ABSTRACT
The Hajj event takes place in the
city of Mecca, which is highly considered holy among the Muslim world. Mecca
and Medina have numerous archaeological sites and historical sites that if well
maintained can have tremendous impact to Saudi Arabia especially the tourism
industry. Though there are concerns that are emerging, for instance, the
destruction of some major buildings and sites that are of importance to the
Muslims. Hammoudi (2006: 28) claimed that this not only affects the Muslim
community but also tourism industry in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, sustainable
management of Hajj event is a pertinent issue that needs to be addressed.
The government and other
stakeholders have enhanced security standards, to make sure that the pilgrims
are safe during the Hajj event. The government of Saudi Arabia has achieved
this by deployment of plenty of security personnel who are being placed at
different venues during the event. The population during the Hajj event is very
big and sometimes hard for the security officers to take into account
everything that goes on, to solve this, the planners have increased the number
of surveillance cameras, which are placed everywhere. The cameras help the
authorities in curbing major and minor crimes.
A case study approach was used to
investigate and determine responses to various variables under study. The case
study entailed the inquiry into sustainable management of Hajj event as a
tourism destination, to benefit the local community in Mecca and Medina and
promote non-oil economic development of Saudi Arabia. Among the 40
participants, 57.5% had attended Hajj event within the last 6 years. Majority
of business people preferred carrying out business during Hajj season with most
business that facilitates Hajj performance and pilgrimage, achieving high
performance each year. In addition, 80% of participants supported
infrastructure development to promote Hajj event as a tourism
destination.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The Hajj pilgrimage is one of the
most popular and celebrated event in the world. Muslims from all over the world
do take part in this holy event. To the Muslim community this event is regarded
as a religious obligation since it is among the five pillars of Islam. The Hajj
is actually the fifth pillar. This is an event that is celebrated annually and
also considered as a way of showing solidarity and respect to God (Allah)
(Welman, Kruger, & Mitchell 2005: 10). The annual-Hajj event has since
early 2000 been considered a tourist destination especially in Mecca and Medina.
According to the Islamic faith, any
Muslim who is physically fit and has the funds to attend the Hajj pilgrimage is
advised to at least participate once in their lifetime. The lives of Muslims at
that particular special state are known as Ihram. The pilgrimage usually takes
place in the final month of the Islamic calendar; it takes place as from 8th to
12th Dhu-al Hijjah. This means that according to the Gregorian calendar the
event takes different turns from year to year (Fortenberry & Manley, 2009:
15).
This event is dated back many years
ago since the time of Ibrahim. The Hajj is basically about the life of the
prophet Muhammad back in the 7th century. A number of activities take place
during this event, and these activities are regarded as rituals. Hence these
rituals are performed in a sequence by the pilgrims, who gather in the city of
Mecca in the province of Mecca in Saudi Arabia to fulfil a religious duty
(Berkey, 2003: 24).
It all begins around the Ka’aba,
where every person is supposed to walk seven times counter-clockwise around
Ka’aba. Ka’aba is a cube-shaped structure that acts as a guide to the Muslim
prayer. Then from there one is expected to run back and forth between Al-Safa
hill and Al-Marwah hill. They then proceed to the next ritual which is to drink
from the well of Zamzam. The next ritual to be performed is stone throwing.
This is considered a move of stoning the devil and it is done in mount Arafat,
where one stands in vigil, to condemn the devil by stoning it (Wong &
Williams, 2004: 18).
The next ritual to be performed is
cutting down of the hair. Then eventually proceed to the next ritual which is
the animal sacrifice to Allah, it is also the final ritual to be performed.
Eid-al Adha is a festival that is celebrated in three days, in the entire
universe. During the pre-Islamic period different tribes from all over the
Arabian Peninsula would meet in Mecca city for the pilgrimage. The tribe did
not matter at the time as Pagans too participated in the event (Daher, 2007:
32).
IMPORTANCE OF THE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE
According to the Muslim community
the Hajj is an event of great and immense value that one mutually benefits
after participating in the pilgrimage. The event since it is attended in large
masses teaches us that no one is different from the other and that we are all
equal. The Hajj also is a way of one showing his/her strong belief in the
teachings and the ways of Allah. This is virtually a symbol of commitment to
Allah (Hammoudi, 2006: 14).
Mecca is a city considered being the
sacred or rather the most holy city in the Muslim world. Hence Mecca has
numerous historical and archeological sites that many Muslims get acquainted
with, both spiritually and historically. This in turn strengthens their faith,
in the prophet Muhammad. It too acts as a reminder where every person will meet
on the judgment day, to await Allah’s verdict on every person’s destiny. This
event also teaches us the value of mercy and forgiveness since we all belong to
God (Robinson, Wale, & Dickson, 2010: 16).
