JEDDAH: Hundreds took to Twitter to express their appreciation to King Salman for opening the Salwa border crossing so Qatari pilgrims can enter the Kingdom to perform Hajj. The hashtag #KingSalmanHostsQatariPilgrims was trending following Wednesday’s announcement, which received praise from people throughout the Gulf.
A photo of King Salman was captioned “Just being a KING and teaching others how to be,” praising his message that God’s house is always open to all Muslims.
Just being a KING and teaching others how to be.
#الملك_سلمان_يستضيف_حجاج_قطر pic.twitter.com/5WIO3CWY7V— نايـف بن محمّد. (@7nt66) August 16, 2017
Some Twitter users shared pictures of Qatari pilgrims as they crossed the border.
استقبال منفذ سلوى #حجاج_قطر #حجاج_قطر_بقلب_سلمان #الملك_يستقبل_الشيخ_عبدالله_بن_علي ال ثاني@saudq1978 @malarab1 pic.twitter.com/tfttffyMjd
— قصر العوجا (@m166661) August 17, 2017
Meanwhile, many people refuted Doha’s claims that Saudi Arabia barred Qatari pilgrims, while slamming Al Jazeera for fabricating stories.
“I see Al Jazeera’s mercenaries’ faces who bothered us with their loud lies of banning Qataris from Hajj… May God protect King Salman and his crown prince,” said one Twitter user.
نبا نشوف وجه العذبه ومرتزقه الجزيره اذونا بصراخهم وكذبهم منع الحج على القطريين .. الله يطول بعمرك الملك سلمان وولي عهده كرم ما بعده كرم ..
— Ḇo3źooź UAE (@boazoooz55) August 16, 2017
Saudi journalist Abdul Aziz Al-Khamees said Qatar had failed in its “manipulative” attempt to politicize Hajj.
وبفقدان ورقة تسييس الحج تفقد السياسة القطرية تلاعبها وببلاهة بأمور يعرف الكبار كيف يديرونها وعلى الصغار الركض في متاهات التخبط السياسي...
— عبد العزيز الخميس (@alkhames) August 17, 2017
