RIYADH (Dispatches) – Saudi activists are set to hold nationwide protests against the ruling Al Saud regime on the Day of Arafah.
The demonstrations will take place on Monday, on the occasion of the Arafah Day, which is an Islamic holiday that falls on the 9th day of the lunar calendar month of Dhu al-Hijjah.
The participants will denounce the Saudi regime’s rule and call for freedom as well as an end to the kingdom’s economic downfall.
U.S.-based Saudi opposition activist Ali al-Ahmed tweeted that he was honored to be the media contact for the planned protests.
Pilgrims began arriving in the holy city of Mecca on Saturday for the second downsized Hajj staged during the coronavirus pandemic, circling Islam’s holiest site in masks and on distanced paths.
The kingdom is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to take part, seeking to repeat last year’s plan.
This year’s Hajj, with participants chosen through a lottery, is larger than the pared-down version staged in 2020 but drastically smaller than in normal times.
After being loaded on buses and brought to Mecca’s Grand Mosque, pilgrims began performing the “tawaf”, the circumambulation of the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth, towards which Muslims around the world pray.
Many carried umbrellas to protect themselves from the scorching summer heat.
The Day of Arafah is the holiest day in the Islamic calendar, the second day of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, and the day after that is the first day of the major Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha.
Every year on the Arafah Day, pilgrims gather on Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma (Mount of Mercy), near the holy city of Mecca, where they perform special prayers, asking God’s forgiveness and making wishes.