During the Hajj pilgrimage, Muslims
dress uniformly and follow the same instructions that are given. Prayers are
also said uniformly, at the same time, indicating that before God no one is
special than the other and that before Allah everyone is equal. It also symbolizes
the virtue of humility and devotion to Allah. This is a way of showing great
faith to Allah who is supreme to all mankind (Pimple, 2008: 20).
CHALLENGES FACING THE HAJJ
PILGRIMAGE
During Hajj, there are certain
rituals that are performed and one of the rituals is drinking from the Zamzam
well. Producing an enormous amount of water to millions of people actually is
challenging. Saudi Arabia is well known for producing oil it thus shows that
the region is a dry region. This is to say that if proper ways are integrated
at the event that will help to produce water for the masses it will be a
tremendous help to the Saudi government (McMillan, 2011: 25).
The other issues are how the large
number of animals sacrificed is disposed after the ritual of animal sacrifice
is done. This is a task only left to the Saudi government which clearly shows
that the government uses quite a huge sum of money to clean up Mecca city.
Providing security to the people is also another huge task to the Saudi
government. Therefore, if appropriate sustainable methods can be achieved, it
will help curb the negative aftermath of the Hajj pilgrimage (Chittick, 2007:
30).
In order to guarantee sustainability
of Hajj as a pilgrimage and religious event, there have been efforts over the years
to ensure no political process interferes with the management of Hajj. For
instance, the Hajj event is determined by religious leaders and the government
of Saudi Arabia goes according to the determination of the Muslim leaders. The
Hajj is a religious event among Muslims and if political events were allowed to
affect Hajj performance, the Hajj would lose the original meaning of a sacred
pilgrimage event. This in turn, would make the Saudi government and business
and the community fail to gain from the economic value that comes with the Hajj
event. In addition, the social norms and beliefs of the Muslims community would
be degraded. (Crofton, 2002: 22).
The above discussed issues are
majorly important to the Saudi government. Such issues are of great concern
especially so because a huge amount of money is used almost every year. This
huge amount of money that is used can help in giving back to the Saudi
government and it natives, as well. If this can be achieved, then most
definitely there will be a major improvement in the Hajj event as well as on
the tourism sector of Saudi Arabia (Bhushana, 2007: 19).
IMPACT OF THE HAJJ PILGRIMAGE
In order for a huge event such as
the Hajj pilgrimage to be well celebrated and a well known global event, there
must have been numerous impacts that take place or happens. Therefore, there
are various impacts that emerge before and after the event. This impact could
be either positive or negative touching on both social and economic factors to
the people of Saudi Arabia. Not only the people of Saudi Arabia but also to
both Muslims and non- Muslims (Vasil’ev, 2000: 42).
The Hajj basically impacts on the
faith of the Muslim community in that it motivates the feeling of unity among
all Muslims. Hence, incorporate the world of Muslim without looking at the
race, nationality or ones gender. This in turn, brings about unity and equality
to both Muslims and non Muslims. Again those who have attended the Hajj or
rather have taken part in the Hajj pilgrimage have an added advantage. This is
to say that they are permitted to perform other Islamic practices such as
fasting and saying the prayers (Taylor, 2009: 35).
The event however brings about the
other side of the coin. For instance, the event minimizes international
practices while it enhances the local beliefs. To some people they have
different perception towards the Hajj saying that it brings about a particular
kind of Islam. There are fears expressed as well that because the Hajj promotes
a sense of togetherness among the Muslims the non-Muslims sometimes tend to
suffer. For example, the bombers that attacked London public transport were
said to have participated in the Hajj (Allen, 2009: 37).
PROBLEM STATEMENT
According to Paneerselvam (2004:
24), being a major global event that is attended by practically every race in
the world, The Hajj pilgrimage has some issues that need to be looked upon. The
event takes place every year therefore this means that every year the Saudi
government has a chance of managing the event to enhance the living standards
of the locals and for the nation as a whole. Most natives have a chance to make
the event of great socioeconomic importance.
Every year, the Saudi government is
put to task. This is to say that the government has to ensure that the welfare
of mass population of over two million is guaranteed. The government of Saudi
Arabia has to ensure that the infrastructure of Saudi is well established to
help facilitate the event. The government spends a lot of money just to ensure
the success of the event that takes place annually. Therefore, a lot of money
will go to waste for almost a week if there is no proper sustainable management
of the event (Crane & Weber, 2012: 34). This study seeks to determine
viable opportunities for ensuring sustainable management of Hajj event and how
the event can be utilized for tourist attraction, leading to non-oil
development in Saudi Arabia.
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
1.To outline the potential future of
the sustainable management of the Hajj
2.To understand the barriers and
success factors and what the event organizers face in moving the event towards
sustainability
3.To understand the existing
strategies of sustainable event management, pertinent to the Saudi government’s
management of Hajj
4.To determine how tourism
expenditures have had an impact on non-oil economic growth in Saudi Arabia.
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