Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

The faithful begin Haj pilgrimage

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MECCA: More than two million Muslims from around the world began the Haj pilgrimage at Islam’s holiest sites on Wednesday, a religious duty and an epic multi-stage journey.


This year sees pilgrims from Iran return to Mecca in Saudi Arabia after a hiatus following a diplomatic spat between the two countries and a deadly stampede in 2015.


On the esplanade of Mecca’s Grand Mosque, the excitement was palpable as crowds from all four corners of the world gathered for a pilgrimage that all able Muslims are required to perform at least once in their lives.


Tidjani Traore, a public service consultant from Benin, said he was on his 22nd pilgrimage at the age of 53.


“Every time, there are new emotions,” he said. “There are new innovations for organising and hosting the pilgrims. Now, for example, the tents are air-conditioned.”


Wearing the simple garb of the pilgrim, the faithful waited at dawn with their suitcases for buses to take them to Mina five kilometres to the east.


There, hundreds of thousands will gather before setting off on Thursday at dawn to climb Mount Arafat, the pinnacle of the Haj.


First, however, they must perform a ritual walk known as the tawaf seven times around the Kaaba, a black masonry cube wrapped in a heavy silk cloth embroidered in gold with Quranic verses at the centre of Mecca’s Grand Mosque.


The shrine is the point towards which Muslims around the world pray.


“I still have to finish the tawaf!” said a breathless Nour, 30, from Saudi Arabia as she rushed past without stopping.


Sitting on a folding chair in the middle of the esplanade, Risvana cradled her six-month-old baby who is accompanying her on the pilgrimage.


“I’ve planned everything for him,” said the young mother, pointing to a bottle of water in her bag.


Tight security: Saudi authorities have mobilised vast resources including more than 100,000 security personnel to avoid a repeat of the stampede in 2015 in which nearly 2,300 people were killed.


Iran alone reported 464 deaths — the highest toll among foreigners.


This year the colossal religious gathering comes with the IS group under growing pressure having lost swathes of territory it controlled in Iraq and Syria


But the militant group continues to claim attacks in the Middle East and Europe.


On the esplanade of the Grand Mosque, Saudi authorities had placed misting fans to take the edge off the intense heat.


On the eve of the first rites of the pilgrimage, the walkways thronged with people and the smell of musk wafted through the air.


Sitting in the shade of trees or reinforced concrete bridges, the faithful waited patiently for the next call to prayer.


Others continued their march, protected by a prayer mat or a small umbrella fixed on the head with an elastic band.


Several times throughout the day, well-run teams of employees, mostly Asian, cleaned the esplanade with jets of water.


As the hour for prayer arrived, a young woman sat at a table in an ice cream shop and prayed, her hands crossed on her knees.


A few paces from the Kaaba, Egyptian pilgrim Fatiya Taha could not hide her joy.


At 67 the oldest in her group, she sat in her wheelchair in Islam’s most holy spot.


“I’ve been looking forward to this pilgrimage for four years,” she said.


—AFP


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