Saudi will stay in charge of Haj, says Prince Turki

Abu Dhabi - Saudi Prince Turki Al Faisal on Sunday rejected the idea of sharing the administration of the annual Haj pilgrimage with other Muslim nations, saying Riyadh considers it "a matter of sovereignty" and a "privilege."

The senior member of the Saudi royal family spoke to The Associated Press as his country faces mounting criticism in the wake of last month's disastrous stampede of pilgrims outside the holy city of Makkah, which killed over 1,400 people, according to an AP count, making it the deadliest annual pilgrimage on record.
Oversight of these holy places and the Haj "is a matter of sovereignty and privilege and service," Prince Turki said.
"The kingdom over the years, having gotten over the awful times when pilgrims couldn't guarantee their travels to the Haj in the old days and all the other factors of disease and crowds and housing and so on, we'll not give up that privilege or that distinction of being the servants of the two holy places," he said.
"The people of Makkah are the ones who know best the territory of Makkah and you can't take that away from the people of Makkah." Turki spoke to the AP in an interview on Sunday on the sidelines of an event in Abu Dhabi organised by the Beirut Institute think tank. At least 1,480 pilgrims died when large crowds converged down a narrow street on September 24 in the area of Mina, just outside Makkah.
The death toll is based on an AP count from official statements from 19 nations whose citizens died in the incident.
"I think they're trying to make political capital out of this, which is unfortunate," Turki said, adding that "human suffering should not be a tool for political shenanigans."
"It's a recurring record that is played over and over again by Iranian leaders."
Turki is the most senior Saudi royal to comment publicly on the Iranian criticism.
He is currently chairman of the Riyadh-based King Faisal Centre for Research and Islamic Studies, named after his late father.
The prince served for more than two decades as head of intelligence in the kingdom, and has held ambassador posts in Britain, Ireland and the United States.
His brother, Prince Khalid Al Faisal is currently the governor of Makkah

• Saudi Arabia