Saudi official calls on Muslims to ignore ‘biased campaigns’ against his ‘pure country’

'You are not responsible for what happened', top Saudi cleric tells Crown Prince who is also the interior minister

MINA: In comments carried late Friday by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), the chairman of the Shura Council, an appointed body that advises the Saudi government, called on citizens and Muslims to ignore "the biased campaigns carried out by the enemies of this pure country, to question the great efforts exerted by the Kingdom to serve the holy sites, their construction and expansion, and to serve the visitors and pilgrims."

He was responding to fierce criticism of the Saudi authorities' handling of safety, following the the stampede that killed 717 pilgrims, the worst disaster in a quarter-century to strike the annual event.

Abdullah al Sheikh stressed that pilgrims must stick to "the rules and regulations taken by the security personnel... In doing so they protect their lives, their security and facilitate their performing of the rituals."

Health Minister Khaled al Falih earlier made similar remarks that faulted the worshippers.

An injured pilgrim prepares is admitted at an emergency hospital following a deadly stampede in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca, late on September 25, 2015. PHOTO: AFP

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's top religious leader said the stampede was beyond human control, official media reported on Saturday, the final day of this year's Hajj.

"You are not responsible for what happened", Sheikh Abdul Aziz al Sheikh told Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also the minister of interior, in a meeting in Mina on Friday, the SPA reported. "As for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable."

Read: Witnesses blame Saudi Arabian officials for Hajj horror

Mohammed chairs the Saudi hajj committee and has ordered an investigation into Thursday's stampede during a symbolic stoning of the devil ritual by hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at Jamarat Bridge in Mina, just outside the holy city of Mecca.

King Salman, whose official title is "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques" in Mecca and Medina, also ordered "a revision" of how the hajj is organised. On Saturday, groups of pilgrims were moving from early morning towards Jamarat Bridge for the last of three stoning days.

Read: Iran holds anti-Saudi protest over hajj stampede deaths

The interior ministry has said it assigned 100,000 police to secure the hajj and manage crowds. But pilgrims blamed the stampede on police road closures and poor management of the flow of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims in searing temperatures.

Riyadh's regional rival Iran said 131 of its nationals were among the victims, and on Friday stepped up its criticism of the kingdom, demanding that affected countries have a role in the Saudi investigation into the disaster.

Read: At least 717 pilgrims killed, 863 injured in Hajj stampede at Mina

"Saudi Arabia is incapable of organising the pilgrimage," said Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani, leading the main weekly prayers in Tehran. "The running of the hajj must be handed over to Islamic states."

Several African countries confirmed deaths in the stampede, as did India, Indonesia, Pakistan and the Netherlands. Moroccan media gave 87 nationals killed. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari urged King Salman "to ensure a comprehensive and thorough exercise that will identify any flaws in hajj organisation". Buhari said his country had lost a prominent journalist, a professor "and others" in the tragedy.

Read: PM, president express condolences for Hajj stampede victims

Largely incident-free for nine years after safety improvements, this year's Hajj was afflicted by double tragedy. Days before it started, a construction crane collapsed at the Grand Mosque, killing 109 people including many foreigners.