The 2015 crush, in which two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few miles east of Mecca, on their way to performing the “stoning of the devil” ritual at Jamarat, was the worst disaster to strike the annual pilgrimage for at least 25 years.
Advertisement
The Saudi government has “introduced new safety measures for this year’s hajj, including electronic wristbands for pilgrims and more surveillance cameras and other technology for improved crowd control”, as The Wall Street Journal reports.
Pilgrims threw pebbles they had gathered in nearby Muzdalifah on Sunday evening, September 11, at walls representing the devil. This day “is the one time during the hajj when roughly all pilgrims are in the same place at the same time”, the wire service adds, and the pilgrims hail from more than 160 countries.
He was also being briefed on the movement of pilgrims between the holy sites.
The stoning ritual emulates the actions of Abraham in resisting the temptation to disobey.
In one of the deadliest disasters to befall the annual Muslim rite in decades, the crush previous year killed almost 800 pilgrims, according to Riyadh, though counts by countries of repatriated bodies showed that more than 2,000 people may have died, more than 400 of them Iranians.
Authorities announced an investigation into the tragedy but no findings have ever been released.
All pilgrims are being outfitted with wearable water-resistant e-bracelets equipped with barcodes that link to personal information including medical records in an effort to facilitate treatment in case of illness or injury.
Notably absent this year are Iranian pilgrims.
From there, believers head to the Jamarat area to complete the next stage of the pilgrimage.
Pilgrims told AFP they feel safe and have noticed organisational improvements.
“The Saudis organize everything for us”.
Iran lost the largest number of dead a year ago, at 464. “We are truly at ease here”, Youssef al-Mehri, 24, from Oman said with a prayer rug slung over his shoulder.
Saudi Arabia has blamed Iranian officials for the decision and suggests it was politically motivated to publicly pressure the kingdom.
Hundreds of thousands of Iranian faithful held an alternative pilgrimage on Saturday in the Iraqi Shiite holy city of Karbala, according to an official at the shrine of Imam Hussein.
Its 64,000 pilgrims have been excluded from this year’s hajj for the first time in decades after the regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.
Saudi Arabia on Sunday said it had launched a television channel to broadcast the hajj rituals in the Persian language, also known as Farsi, spoken in Iran.
The pilgrims come from every corner of the globe.
Advertisement
A large number of Muslims attended the Eid prayers, where special prayers were offered for the unity among the Muslim Ummah and peace in the world.
