A Saudi micro-economy has flourished around the annual pilgrimage, but that is often overlooked when the Saudi leadership boasts about its services to pilgrims. From small hotel owners to global chains owned by entrepreneur princes such as Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, revenues from the pilgrimage have always been an important source of income.
The Saudi leadership has also used the pretext of expanding the Mecca site to confiscate land around the precinct, annex property with little compensation and erect imposing buildings such as high-rise royal palaces. The horizontal expansion of the Grand Mosque to allow for more than 2 million visitors has been marred by vertical royal residences and luxury hotels, all beyond the reach of ordinary Muslims, the majority of whom can only afford shelter in specially erected tents.
The commercialization of the pilgrimage — some would say the vulgarization — is compounded by another hot-button issue, namely Saudi control of the sequence of pilgrimage rituals to make them conform to the Wahhabi version. This has remained problematic given the diversity of Muslims, their sects and their folk religious traditions. The Saudi government also prohibits the observance of certain traditions during the pilgrimage season. For example, some pilgrims are not allowed to visit graveyards where the companions of the prophet were buried in Medina, the second holy city, or to chant or use drums. A pilgrim is expected to perform the ritual in a somber way, regardless of his background or religious sect. Shiites in particular have been affected by these restrictions. In the past, clashes were common between them and Saudi police as Shiites tried to visit the tombs of their revered imams.