June 5, 2025
Washington DC — The Institute for gulf Affair, has issued an exclusive investigation of the Hajj 2024, death disaster that claimed the lives of over 1400 Muslim pilgrims.
The report, “Pilgrimage to Death in Makkah” examines the near annual mass deaths in Hajj and its root causes. While international media have reported the deaths, it refrained from investigating government polices leading to these repeated tragedies. Failure to scrutinize the Saudi government and its role in these deaths allowed for them to reoccur.
This failure is shared by Muslim governments whose pilgrims perished in the hundreds.
Over the past 40 years, more than 10,000 at least have died in preventable mass death events. That has earned Makkah the title of “the most dangerous holy city in the world.”
Hajj is an annual event that can be easily managed if those in charge are serious. Hajj, its timing, locations, number of pilgrims and their movement, weather conditions are all predictable.
The report that took months to compile with interviews and collecting and analyzing data, including videos, photos, witness statements, and satellite imagery were reviewed by a veteran of Hajj and a former resident of Makkah. Saudi police Colonel Rabih Alenezi, who served 10 years in Hajj security forces and read Saudi government Hajj plans enhanced this investigation with his expansive experience.
Alenezi criticized the Saudi government treatment of Hajj as “A security operation,.” He called for Hajj to be a civilian operation with security support. He confirmed IGA’s research that pinpointed the causes of Hajj disaster to be the Saudi militarization of a holy event.
The IGA, the oldest dedicated research organization on the GCC states, relies mostly on indigenous talent who are immersed in the subject matter and who understand its dimensions. This knowledge edge has given IGA, its place as an independent and credible standing.