FALCON POWERS – The death of 14 Jordanian citizens who were performing the Hajj rituals this year, and the disappearance of 17 others, as announced by the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, has sparked a major debate on social media.
The Jordanian Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs confirmed to the BBC that the Jordanian pilgrims in the official delegation “are all well”. However, according to the Minister of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, the head of the Jordanian Hajj missions, Muhammad Al-Khalayla, there are no official statistics regarding “irregular” Jordanian pilgrims.
Al-Khalayla pointed out that “the cases of death and disappearance that occurred were among those who tried to perform the Hajj rituals through (tourist visas)”. The deaths were attributed to old age.
While social media users posted photos and videos of some of the deceased Jordanian pilgrims on Twitter, some attributed the deaths to advanced age. Osama Al-Ayash on Twitter said: “Most of the Jordanian pilgrims were born in 1951 or before, so most of the pilgrims are 73 years old or older… So it is possible that with the weather conditions and the hardship, this would be natural… May God accept them and forgive them and place them among the martyrs and the righteous.”
