Mecca's disasters and Muslims' responsibility

Two days ago, yet another horrible disaster took place in Mecca, near Islam?s holiest shrine, the Kaaba, and during the holy week of the hajj, the pilgrimage. An astonishing number of 753 pilgrims were killed in a stampede that took place near the point where the devil is ritually stoned. At least some 800 pilgrims were also reportedly injured.

This is only the latest in a series of horrible accidents or stampedes that have taken place during the hajj in the past couple of decades. Just two weeks before, a huge crane had fallen on pilgrims, killing more than a hundred people. Notably, one of the technicians of the company that operated the crane had argued that they had no responsibility, for the accident had taken place due to ?fate,? and ?an act of God.?

That is why I wrote a piece titled, ?Islam?s Tragic Fatalism? (NYT, Sept. 23), in which I argued that such fatalistic excuses by Muslims are nothing but an easy way out to escape from responsibility. ?God?s will,? I wrote, ?Becomes an easy cover for intellectual laziness, lack of planning and irresponsibility.? Then I added:

?Colossal accidents in Mecca and elsewhere must be taken as alarm signals for Muslims to purge our societies of this problematic mentality and seek the great intellectual revival we need.?

Alas, the next colossal accident took place the next day: The stampede that killed 753 pilgrims. This time, at least so far, nobody put the blame on ?fate,? but Saudi Health Minister Khalid al-Falih pointed a finger of blame at the dead, saying the pilgrims were undisciplined and did not follow instructions. In other words, the responsibility was again in other hands. 

In fact, I am sure that many pilgrims were indeed ?undisciplined and did not follow instructions,...