JEDDAH: The international community and Muslim organizations have welcomed Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow only a “very limited” number of pilgrims to perform Hajj this year due to the ongoing coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Officials have said that the number of worshippers taking part in the annual pilgrimage would be around 1,000 and restricted to only Saudis and foreign nationals already residing in the Kingdom.
“The COVID-19 pandemic presents enormous challenges for the entire world,” Australian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Ridwan Jadwat, told Arab News.
“I wish his excellency minister (Dr. Mohammed Saleh bin Taher) Bentin and his team at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah all the very best in their ongoing efforts to identify the proper health and safety measures to look after the limited number of pilgrims that will be permitted to perform the Hajj in 2020.”
The envoy also posted a special video message on his Twitter account to update Australians who intended to perform Hajj this year about the Kingdom’s decision not to receive international pilgrims.
“I hope in the future that we would be able to overcome this global pandemic and my family and I would be able to wish you a Hajj Mabrour in person, but in the meantime stay safe and stay well,” Jadwat said.
Pakistan’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Raja Ali Ejaz, told Arab News that the Kingdom had taken “judicious time in reaching the decision, carefully weighing the pros and cons of various options.
“The Saudi leadership has always been cognizant of the safety, security, and spiritual fervor of the Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. I think the same factors have guided their decision this time as well.”
Ejaz said it was a wise move that balanced the religious aspirations of Muslims with the concerns regarding public health during the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak.
British consul general in Jeddah, Seif Usher, said that the UK was grateful for the Kingdom’s support to British pilgrims performing Umrah and Hajj every year. “(The UK) appreciates that in these exceptional times, the Kingdom has understandably prioritized the health and safety of pilgrims.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulkarim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), said: “The emergency circumstance caused by the COVID-19 pandemic represents an exceptional case that Shariah law should take with great care and consideration, in order to preserve the safety of pilgrims.”
He pointed out that the value of human life was infinite in Islam and must be preserved. “Islamic Shariah considered the sanity of life a primary objective of Islamic law and one of the five necessities (preserving religion, life, intellect, procreation/lineage, and property/wealth).”
The Arab League’s assistant secretary-general and head of social affairs, Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, also praised the Kingdom’s decision over Hajj based on protecting the health and safety of pilgrims.
Under general guidelines announced during a press conference on Tuesday, it was announced that the Hajj pilgrimage would be limited to Saudis and expats under 65 years old who must undertake mandatory COVID-19 testing and isolation before and after their journey.
Bentin said that the plan for this year’s pilgrimage had been outlined with the Ministry of Health based on COVID-19 precautionary measures and that the number of pilgrims allowed to perform Hajj could be limited to less or more than 1,000.
Prof. Akhtarul Wasey, a scholar of Islamic studies based in New Delhi, said: “The decision (to limit Hajj numbers) was taken in the best interests of the global community in general and the Muslim world in particular because of the raging coronavirus pandemic.”
And he noted that this was not the first time in history that the pilgrimage had been curtailed. “There were instances in the last 1,400 years when the annual pilgrimage was cancelled or limited for one reason or another.
“Most notably during the reign of caliph Omar there was some kind of a pandemic or plague and the Hajj had to be cancelled,” he said.
Wasey called on Muslims to support the Saudi leadership “for having given top priority to the safety and health of pilgrims.”v
World community, Muslim organizations welcome strict Saudi limit on Hajj pilgrims
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World community, Muslim organizations welcome strict Saudi limit on Hajj pilgrims
Rare Vatican artifacts on show at Islamic Arts Biennale in Jeddah
- More than 500 historic items, contemporary artworks on display
- 1685 Nile map’s journey to Jeddah a ‘cultural milestone’
JEDDAH: A six-meter map of the Nile believed to be more than 300 years old has left its home in the Vatican archives for the first time to become the centerpiece of the second Islamic Arts Biennale launched in Jeddah on Saturday.
Visitors to Jeddah’s Western Hajj Terminal, the biennale venue, can see the map along with 10 other artifacts from the Vatican Library.
The historic chart, drawn with watercolor ink on Venetian paper and depicting historic sites along the Nile, has been dated to around 1685.
