Record of pilgrims expected to Makkah

The pilgrimage to Makkah began It will culminate Friday, October 26th with Eid al-Adha, which is to say, the great feast of the sacrifice of Abraham, where God reassured about the loyalty of the patriarch, accept at the last moment, he slaughters an sheep instead of his son. Pilgrimage, one of the five duties of a good Muslim who has the means (whether Sunni or Shiite), has become the largest gathering in the world. Last year, the Hajj had attracted three million followers. Saudi authorities expect four million this year. They are prepared with an arsenal safe and sanitary: 135,000 police and soldiers were mobilized, 320 specialists have been recruited to deal with failures of elderly or sick pilgrims.

Refrain from making policy

The very rapid increase in the number of pilgrims is in line with the great religious revival which took the Sunni Arab world after the 'democratic' revolutions of 2011 that drove at least four dictators 'secular', Ben Ali in Tunisia, Mubarak in Egypt, Gaddafi in Libya, Saleh in Yemen. "Contrary to what many Westerners believe, historically the secularization of the world is neither linear nor uniform," said historian Arabist Frédéric Pichon, co-author of a remarkable Geopolitics of the Middle East. Saudi Prince Ahmed, Minister of the Interior of the kingdom, respondent pilgrims to refrain from politics, which, in the Arab world, can easily become violent. The Saudi government does not want the Syrian issue can arouse strong feelings in camps of different nationalities. He does everything to avoid a spark come cause clashes between Shiites and Sunnis. First, whether Iranian or Lebanese Alawites support (version dissident Shiite) government in Damascus. The latter, which include Turks (who are not Arabs) want the skin of the government "ungodly" Bashar al-Assad. In 1987, clashes between Iranian pilgrims and security forces left hundreds dead.

Second source of income

Syria and its ally Iran accuses Turkey and the Gulf monarchies to deliver weapons to anti-Assad rebels. The Saudi government accuses Iran of encouraging Shiite minority - this is the kingdom - to insubordination and help challenge the Shia of Bahrain (which majority demand a parliamentary monarchy). Despite these disagreements, the party can not be squandered: it brings a lot to the kingdom, not only in terms of prestige, with $ 40 billion in revenue, the Hajj is now, after oil, the second source of income in the country