The Islamic ritual of Hajj is expected to begin on July 29, in the midst of a global pandemic, it will look unlike anything the Muslim world has seen before.
Saudi Arabia, the location of the holy city of Mecca on which the pilgrimage centres, has said it will allow about 1,000 people to perform a ritual that ordinarily draws more than two million worshippers. Though this year’s attendees hail from 160 countries they have been selected from people already living in the Kingdom.
Pilgrims will have to be tested for coronavirus and quarantined at home before they can travel to the holy city of Mecca. Once there, they will again be tested and given GPS bracelets for contact tracing. Rituals will be performed while wearing face masks and touching or kissing the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, is banned. All pilgrims must also maintain physical space of a metre and a half during prayers.
Saudi Arabia is currently experiencing a surge in coronavirus cases and drastically scaling back Hajj is expected to deepen its economic slump. In normal times it is estimated the pilgrimage adds $12 billion per year to Saudi Arabia’s GDP. The International Monetary Fund expects the Kingdom’s GDP for 2020 to contract by 6.8 percent as both the pandemic and slumping oil prices take a toll.
In this episode of The Stream, we’ll discuss the impact of this year’s Hajj on Muslims around the world and the economic implications of the scaled back pilgrimage.
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