Its inclusion in the biennale marks a cultural milestone, showcasing the Vatican’s commitment to interreligious and intercultural dialogue, according to Vatican archivist and librarian Angelo Vincenzo Zani.
The map underwent restoration by the Vatican before making the journey to Jeddah. It is displayed alongside a sister map of the Arabian Gulf from the National Library of Qatar.
Both maps are believed to have been acquired in the 1700s in Constantinople by Giuseppe Alemanni, a Lebanese librarian who later became the Vatican Library’s prefect.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the exhibition in Jeddah explores faith by juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures.
• More than 30 cultural institutions have provided objects from their collections, as well as 29 newly commissioned works of art.
Zani attended the biennale’s opening ceremony and later told Arab News that the artifacts highlight a rich history of cultural exchange and shared knowledge.
“I think this Islamic Arts Biennale is very important. The concept of art is very important — to expand knowledge and creativity. Art is an emotion that we can all understand. It can cross over in a dialogue that is ‘in between’.”
The 2025 biennale’s theme, “And all that is in between,” draws from the Qur’anic verse “And God created the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in between.”
The Vatican Library is also showcasing several works from its collections in “The Art of Numbers” display at Al-Madar section of the biennale.
Al-Madar, or “The Orbit” section, features items from 20 institutions with significant Islamic art collections worldwide.
The section examines the role of numbers in collective history, exploring their origins in natural calculations and applications across Islamic culture, mathematics, architecture, music, design, celestial and terrestrial mapping, ocean navigation, trade and geometric patterns in Qur’anic decoration.
Heather Ecker, Al-Madar’s curator, said the Vatican Library, which was established in the Middle Ages, is the oldest taking part in Al-Madar.
“The Vatican has Arabic manuscripts on virtually any subject, and has a large collection of early Qur’ans. It has early translations of the Qur’an, of which we are exhibiting several,” she said.
Ecker said the Nile map appears to have been linked to a travel log and is a visual record of a journey.
“The maps were created from the written text and from memory, apparently,” she said.
“It’s not a map as we conceive it, because it is image with text, with annotations that correspond to observations made during the voyage and notes taken. It collapses geography in a certain way, so it scrunches up the land between the Nile and the Red Sea, for example, in order to include more sites such as Jeddah.”
The map has been in the Vatican since the late 18th century, but had never been restored and was first shown in 2021, Ecker said. The Diriyah Biennale Foundation helped fund its restoration and conservation.
“It’s much brighter now,” Ecker said. “The paper is much more supple now, so it’s really vastly improved, and it’s much easier to exhibit and for people to appreciate. That was a big undertaking, and important in the field of conservation preservation.”
Organized by the Diriyah Biennale Foundation, the Jeddah exhibition explores faith by juxtaposing contemporary and newly commissioned artworks with historical objects from Islamic cultures.
The event has built on the success of the first biennale, and is bigger in scale and ambition, Aya Al-Bakree, CEO of the foundation, told Arab News.
This year, more than 30 cultural institutions have provided objects from their collections, as well as 29 newly commissioned works of art.
“The biennale is rooted in Saudi Arabia and has become a clear landmark on the international stage as well. We are excited to share this exhibition with audiences from near and far,” Al-Bakree added.
Display space is divided into several sections, each blending Islamic cultural heritage with contemporary interpretations.
The inaugural Islamic Arts Biennale in 2023 attracted more than 600,000 visitors. The 2025 edition will feature more than 500 historical artifacts and contemporary artworks, including treasures from Makkah, Madinah, and around the world.
The 2025 curatorial team is led by Julian Raby, Amin Jaffer, and Abdul Rahman Azzam, with Saudi artist Muhannad Shono as curator of contemporary art.
The Islamic Arts Biennale will run until May 25.
Saudi minister emphasizes Islamic unity at Khair Ummah conference in Bangkok
- Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh calls on scholars, preachers to ‘reinforce core principles of Islamic faith’
- Kingdom committed to fostering a culture of coexistence, cooperation among Muslims, forum told
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Islamic Minister Sheikh Abdullatif Al-Asheikh inaugurated the third Khair Ummah conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Bangkok on Saturday.
