Security and Civil Defense departments, the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, municipalities in the province, telecommunication companies, Saudi Arabian Airlines, and the Red Crescent besides Tawafa establishments and domestic Haj service companies, he said. The campaign will stress the need to develop the Makkah region in the most advanced manner to suit the needs of Haj and Umrah pilgrims. It aims to improve the quality of service offered by the people in the region, he said. The campaign underscores the importance of scrupulous adherence to Haj regulations, so that a healthy balance between the number of pilgrims and the spatial capacity of the holy sites is achieved besides getting rid of the squatting, and easing the crowding at the Jamarat and Grand Mosque. The campaign also aims to make people who plan to go for Haj without license aware of the miseries they cause to regular pilgrims. The campaign is based on major principles such as respecting the place and event of the Haj, respecting the men who go for Haj in a legal manner, and the obedience to regulations governing the pilgrimage, he said. The campaign aims to warn those who go for Haj without permit about the punishment involved in violating Haj regulations. Arab news