The Hajj Today Quotes

“It has been the policy of the Saudi government ever since to prevent the Hajj from being exploited by any state or group for political gain. For example, in 1937, King 'Abd al-'Aziz prohibited the Supreme Arab Committee of Palestine from holding a conference in Makkah during the Hajj. In a letter to the the Committee, he said that he did not wish to mix religion and politics.”
― David Edwin Long, The Hajj Today: A Survey of the Contemporary Pilgrimage to Makkah

“Saudis appear generally to have an ambivalent attitude about the religious aspects of the Hajj, similar to that of the people in most countries where a popular holy shrine is located. On the one hand, they view the Hajj not as the culmination of a life's mission, as do so many Hajjis from distant lands, but as annual religious event in which they are most likely to participate. No Saudi would ever take the title Hajj- one who has made the Hajj- before his name, although in some Muslim countries this is a title of highest respect.”
― David Edwin Long, The Hajj Today: A Survey of the Contemporary Pilgrimage to Makkah