In the aftermath of the tragic deaths of hundreds of believers during the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, Egypt has taken action against tourism companies involved in arranging illegal pilgrimages. Prime Minister Mustafa Madbuli announced that 16 companies will have their licenses revoked, as announced by the cabinet in Cairo on Saturday. Additionally, the managers of these companies have been handed over to the public prosecutor.
The recent hajj that concluded this week claimed more than 1,000 lives due to extreme temperatures in Saudi Arabia. Of these, 658 of the deceased were from Egypt, with 630 of them not being officially registered pilgrims. The hajj, a five-day major event in Saudi Arabia, is one of the five pillars of Islam and should be undertaken by every healthy Muslim who can afford it at least once in their life.
Many believers participate in the Hajj without the official pilgrimage license due to financial reasons and are therefore not registered by Saudi authorities. Prior to the Hajj, Saudi authorities expelled hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca, many of whom still managed to take part in the pilgrimage despite being denied access to cooled rooms provided by authorities. These unregistered pilgrims were particularly vulnerable to extreme temperatures exceeding 51 degrees.
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