The event was attended by Thai National Assembly President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, along with several ministers, muftis, and leaders of Islamic universities, centers, and associations.
Al-Asheikh emphasized that the conference aimed to strengthen Islamic unity and adherence to the truth, promoting solidarity that upholds Islamic identity, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
He said that scholars bear a significant responsibility in light of global challenges and the intellectual, political, social, and security changes facing the world.
“This situation calls for a real response from scholars and researchers to clarify the right religious stance against sedition and to reinforce the core principles of the Islamic faith,” Al-Asheikh said.
He added that the responsibility of scholars and preachers is growing due to global calls for intellectual and ideological deviation, requiring careful reflection to realign efforts, uphold Shariah, safeguard the Prophet’s Sunnah, promote Islamic values, and combat extremism.
Al-Asheikh reaffirmed that under its leadership, the Kingdom has diligently fulfilled its responsibility toward the Two Holy Mosques and the holy sites.
“Saudi Arabia is committed to serving pilgrims, visitors, and Umrah performers by implementing substantial projects that enhance their experience and facilitate their rituals. The Kingdom is also dedicated to printing and distributing the Holy Qur’an in multiple languages worldwide,” he said.
Several participants delivered speeches thanking Saudi Arabia for its service to Islam and Muslims, emphasizing the importance of promoting tolerance, combating violence and extremism, and fostering cooperation among Muslims.
Meanwhile, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand awarded Al-Asheikh the First-Class Medal for Influential Global Islamic Personality of 2024. The medal was presented by Bangkok Islamic Affairs Committee President Arun Boonchom.
The award recognized Al-Asheikh’s distinguished contributions to serving Islam, promoting moderation and tolerance, and combating hate speech and extremism, SPA reported.
Al-Asheikh expressed his gratitude to the Sheikhul Islam of Thailand for his efforts in spreading noble Islamic values and fostering a culture of coexistence.
Saudi ambassador meets Sweden’s International Development Cooperation Agency chairman
- “The two kingdoms, Saudi Arabia and Sweden, are major players on the humanitarian assistance field, with vast opportunities for shared experiences and best practices in the field
RIYADH: Saudi Ambassador to Sweden and Iceland Enass Al-Shahwan recently met chairman of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency and former minister for international development cooperation, Gunilla Carlsson.
“The two kingdoms, Saudi Arabia and Sweden, are major players on the humanitarian assistance field, with vast opportunities for shared experiences and best practices in the field, the Saudi ambassador wrote on X.
Meanwhile, Saudi Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance Dr. Abdullatif Al-Alsheikh met Thailand’s National Assembly President Wan Muhamad Noor Matha, in Bangkok on Friday, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Matha expressed his appreciation for the Kingdom’s leading role in serving Islam and Muslims, and for its support of interfaith and intercultural dialogue.
Italian Prime Minister Meloni begins official visit to Saudi Arabia
JEDDAH: Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni began an official visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday.
Meloni arrived in Jeddah where she was met at the airport by the Deputy Governor of Makkah Region Prince Saud bin Mishaal bin Abdulaziz among other officials, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Her visit comes after Saudi Arabia and Italy signed an agreement earlier this month to boost energy cooperation.
The deal includes a possible supply to Europe of green hydrogen made in the Kingdom.
Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman met with Italy’s Minister of Energy and Environment Gilberto Pichetto Fratinon on Jan. 14 to sign the memorandum of understanding.
Saudi and French artists strengthen cultural ties through art
JEDDAH: The Consulate General of France in Jeddah recently hosted a reception at the French Residence to celebrate friendship and cultural collaboration between Saudi and French artists.
The event coincided with the opening week of the second Islamic Arts Biennale. Esteemed guests included Jack Lang, president of the Institut du Monde Arabe (The Arab World Institute) and former French minister of culture, along with artists and key partners involved in the biennale.
The consul general of France in Jeddah, Mohammed Nehad, spoke to Arab News about the importance of the biennale as a cornerstone of cultural collaboration: “The Biennale of Islamic Art is a pivotal moment for France. We are deeply committed to building bridges between Saudi and French artists. This event allows us to bring these creative minds together, fostering a unique dialogue.
