Holy sites: Qatar call deplored

Manama : Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa and Information Affairs Minister Ali Al Romaihi have deplored Qatar’s attempts to internationalize the Hajj pilgrimage. 

The Foreign Minister condemned the Qatari call as an issue “out of discussion” to Muslim and Arab countries.

“Whenever one of your plans and conspiracies fail, you return to your tale of internationalising the management of the two Holy Mosques. You had better shut up because the world is laughing at you,” he wrote on Twitter. 

Information Affairs Minister Ali Al Rumaihi denounced the attempt to politicize religious rites or the internationalisation of the Two Holy Mosques. “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s facilitation and service to visitors of the Holy Kaaba and the Prophet’s Mosque have always been appreciated by the entire Muslim world,” he told the Asharq Al Awsat daily yesterday.

“The great Saudi efforts cannot be overlooked or negated except by the dismissive and malicious, or someone who does not want the welfare of the Muslim Umma, its unity, cohesiveness or progress,” he said.

Foreign Affairs Minister Shaikh Khalid bin Ahmed Al Khalifa said the Qatari attempt exposes the bad intentions, the political bankruptcy, and the moral failure of the country. “There is not a single religious centre that people visit for worshipping purposes that are not managed by a sovereign state. In the case of Saudi Arabia, we have the best example of honesty, commitment, care and protection,” the minister said.

The House of Representatives also condemned the move to internationalise the two Holy Mosques’ custodianship and management. “This is a Saudi affair. No party has the right to intervene or demand its internationalisation,” the MPs said in a statement, which condemned “the false call of the politically bankrupt regimes, with bad intentions.”

Calling the move a “cheap bid”, the statement said Qatar is attempt is to cover up its failure in managing its own affairs. “The Council calls upon all Arab and Islamic countries and religious organisations to express their position on these false calls aimed at spreading division and disagreement in the Islamic world,” the statement said.