Iranian pilgrims. Saudi Arabia imposed a quota of 1,000 pilgrims per million population many years ago. Today’s Zaman said 40 countries have appealed for the quotas to be lifted because they have great backloads of prospective pilgrims eager to make the hajj and getting older. The daily said Saudi Arabia has officially rejected the request saying that the massive construction of hajj facilities makes it impossible to handle a large increase in hajjis now. But the daily reported that the Saudis have sent delegations to several countries to explain that fear of being overwhelmed by troublesome Iranian Shias is the core reason for the quotas.
