As thousands of Muslims from around the world started to flock into Makkah for the annual hajj, Indonesia’s Religious Affairs Ministry’s Hajj pilgrimage organizing committee (PPIH) has urged pilgrims to refrain from taking an excessive selfies in front of Ka’bah.

Speaking at a press conference on Hajj pilgrimage implementation in Jakarta, Central PPIH spokesperson Akhmad Fauzin said selfies will disrupt the solemnity of the rituals, Tempo.co reported.

“Taking too many selfies in front of the Ka’bah will disrupt the solemnity of your rituals as well as of the other pilgrims’ (rituals),” Fauzin said.

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“With that in mind, the committee is constantly reminding pilgrims to maintain focus on the Hajj ritual during their stay in the Holy Land, particularly during activities at the Grand Mosque. Please refrain from doing too many activities unrelated to worship,” he added.

In recent years, selfie fever has taken pilgrims and visitors to the Two Holy Mosques by storm.

The urge to document their every move at the holy mosques of Makkah and Madinah, and to share these precious moments with friends and families on social media has resulted in more pilgrims using their phones in the holy mosques than they once used to.

Speaking about selfies, scholar Sheikh Abdul Razzaq Al-Badr warned against taking photos during Hajj, saying: “When the Prophet (peace be upon him) reached the Miqaat he would say: ‘O Allah make this a Hajj without riya (showing off) and without trying to be heard of.”

Others, however, said that these images are important tools for da’wah (calling to Islam) to be shared with neighbors, co-workers and friends in an age where there are so many bad images of Islam.