Saudi Gazette report

Mina — Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman emphasized on Wednesday that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was honored to serve the pilgrims and will continue to facilitate performance of their Haj and Umrah rituals in ease and comfort. He said the Kingdom “affirms its firm stance on the fight against terrorism and adherence to the message of tolerant Islam.”

The monarch made the remarks while addressing the annual reception at the Royal Court of the Mina Palacefor the heads of state, prominent Islamic dignitaries, guests of the King and government bodies, and heads of Haj delegations and pilgrim affairs’ offices, who came to perform Haj. Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, and several emirs, princes, ministers, and high-ranking officials were also present.

At the outset of the speech, King Salman greeted the guests on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, saying that may Almighty Allah accept the Haj of the pilgrims. “Allah has honored the Kingdom with the service of the Two Holy Mosques, and taking care of their guests, providing them safety and comfort, given all attention and care since King Abdul Aziz founded it, and that was followed by the successive kings.”

“We will continue to do so, as we deeply believe that serving Haj pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors of the Two Holy Mosques is our duty and is a great honor of which we feel immensely proud of.”

The King added: “As the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia hosts the Qiblah of Muslims as well as the Prophet’s Mosque, and emanating from its Islamic position and its regional and international role, the Kingdom affirms its firm stance to fight terrorism and extremism, eradicate them in all their forms and manifestations, adhere to the tolerant message of Islam and ensure Islamic solidarity and achieving security and stability in the region and the whole world.”

In his speech, Minister of Haj and Umrah Muhammad Benten congratulated King Salman and Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman as well as the pilgrims and the Muslims around the world on the occasion of the Eid. He said that the Kingdom is proud of hosting over the past ten years more than 150 million pilgrims from around the world belonging to more than 100 nationalities, of which seven million have already performed Umrah this year, in addition to nearly two million pilgrims who are now performing their rituals. “We are working under the directives of the King and the Crown Prince to prepare for the reception and service of more than 300 million Muslims over the next ten years,” he added.

On behalf of the heads of delegations of Islamic countries, Head of Turkish Religious Affairs Dr. Ali Arbash delivered a speech, in which he congratulated the King and the Crown Prince for their utmost care and keenness so as to enable the pilgrims to perform their rituals in the best possible manner. He thanked them for providing all the material and human resources, and great efforts and high-quality services for more than two million pilgrims since their arrival until their returning to their homeland.

Muhammad Al-Issa, secretary general of the Muslim World League, also spoke.

The reception was attended among others by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, emir of Makkah, advisor to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and chairman of the Central Haj Committee, Emir of Madinah Prince Faisal Bin Salman, and Minister of Interior and Chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee Prince Abdul Aziz Bin Saud Bin Naif.

The foreign leaders who attended the reception included Côte d'Ivoire President Alassane Ouattara and Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly, Vice President of Ghana Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia; Chechen Prime Minister Muslim Khuchiyev and Parliament Speaker Magomed Daudov; Afghan Parliament Speaker Abdul Rauf Ibrahimi, Libyan Minister of Defense Uhida Najem; Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Al-Jaafari; Minister of Defense of Sudan Awad Mohammed bin Auf; Head of Ruling Party of Mauritius Shaukat Sodhen and Egypt's Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam.