Saudis reject claims that holy water in Mecca is hazardous

SUNDAY, 08 MAY 2011 18:37

Al-Arabiya

By MUNA KHAN
Al Arabiya with Agencies

Saudi authorities have rejected claims that holy water from a spring in the Grand Mosque of Mecca is polluted and hazardous to health, reported Agence-France Presse on Sunday.

On May 5, the BBC reported that it had found holy water, known as Zamzam, to be contaminated with arsenic and being sold in shops in London.

"An undercover researcher found large quantities of bottles being sold in east and south London, and in Luton," the BBC said.

It is not legal to export holy water from Saudi Arabia but pilgrims are allowed to take small quantities out of the country. Muslims believe the water has healing powers.

The president of the Association of Public Analysts told the BBC that he would "certainly would not recommend" drinking it.

Other reports in the British media suggested that drinking it could even cause cancer.

Dr Yunes Ramadan Teinaz, an environmental health officer who has previously warned about the holy water, told BBC that it was "a sensitive matter."

"People see this water as a holy water," the BBC quoted him as saying.

"They find it difficult to accept that it is contaminated but the authorities in Saudi Arabia or in the UK must take action," he said.

Saudi authorities, however, reject such claims.

The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques Affairs said in a statement Saturday "it had no reports suggesting there was any issue with Zamzam water which was safe for drinking," reported AFP.

A spokesman for the presidency, Ahmad al-Mansuri, told AFP, "Daily samples were being taken from the 31-metre (105-foot) deep well, and measures were taken to ensure it was safe."

The Saudi embassy in London also issued a statement saying the water was "not polluted," and that an analysis of it in March 2011 at European laboratories declared it safe for human consumption.

According to AFP, King Abdullah inaugurated a 700-million-riyal ($187 million) factory capable of bottling 200,000 bottles a day in Mecca in September 2010.

According to Islamic belief, the Prophet Abraham's wife Hagar and her baby Ishmael received Zamzam water in the hot dry valley after Hagar ran seven times between Safa and Marwa until she discovered the water.

A part of the Hajj pilgrim sees Muslims running between Safa and Marwa in honor of Hagar's search of water.