For years, Iranian pilgrims had tried to stage demonstrations called "Distancing Ourselves from Mushrikīn" (برائت از مشرکين) in the Muslim holy city of Mecca during the "hajj". "Anti shah, anti-Israel and anti-American propaganda during the Hajj" had been begun to spread by followers of Khomeini since around 1971. These demonstrations had their origins in 1971, when Ruhollah Khomeini instructed his Shiite followers to distribute political messages when performing their pilgrimage. Even though a few Iranians were arrested for this act, the Saudi officials were generally apathetic, as they did not view these political messages to be a threat to the Saudi royalty. After the revolution, Iran claimed that "the Hajj and the Holy places should be placed under international oversight as opposed to being managed by the Saudis alone." So the tension between Iran and Saudi based on the hajj was started in the 1980s. These disturbances were reacted to by the Saudi government with anger because "the Hajj is an important legitimizing factor for the Saudi ruling family".