● Imams and pilgrims being detained by the local police for publicly praying for Gaza and Palestine and having objects depicting solidarity with the oppressed people
● The Security guards of Makkah and Madinah work for G4S, an Israeli-friendly company in charge of the security of the Holy Cities.
What is going on in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia? Several detentions by the Saudi police, in the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, have recently been reported.
The Algerian imam Abdul Hakim Al-Jazairi recounted his experience in a video that went viral on social media.
He explained that he was in The Prophet (SAWS)’s mosque and on his way out, he took his phone and simply made a dua or prayer in which he asked Allah to relieve the Palestinian people of their current suffering and to grant them victory over their enemies.
Immediately, he noticed guards surrounding him. They took his phone and started making calls. They informed him that publicly praying for his brothers and sisters in Palestine was prohibited in the 2 holy cities.
He was then taken to several police stations and was detained for a total of 6 hours.
The imam ended up at the General Security and the Ministry of Interior offices.
He was shocked to be treated very rudely by the police officers in spite of having obeyed them and deleted the video of his prayer in favour of the Palestinians. He feels that as a pilgrim, that is as a guest of Allah, they should have treated him with more respect.
He was very surprised to learn that making such prayers in public was now prohibited since he says that he has always known imams in Makkah and Madinah to have made duas at the top of the minbar, asking Allah’s protection for the Palestinian people.
The police filed a report on him and took his fingerprints as if he committed a crime.
His phone was permanently confiscated and he was referred to the Guidance Office at Al-Haram where two men reprimanded him again for making this dua on his phone.
The imam witnessed women from Malaysia and Indonesia, wearing a hijab with Palestinian colours, who were also detained and whose fingerprints were taken.
Reports were made about them and it is unknown whether they will be allowed again to perform Hajj and/or Umrah.
In his testimony, he insists that he does not stand for any political view and is only speaking out in order to warn pilgrims and agencies of the danger they face if the local police notice any hint of support for the people of Gaza and Palestine.
This was a traumatic experience for him but he is relieved to have been released since 2 other pilgrims told him that he could have disappeared for as long as a whole year.
Another imam from Turkey made a much shorter video in which you can see fear in his eyes.
Mustafa Evi says he was arrested by the police while performing Umrah in Makkah. His crime was to mention Gaza and Palestine during his calls to Allah.
The local authorities later denied his claim and said that the imam had used a drone on the site without their permission. This information could not be verified.
A third testimony comes from Islah Abdur-Rahman, a film director and actor of British nationality, who was taken by the police in Makkah.
He was very afraid as he was not clearly told at first what the reason for his arrest was.
He later understood that his crime had been to wear a Palestinian Keffiyeh or scarf as well as a rosary or tasbih with the colours of the Palestinian flag.
The police officers did not treat him well and told him in approximative English:
“You know, Israel, Palestine, not good. This, you no wear. Not allowed. We take.”
He was heartbroken because those were presents from his aunt and came directly from Jerusalem.
He explained that he hesitated to post his testimony on Instagram as he did not want to deter pilgrims from performing Hajj and Umrah.
However, he adds that this gave him an “ounce” of what the Palestinian people have to go through every day. He carries on: “My heart hurts with this memory, but also serves as a reminder to encourage myself and you all to keep raising awareness, their voices and symbols of hope and resistance like this Keffiyeh are being silenced even in the places you wouldn’t expect.”
If Muslims think that in Makkah and Madinah, they are away from the surveillance of Israel, they are wrong since Saudi Arabia gave the delicate mission to secure the Holy sites to…an Israeli-friendly company!
Since 2010, Al-Majal G4S, an affiliate of the parent company G4S, has been entrusted with the security of the pilgrims.
The private security contractor is accused by BDS activist Zaid Shaibi of having participated in the torture of administrative detainees in Palestine, including children.
Although its CEO is Khaled Baghdadi, a former local security official, its Saudi subsidiary is fully owned by the British-Danish company.
The company also provides equipment and security services to protect Israeli settlements, occupation checkpoints and police facilities.
It is very sad to see that Palestinian pilgrims are being greeted in the best of Places by the very same people who assist in their persecution.
Indeed, this company has been very active in providing services like systems for command and control, IT, CCTV and communications to Israeli prisons.
They also manage the Jalma and Maskoubieh interrogation centres in which even children are being tortured. Some prisoners are tortured to death while others are left permanently paralysed.
Israeli military law allows prisoners to be interrogated for 60 days without access to a lawyer and the interrogation methods are being supervised by G4S.
Same for checkpoints that make the lives of thousands ofPalestinians an absolute hell even for very short distances.
The Arab world represents a very lucrative business for G4S, where their profit is six times more important than their profit in Israel. The company is active in 16 Arab countries and controls the security of Baghdad and Dubai airports, Arab embassies, and various Arab sports events as well as protection for private businesses.
Arab nations are therefore generously funding the oppression of their Palestinian brothers and sisters as well as their children.
BDS activists have been pressuring the Saudi authorities to stop this alliance with the devil but another voice could be heard from Jerusalem. Years ago, Sheikh Ekrima Sabri who was then the head of the Supreme Islamic Council and the imam of Al-Aqsa mosque made the following declaration: “This company operates in security, and has activities and commitments in areas under Israeli occupation. Those who help the occupation must be held accountable and are complicit in the crime, as those who help aggressors also are aggressors.” He has since been regularly arrested and detained by Israel several times.
We publicly reiterate our solidarity with our brothers and sisters of Gaza and Palestine and encourage pilgrims to make duas in their hearts in the Holy Cities since The Prophet SAWS stated:
“Dua is the weapon of the believer”
