JEDDAH — The Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Center for Moderation has chosen to bid farewell to pilgrims by acquainting them with the Kingdom’s efforts in enhancing moderation and combating extremist ideology. The center has set up an exhibition at the departure terminals of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA), where pilgrims assemble prior to their departure for their countries, Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

The Supervisor General of Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Center for Moderation Dr. Al-Hassan Aal Manakhrah said the exhibition depicts the reality of the Saudi policy of moderation, which the pilgrims have discerned during their presence in Saudi territories. It also highlights the Kingdom’s role in countering extremism. He added that the exhibition started on Sunday and would continue for several days.

The center’s goal is to raise the society’s awareness on harmful ideology that aims to destabilize the society through terrorism and extremism of all forms. The objective is also to bolster the values of moderation and the spirit of national affiliation among members of the society as well as highlight the true picture of the Kingdom abroad.

The Prince Khaled Al-Faisal Center for Moderation has made many big achievements that have been able to turn it within a few years from a research chair at King Abdulaziz University (KAU) in Jeddah to a specialist center in its field that comes up with initiatives, visions and ideas. The center strives to achieve these on the ground either through its direct actions or by forging partnerships with the various government and private institutions.

Meanwhile, Makkah Municipality has started carrying out the third stage plan for cleaning works in the holy sites and during the post-Haj period. The plans were drawn up after meticulous studies to suit the circumstances and needs. The main goal is to maintain a clean environment after the completion of the Haj season. This stage relies on continuity of work as of the day the pilgrims depart from Mina until the end of Dhul Hijja.

The Assistant Director General for Cleaning and Environmental Protection Engineer Muhammad Baharith said work would begin at the sites that witnessed a high density of pilgrims. The work will continue in two sessions — morning and evening. The municipality has allocated about 13,000 workers to keep Makkah and the holy sites clean. They will be using over 800 various kinds of machines.

The Operations Administration at the Grand Mosque in Makkah has distributed large numbers of umbrellas to the pilgrims within the campaign of the Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques to serve pilgrims, the Director of the Administration Abdulhafeez Al-Thubaiti said.

All the government sectors in Madinah related to this year’s Haj are exerting great efforts in providing the best services to the pilgrims and visitors to the Prophet’s Mosque during the post-Haj season. These services are being provided in line with the directives of the Emir of Madinah Province and Chairman of the Haj Committee in Madinah Prince Faisal Bin Salman.

Scouts of the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association have guided 152,574 lost pilgrims of various nationalities, this Haj season, to their camps. Some 13,287 pilgrims were taken to their camps while 139,287 others were guided with the help of maps issued by the Association.

The Kingdom’s Hadi and Adhahi Project has concluded the Haj rites of slaughtering sacrificial animals for the pilgrims by slaughtering 928,298 heads of sheep and 447 heads of cattle for this year’s Haj season.

President of the Islamic Development Bank Group and Chairman of the Committee for Benefiting from Slaughtered Sacrificial Animals Dr. Bandar Muhammad Hajjar said distribution of sacrificial meat to the poor of the Haram area began since the early morning hours of Saturday, the first day of Tashriq. The quantity of sacrificial meat distributed to the poor reached 50,000 carcasses. The surplus carcasses were distributed to the needy via many charitable societies in the Kingdom.

Dr. Hajjar added that within a few weeks they will start shipping quantities of frozen carcasses by land, sea and air to 23 countries abroad, according to the distribution plan set for this year’s Haj.

In a Haj-related development, the Director General of Passports Maj. Gen. Sulaiman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Yahya followed up, in the field, the pilgrims’ departure flights at the Haj Terminal of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah on Monday morning, Dhul Hijja 13, in order to directly supervise the departure procedures, get acquainted with the progress of work in the South and North terminals and follow up carrying out the pilgrims’ departure plan. Many Passports Department officials accompanied him.