Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has ordered the revocation of licenses for 16 tourism companies and referred their managers to the public prosecutor for illegally facilitating pilgrimages to Mecca, according to the Egyptian cabinet.
This action follows reports of over 1,100 deaths during this year's hajj, many attributed to extreme heat. Arab diplomats informed AFP that 658 of these deaths were Egyptians, including 630 unregistered pilgrims.
The Egyptian cabinet's statement highlighted that the increase in deaths among unregistered Egyptian pilgrims was due to some companies organizing hajj programs using personal visit visas, which do not permit entry to Mecca through official channels. The prime minister has called for fines to be imposed on these companies to benefit the families of the deceased pilgrims.
A senior Saudi official defended the management of the pilgrimage, noting that hajj permits are allocated on a quota system and distributed via a lottery. Despite the risks of arrest and deportation, many pilgrims attempt the hajj without permits to avoid the high costs, a trend that has grown since Saudi Arabia introduced a general tourism visa in 2019.
The Saudi government reported 577 deaths during the two busiest days of hajj: Saturday, when pilgrims prayed on Mount Arafat, and Sunday, during the "stoning of the devil" ritual in Mina. The official acknowledged the harsh weather conditions but noted that the 577 figure was partial and did not cover the entire hajj period, which ended on Wednesday.
The hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, requires all Muslims with the means to complete it at least once in their lives. This year, 1.8 million pilgrims participated, with 1.6 million coming from abroad. The timing of the hajj, based on the Islamic lunar calendar, has recently coincided with the sweltering Saudi summer.
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