Wizdom
06-12-08, 22:31
Saudis step up security in run-up for Hajj
By Abeer Allam in Mecca
http://media.ft.com/cms/2df7f446-c2f3-11dd-a5ae-000077b07658.jpg
Published: December 5 2008 16:39 | Last updated: December 5 2008 16:39
More than two and a half million Muslim pilgrims will begin moving to tents on Mount Arafat east of the holy city of Mecca this weekend to perform rituals that mark the climax of the annual Hajj.
Amid tight security, worshippers from all over the world, dressed mostly in white, will spend Sunday praying, meditating and asking for forgiveness on or near Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon to pilgrims in 632.
As the world’s largest annual religious gathering, the Hajj poses immense logistic, health and security challenges for the Saudi government. With pilgrims coming from so many countries and speaking so many different languages while performing the rituals in a confined space within a tight timeframe, deadly accidents such as fires or stampedes are serious risks.
The Saudi government has spent over $1bn in the last two years enlarging the Grand Mosque, or Haram, erecting fire-proof tents, and adding additional levels to the Jamarat Bridge – a platform where pilgrims struggle to find a place to perform the symbolic ritual of throwing stones at rock pillars representing the devil. In 2006, 362 pilgrims died in a stampede at the site.
The worst incident was in 1990 when 1,426 pilgrims were killed after a tunnel leading to the stoning site collapsed.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and home to two of Islam’s three holiest sites, has deployed 100,000 police officers, including anti-terror forces, this year, Prince Nayef bin Adel Aziz, the Interior Minister, said on Wednesday.
“We have heard of no special threat, but we must prepare ourselves and assume anything could happen,” said Prince Nayef. “Terrorism is not over, but we are capable of facing any security threat or emergency.’’
Out of respect for the sanctity of the event, the government tries to keep politics out of the Hajj. Al-Qaeda-linked groups, which launched a terrorism campaign between 2003 and 2006 to destabilise the kingdom, have never targeted the holy sites, but in 1979, Saudi militants sparked a crisis by occupying Mecca’s Grand Mosque. In 1987, 400 people were killed during skirmishes between Iranians and Saudi authorities. Some Iranians have staged anti-US protests in subsequent years.
Travel and accommodation have also caused problems for the Saudi authorities. This year, Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, has accused Saudi Arabia and Egypt of blocking access to Palestinian pilgrims from the territory.
Prince Nayef says the government does not discriminate and is prepared to receive pilgrims from Gaza as late as one day before the Arafat rituals.
Urging calm, Prince Nayef has urged all pilgrims to follow health and safety instructions. To prevent another stampede, the authorities have made appeals this year for pilgrims to throw their stones at any time of day, rather than only in the afternoon. To prevent outbreaks of disease, they have required that all pilgrims take meningitis shots and have urged them to wear medical masks.
Eid Al-Adha, or feast of sacrifices, begins on Monday with the symbolic devil stoning. Some pilgrims will pay a butcher to sacrifice sheep on their behalf, in commemoration of the story of Abraham, who, according to tradition, was called upon to slaughter his son, but was then told a lamb would be acceptable instead.
After that pilgrims shave or cut their hair and return to the Grand Mosque to march in a circle around the Kaaba, before walking seven times between two rocky hills, called al Safa and Marwa, to emulate the footsteps of Abraham’s wife Hagar as she sought water for her son Ismael.
All Muslims are called upon to perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are able, and the pilgrimage is one of five key tenets of Islam. Many Muslims perform Hajj more than once, although the Saudis are trying to limit the number.
Ahmed al-Hammadi, 65, a businessman from UAE has performed the Hajj 11 times. “I cannot stop. I want to have that feeling of spirituality over and over again.”
By Abeer Allam in Mecca
http://media.ft.com/cms/2df7f446-c2f3-11dd-a5ae-000077b07658.jpg
Published: December 5 2008 16:39 | Last updated: December 5 2008 16:39
More than two and a half million Muslim pilgrims will begin moving to tents on Mount Arafat east of the holy city of Mecca this weekend to perform rituals that mark the climax of the annual Hajj.
Amid tight security, worshippers from all over the world, dressed mostly in white, will spend Sunday praying, meditating and asking for forgiveness on or near Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon to pilgrims in 632.
As the world’s largest annual religious gathering, the Hajj poses immense logistic, health and security challenges for the Saudi government. With pilgrims coming from so many countries and speaking so many different languages while performing the rituals in a confined space within a tight timeframe, deadly accidents such as fires or stampedes are serious risks.
The Saudi government has spent over $1bn in the last two years enlarging the Grand Mosque, or Haram, erecting fire-proof tents, and adding additional levels to the Jamarat Bridge – a platform where pilgrims struggle to find a place to perform the symbolic ritual of throwing stones at rock pillars representing the devil. In 2006, 362 pilgrims died in a stampede at the site.
The worst incident was in 1990 when 1,426 pilgrims were killed after a tunnel leading to the stoning site collapsed.
Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter and home to two of Islam’s three holiest sites, has deployed 100,000 police officers, including anti-terror forces, this year, Prince Nayef bin Adel Aziz, the Interior Minister, said on Wednesday.
“We have heard of no special threat, but we must prepare ourselves and assume anything could happen,” said Prince Nayef. “Terrorism is not over, but we are capable of facing any security threat or emergency.’’
Out of respect for the sanctity of the event, the government tries to keep politics out of the Hajj. Al-Qaeda-linked groups, which launched a terrorism campaign between 2003 and 2006 to destabilise the kingdom, have never targeted the holy sites, but in 1979, Saudi militants sparked a crisis by occupying Mecca’s Grand Mosque. In 1987, 400 people were killed during skirmishes between Iranians and Saudi authorities. Some Iranians have staged anti-US protests in subsequent years.
Travel and accommodation have also caused problems for the Saudi authorities. This year, Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, has accused Saudi Arabia and Egypt of blocking access to Palestinian pilgrims from the territory.
Prince Nayef says the government does not discriminate and is prepared to receive pilgrims from Gaza as late as one day before the Arafat rituals.
Urging calm, Prince Nayef has urged all pilgrims to follow health and safety instructions. To prevent another stampede, the authorities have made appeals this year for pilgrims to throw their stones at any time of day, rather than only in the afternoon. To prevent outbreaks of disease, they have required that all pilgrims take meningitis shots and have urged them to wear medical masks.
Eid Al-Adha, or feast of sacrifices, begins on Monday with the symbolic devil stoning. Some pilgrims will pay a butcher to sacrifice sheep on their behalf, in commemoration of the story of Abraham, who, according to tradition, was called upon to slaughter his son, but was then told a lamb would be acceptable instead.
After that pilgrims shave or cut their hair and return to the Grand Mosque to march in a circle around the Kaaba, before walking seven times between two rocky hills, called al Safa and Marwa, to emulate the footsteps of Abraham’s wife Hagar as she sought water for her son Ismael.
All Muslims are called upon to perform Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are able, and the pilgrimage is one of five key tenets of Islam. Many Muslims perform Hajj more than once, although the Saudis are trying to limit the number.
Ahmed al-Hammadi, 65, a businessman from UAE has performed the Hajj 11 times. “I cannot stop. I want to have that feeling of spirituality over and over again.”