UK ambassador becomes first in post to perform Hajj
UK ambassador becomes first in post to perform Hajj
British envoy Simon Collis joined millions of other pilgrims who descended on the Muslim holy city of Mecca for the annual pilgrimage.
1 min read
14 Sep, 2016
Simon Collis [R] with his wife Huda Mujarkech [L] in the pilgrims' garb [Twitter]
Britain's Ambassador to Saudi Arabia has become the first person in his role to perform perform Hajj while still on duty in the kingdom.
Pictures of Simon Collis with his wife Huda Mujarkech performing the Muslim religious rite were posted to Twitter by Saudi activist Fawziah Al Bakr.
The Arabic caption read: "The first British ambassador to the kingdom performing Hajj after converting to Islam: Simon Collis with his wife Huda in Mecca".
Twitter Post
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The diplomat and his wife replied to the Twitter post to thank the women's activist for her sharing of the news.
Collis became ambassador to Saudi Arabia in January 2015 after previous postings in Doha, Baghdad and Damascus, among several other places.
Since joining the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Collis has served mainly in the Middle East and South Asia.
London and Riyadh are close allies, with Britain often finding itself on the end of international criticism for implicit support of alleged human rights violations by their oil-rich partner.
Most recently, British arms sales to the kingdom have come under fire as Saudi Arabia continues to wage war in Yemen.
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