They spend the night there, most in the open air huddled near one another, and pick up pebbles along the way that will be used in a symbolic stoning of the devil in Mina, where Muslims believe the devil tried to talk the Prophet Ibrahim – named Abraham in the Bible – out of submitting to God’s will.
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During that ritual in Mina past year, on Sept 24, a stampede killed roughly 2,300 people who were on their way to throw their stones at the Jamarat Bridge.
Saudi Arabia has stuck by its initial death toll of 769, but figures compiled from officials in more than 30 countries gave a tally nearly three times higher. 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.
“I’m here closer to God”.
Pilgrims fearless scorching temperatures to climb Mount Arafat on Sunday, the pinnacle of the five-day hajj pilgrimage.
Hajj is one of the five Pillars of Islam – duties all practising Muslims should perform during their lives – which means Muslims from all over the world travel to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, to make the journey. It comes a day before Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). “Saudi Arabia, which manages the hajj, investigated how that could have happened, but it’s not released results, which has infuriated Iran, which lost hundreds of citizens”.
Around 1.8 million Muslims are attending this year’s Hajj, according to Saudi officials.
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. Roads have also been widened in the Jamarat area, newspapers reported.
Pilgrims have told AFP they feel safe and noticed organisational improvements.
Yesterday, helicopters monitored the crowd flow from the skies, while on the ground, police on foot, motorbike, and all-terrain vehicles directed pedestrian movement.
The increased surveillance is part of the government’s response to a stampede that killed more than 2,400 participants previous year in the Hajj, an annual Muslim rite, according to an unofficial count cited by BBC News.
“The Saudis organise everything for us”.
Saudi King Salman arrived in Mina on Sunday to ensure the pilgrims can “perform their rituals easily, conveniently and safely”, the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
For the first time in almost three decades, 64,000 pilgrims from Iran are not participating in the hajj, after the regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.
Masses of Iranian faithful held an alternative pilgrimage on Saturday in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, south of the Iraqi capital.
The numbers are down this year because of the absence of 64,000 Iranians over tensions between their Shiite nation and the Sunni-dominated kingdom.
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Saudi Arabia has launched a Persian-language satellite television channel covering the annual Muslim Hajj pilgrimage amid an escalating spat with its regional rival Iran.
