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CNN Live Sunday
Security Concerns Take Center Stage at the Hajj
Aired February 17, 2002 - 17:34 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: At Islam's holiest site, Mecca in Saudi Arabia, more than two million pilgrims are expected to attend the annual pilgrimage known at the Hajj. This year in the new post- September 11th world, security concerns are taking an even higher profile. CNN's Zain Verjee has that story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims are in Mecca performing sacred rituals in the Holy city. But as they circle the Kaba (ph), they're being watched by more than 650 roving eyes.
Surveillance cameras are spread out around the Grand Mosque in Mecca. A 24-hour monitoring system set up by the Saudi Government is in the basement, watching for any sign of trouble. In the past, there have been clashed with Iranian demonstrators and even a siege at the Grand Mosque. Many have been killed.
(on camera): September the 11th has made security a sensitive issue at the Hajj. Osama bin Laden is from Saudi Arabia and has supporters in the country, and there's concern that some of those supporters may try and use the Hajj as a cover to regroup or to recruit.
(voice-over): Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef Ibu Abdul Aziz says it would be un-Islamic for anyone to try and undermine the Hajj, and warns that the government will act decisively against any protesters.
About 12,000 guards are deployed around Mecca and its surrounding areas, and plain clothed officers are combing the crowds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The main thing (UNINTELLIGIBLE) supposed to be done against any people who are trying actually to ignore the Hajj calls and try to do any harmful to the people or to the pilgrimage.
VERJEE: After touchdown in Jeda (ph), the pilgrims themselves go through a rigid baggage check, where suitcases are X-rayed and searched for weapons. Pilgrims are carefully questioned before a stamp of approval is issued.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think they're very, very strict with regards to what comes in. They check the food. They check your bags. VERJEE: Pilgrims also surrender their passports when they arrive and get them back only when they leave. Eye scanners and digital fingerprinting methods are used if there's suspicion a potential troublemaker's trying to sneak in as a pilgrim.
On the way to Mecca, five checkpoints on the main roads, where officers track who's who. On Sayid al Sufur's (ph) sheet, he marks the country the pilgrims come from, the number of people, their gender, and the kind of car they're in.
About two million people will be at the Hajj this year. Many pilgrims say they feel safe. The Saudi government hopes it stays that way. Zain Verjee, CNN, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.
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