Al-Raya denounces insistence on banning Qatar's pilgrims from performing Umrah

Qatari Al-Raya newspaper denounced the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's insistence on banning Qatar's pilgrims from performing the Umrah in a violation of all international customs and laws as well as the right of Muslims to freedom of worship and performance of rituals.

In its editorial Wednesday, the newspaper said that the House of God must be available to all Muslims, and closing it in the face of any Muslim is an infringement on the sanctity of God, pointing out that Saudi Arabia insists on the use of the House of God as a pressure to punish countries that oppose it.

In the absence of the official offices that the Haj and Umrah campaigners used to contract, the closure of the Saudi embassy and consulate and the inability to obtain visas, Umrah during Ramadan will be without Qatari people and residents, the paper said.

The Qatari daily called on the Saudi authorities to arbitrate reason and not to exploit Holy Places in settling political scores, stressing that Saudi Arabia's politicization of the two Holy Mosques since the beginning of the siege is a clear violation of human rights to the freedom of worship and the performance of rituals.

The newspaper pointed out that the in the event that no solution and initiatives are provided by Saudi Arabia for Qatar's pilgrims to perform Umrah next Ramadan, is also a new violation added to the Kingdom's violations of the rights of Muslims in Qatar.

In conclusion, Al-Raya stressed that the performance of Haj and Umrah is a right of every Muslim and can not be prevented by anyone, and that the Kingdom is accountable to God for depriving any Muslim of Haj or Umrah. (QNA)