“With the participation of Mr. Lang, a cultural visionary, and renowned institutions like the Louvre and Centre Pompidou present, this gathering underscores our dedication to expanding cooperation.”
He also highlighted initiatives, including plans to organize a major exhibition in Paris dedicated to Al-Balad, Jeddah’s historic district.
“It’s our dream to showcase the rich heritage of Al-Balad in Paris,” he said. “We’ve already hosted Saudi artists in France, with some present during this biennale, and facilitated French artists’ residencies in Saudi Arabia, particularly in the Asir region. This cultural exchange enriches both nations and strengthens the bond between us.”
Speaking further on the cultural landscape of Saudi Arabia, Nehad added: “I am inspired by the energy and creativity of Saudi artists, and encouraged by the progress made. Having served in Saudi Arabia during different terms, I’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation, with institutions and artists now more connected globally. It’s an honor to support and be part of this incredible cultural renaissance.”
Lang, a frequent visitor to Saudi Arabia and an advocate for cultural exchange, shared his admiration for the biennale and the Kingdom’s transformation. “This biennale is extraordinary, showcasing unparalleled creativity and architectural brilliance,” he told Arab News. “Over the past decade, I’ve witnessed Saudi Arabia’s cultural evolution, which is nothing short of revolutionary. The country has become a global hub for museums, theaters, cinema and visual arts. It’s unique and remarkable.”
Reflecting on the relationship between Saudi Arabia and France, he added: “Our collaboration is rich and longstanding. At the Institut du Monde Arabe, we hosted a landmark exhibition on AlUla, which ran for a year.”
Lang, who has also served on the Advisory Council of the Royal Commission for AlUla, said: “This growing partnership reflects the shared vision and passion of both nations.”
Raphael Justine, counselor for cooperation and cultural action at the French Embassy, expressed his enthusiasm for the biennale’s role in enhancing cultural partnerships.
“This is an exciting time for French-Saudi relations in the arts. The biennale provides a platform for artists from both nations to collaborate and create meaningful works,” he told Arab News. “During President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit, we signed over 10 cultural agreements, further solidifying our dedication to fostering collaboration.”
He highlighted the importance of artistic collaboration: “One of our main objectives is to bring French and Saudi artists together, enabling them to co-create and shape the cultural production of the Kingdom in the years to come.
“With so many museums being built, exhibitions being planned and cultural initiatives taking shape across the Kingdom, not just in AlUla, Riyadh and Jeddah, but throughout Saudi Arabia, there is tremendous potential for joint creative endeavors. I am confident that artists from both nations will deliver exceptional work that resonates globally.”
Laure Confavreux-Colliex, founding partner and managing director of Manifesto Middle East, lauded the biennale’s thoughtful execution and its impact on cultural exchange. “The choice of the Hajj Terminal as the venue is profound and symbolic,” she said. “The entire project is thoughtfully curated, and the biennale is a transformative moment for Saudi Arabia. I attended the first edition and was amazed by the quality and depth of the event.
“This year’s biennale has created invaluable opportunities for artists like Abdelkader Benchamma, a French artist whose stunning work at the biennale was the result of multiple visits and on-site collaboration. These exchanges foster deeper connections and understanding, unlocking creative potential across borders.”
Manifesto has worked to support artists and public art projects for more than a decade. Its branch in Riyadh has collaborated with Saudi cultural institutions to facilitate artist residencies and exhibitions. For instance, Bashaer Hawsawi and Reem Al-Nasser, who exhibited at the Hafez Gallery, spent three months at POUSH, a dynamic artistic hub in Paris hosting more than 300 artists as part of the intermix program developed by the Visual Arts Commission.
“There, they became part of a vibrant ecosystem, which has now culminated in their exhibition in Jeddah,” Confavreux-Colliex said. “This kind of long-term dialogue and immersive experience is essential to building a strong cultural ecosystem.
“We’ve hosted around 15 Saudi artists in Paris through residency programs and welcomed French artists to AlUla and Riyadh. These sustained exchanges not only enrich individual artists’ journeys, but also strengthen the cultural fabric between our nations,” she added.
