ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Four Kurdish pilgrims who traveled to Saudi Arabia for the Umrah pilgrimage during Ramadan have died, the Kurdistan Region’s endowment ministry said on Wednesday.
"A citizen of Garmiyan independent administration, who went to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, died last night in Mecca," Karwan Stoni, spokesperson for the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) endowment ministry, told Rudaw on Wednesday, adding that "he will be buried in Mecca.” The pilgrim was identified as 48-year-old Azad Rahim.
Stoni stated that Rahim had no prior illness and had traveled to Saudi Arabia in his car. He is the tenth Kurdish pilgrim to die in Saudi Arabia since the beginning of this year.
By May of last year, nearly 4,600 pilgrims registered with Kurdish authorities had attended the Hajj. However, most Kurdish pilgrims who died had entered Saudi Arabia on tourist visas, violating the kingdom's regulations. Fifteen Kurdish pilgrims had died by that time.
The annual Hajj, a religious obligation for all Muslims who are financially and physically capable, draws millions of Muslims worldwide to gather in Saudi Arabia. Pilgrims journey to sacred sites throughout the country, including the Kaaba in Mecca, which holds the esteemed status of being the holiest site in Islam.
Every year, thousands of individuals from the Kurdistan Region undertake the pilgrimage.
