Makkah
The vast white marble floors surrounding Islam’s holiest site, the Holy Kaaba in Makkah, would normally be packed with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims from around the world the day before the Hajj.
On Tuesday, however, only a few officials and workers putting last minute preparations in place were seen at the Grand Mosque housing the Kaaba.
In place of the 2.5 million pilgrims who preformed the Haj last year, only a very limited number of faithful anywhere from 1,000 to 10,000 are being allowed to take part in what is largely a symbolic pilgrimage amid the coronavirus outbreak.
The select few approved for this year’s Haj have been tested for the virus and are self-isolating in hotel rooms in Makkah, where they will experience an ancient pilgrimage, albeit tailored this year for a modern-day global pandemic.
Amr Al-Maddah, the chief planning officer at the Ministry of Haj, is helping incorporate the latest technology into the pilgrimage such as thermal scanners and electronic ID cards.
“Right now, technology is our black horse to developing the whole Haj journey,” said Al-Maddah, an electronics engineer with a PhD in robotics and artificial intelligence.
“We are taking every step possible to make sure that this Haj will end with zero cases of Covid-19 and also with zero deaths in our total Haj numbers,” he told The Associated Press.
Before pilgrims could even enter Makkah, they were given wristbands by the Saudi health ministry to monitor their movements and ensure the mandatory quarantine was observed. Thermal scanners are being used across the holy site to monitor people’s temperatures.
Each pilgrim is assigned to a group of around 20 others. A group leader will guide them throughout the Haj to each destination at a specified time, to avoid crowding in places like the Grand Mosque, where the pilgrims circle the Kaaba and follow a path traveled by the Prophet Abraham’s wife, who Muslims believe ran between two hills searching for water for her son.
While on Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) delivered his final sermon nearly 1,400 years ago and where pilgrims will spend Thursday in deep prayer and repentance, pilgrims will be wearing high-tech ID cards that connect to an application on their phones.
The card and app allows the government to easily monitor the pilgrims, and gives them a way to reach out to their group leader and make special meal requests.— AFP
