Muslims are not afraid of the Gulf War. The number of pilgrims to Mecca higher than in 2025
More than 1.5 million Muslim pilgrims came from abroad to Saudi Arabia to participate in the hajj, according to a local official, already exceeding the number of visitors from last year, despite the war in the Middle East, informs AFP, taken by Agerpres.
“The total number of visitors now stands at 1,518,153,” Saleh al-Murabba, commander of the Hajj border police force, told a press conference Friday evening. This number should increase even more by the start of the pilgrimage on Monday.
In 2025, 1,673,320 pilgrims made the journey, of which 1,506,576 came from abroad.
This year, the hajj comes amid fears of a resumption of war, in which the Islamic Republic of Iran attacked its neighbors in the Persian Gulf region, allies of the United States, in retaliation for the Israeli-American attack on Tehran on February 28.
The hostilities have caused the collapse of tourism in these countries, disruption of air traffic and a sharp increase in travel costs. After weeks of airspace closures and numerous flight cancellations, major airlines from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Bahrain have managed to restore much of their operational capacity.
The hajj pilgrimage, a series of codified rituals that take place over several days in and around Mecca, is considered one of the five pillars of Islam. It must be undertaken by every Muslim at least once in his lifetime, if he has the necessary means.
