“Anthrax and Pebbles” scandal details in last pilgrimage season
Representatives of the International Organization for Monitoring the Management of the Two Holy Mosques revealed the scandal of what was written on the bags of the stoning during the presence of pilgrims in Muzdalifah during the last Hajj season.
Thousands of English-speaking pilgrims were surprised to see “Anthrax” instead of “Pebbles” on the stoning bags, causing confusion and fear among pilgrims.
The delegates intervened by amending the translation immediately and explaining the correct meaning of the inside of the bags and reassuring panicked pilgrims.
videos were posted on social media sites on the subject, where the Islamic preacher Yusuf Estes published a video explaining the problem and explain to Muslims speaking English that these bags do not contain anthrax as it is written on them, but are the embers used in Hajj.
The publication of pictures of gravel collection bags to throw stoning caused widespread controversy through social media sites, where they are misinterpreted and caused a major crisis.
The Ministry of Hajj al-Saud confirmed that during the presence of pilgrims in Muzdalifah to perform their rituals, a limited amount of gravel collection bags were observed with a false translation caused confusion in English speakers.
This erroneous translation is likely due to the use of machine translation, which often gives inaccurate meanings in the language to which it is translated.
The Ministry of Hajj began investigating the contractor of gravel collection bags, the contracting authority and the translator, and taking their statements and referring them to the competent authority, with a view to correcting the situation and checking accuracy in the future.
One activist said through his account: Does it make sense for the Ministry of Hajj to come with bags for the stones, with “Anthrax” written on it. This word means anthrax [the sickness]. Are the translators are foreigners and do not understand anything at all? Why did not they employ Saudis and in the translation department.
The international body accused the Saudi administration of falling to do its duty in the Two Holy Mosques while focusing on the political propaganda of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, princes and order in the Kingdom instead of paying attention to the important matters of the pilgrims.
The organization body blamed the Riyadh administration for the blatant failure and called for the involvement of Islamic countries and governments in the management of the hajj to ensure that such frightening mistakes are avoided.
Demands are rising in the Muslim world to ensure that the Saudi regime manages the holy sites and Islamic sites in a proper manner that preserves the past and present of Islam, by advising Riyadh through an Islamic advisory council, involving Muslim countries in the management of sacred feelings, and stopping the work of obliterating Islamic identity in Mecca and Madinah.
