Addressng a Muslim youth conference yesterday, Ziyad Abdul Malik, who is chairman of the Muslim Students Association’s (HMI) South Jakarta branch, said the Saudis were using the pilgrimage to Mecca as a leverage to impose its policies on its Middle-Eastern neighbours as well as Muslim-majority countries, such as Malaysia and Indonesia.
The conference with the theme, “Islamic Holy Places for All of the Ummah”, was organised by HMI, which is the largest student group in Indonesia. It was held at the Indonesia University in Depok.
Malik also alleged that the conference was forced to move from its original venue of the State Islamic University in Jakarta due to pressure from the Saudis.
“We are students, and students usually discuss many things. Why is this a problem for Saudi Arabia?” he was quoted as saying by the Qatar-based news organisation.
Another youth organisation, Garda Suci Merah Putih (GSMP), criticised the Saudis, saying it had violated the conditions of its role as custodian of the Islamic faith’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
They argued that Saudi Arabia had let political rows with several countries – Qatar, Syria, Iran and Yemen, among others – influence its Haj regulations.
“Only God has the right to forbid anyone to go on Haj, not Saudi Arabia,” Mujtahid Hasheem, secretary-general of GSMP, told Al Jazeera.
According to Al Jazeera, Muslim pilgrims in Syria are vetted by a committee that is controlled by Saudi-backed opposition groups before being allowed to obtain visas for the religious journey.
This was because Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties with Syria in 2012 owing to the ongoing civil war.
Mujtahid cited the restrictions on citizens of Qatar – which has been blockaded by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others since the summer of 2017 – as further evidence of the kingdom’s wrongdoing.
The Muslim youth groups called for Indonesian officials to urge Saudi Arabia to abandon restrictions on the right to worship, being the nation with the largest Muslim population in the world.
“In 2017, an estimated 221,000 Indonesians performed Haj,” he was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
Meanwhile, the leader of a Muslim youth group from India, who also attended the conference, accused Saudi Arabia of destroying famous religious sites, such as the birthplace of the Islamic prophet, Muhammad.
Shujaat Ali, general secretary of the Muslim Student Organisation of India, cited statistics from the Washington, DC-based Gulf Institute, which estimates that 95% of Mecca’s famous buildings have been destroyed in the past two decades.
“What are there now? American companies like McDonald’s, Starbucks, and so on,” he was quoted as saying.
The organisers of the conference told Al Jazeera that they intend to host another international conference in the future to discuss the establishment of an international body to manage Haj.