What Saudi Arabia official recently warned that protests will not be tolerated?”
The authorities in Saudi Arabia have warned people not to stage protests at the Hajj, as more than 2.5 million Muslims prepare for the pilgrimage. The interior ministry official in charge of security, Gen Mansour al-Turki, said he did not expect trouble, but stressed that protests were banned. “We will not allow any actions that might disturb any other pilgrims, or affect their safety,” he told AFP. In 1987, 402 people died when troops broke up a protest by Shia pilgrims. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned last month that it would take “appropriate measures” if its citizens faced restrictions. The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, meanwhile said Shia should show they were addressing challenges to their unity. Saudi officials and clerics responded by warning Tehran not to abuse the Hajj for political purposes. This year is also the 30th anniversary of the seizure by Sunni extremists of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest shrine. Smoke billows from Mecca’s Gre
The authorities in Saudi Arabia have warned people not to stage protests at the Hajj, as more than 2.5 million Muslims prepare for the pilgrimage. The interior ministry official in charge of security, Gen Mansour al-Turki, said he did not expect trouble, but stressed that protests were banned. “We will not allow any actions that might disturb any other pilgrims, or affect their safety,” he told AFP. In 1987, 402 people died when troops broke up a protest by Shia pilgrims. Iran’s President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, warned last month that it would take “appropriate measures” if its citizens faced restrictions. The Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, meanwhile said Shia should show they were addressing challenges to their unity. Saudi officials and clerics responded by warning Tehran not to abuse the Hajj for political purposes. This year is also the 30th anniversary of the seizure by Sunni extremists of the Great Mosque in Mecca, Islam’s holiest shrine.
The authorities in Saudi Arabia have warned people not to stage protests at the Hajj, as more than 2.5 million Muslims prepare for the pilgrimage. The interior ministry official in charge of security, Gen Mansour al-Turki, said he did not expect trouble, but stressed that protests were banned. “We will not allow any actions that might disturb any other pilgrims, or affect their safety,” he told AFP.
