Muslims from round the world, dressed in white cotton robes, have assembled on Mount Arafat, east of Mecca, as an important ritual of the hajj pilgrimage gets under way.
Military helicopters roared over the 2.5m pilgrims on Monday who, at the world’s largest religious gathering, chanted: “Here I am, God, to answer your call, God. Here I am . . . ”
Pilgrims, many of them weeping, raised their hands to the heavens to pray for absolution on the mountain where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon.
“I have been praying for God to grant me hajj,” said Amal Mahmoud, 37, a theology teacher. “I am praying for all my loved ones to live this experience. God is proud of us today and the doors of heavens are open.”
This year the threat of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular, whose stronghold is to the south in Yemen, hovers over the pilgrimage, however.
The group, which launched a campaign to destabilise the kingdom between 2003 and 2007, has not openly threatened the rituals. But Prince Naif, the Saudi interior minister, warned last week of possible attempts to disturb security.
Last month, the country deployed thousands of security forces to patrol the rugged approaches to Mecca. Checkpoints at strategic sites along the highway to the holy city monitor vehicle traffic, linked to some of the most modern surveillance systems in the world.
“When it comes to Mecca and Medina, we take no chances. We have year-round security,” General Mansour al-Turki, the interior ministry’s spokesman told the Financial Times. “Trained special forces are stationed near the two holy mosques who are prepared to deal with any emergency or threat to the safety of the pilgrims.”
The logistics and health challenges of the hajj also demand extensive provision by the Saudi authorities. Pilgrims come from round the world so public announcements are repeated in dozens of languages to enable them to perform the rituals.
During the pilgrimage, officials in most government offices leave the main posts to lend a hand in Mecca if needed, virtually shutting down the bureaucracy for nearly two weeks. Along with them, hundreds of thousands of security forces, firefighters and doctors are deployed throughout the holy sites to prepare.
“It is a very tightly managed, time-sensitive operation. One bottleneck in one area could cause a chain reaction, preventing millions from performing their rituals,’’ said General al-Turki.
The Saudi government has spent billions of dollars to expand the Grand Mosque, adding several levels to mosque as well as the Jamarat Bridge, a platform where Muslims cast pebbles at pillars that symbolise the devil. In 2006, 362 pilgrims died in a stampede at the site as many Muslims rushed to complete the ritual before sunset.
The Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice, begins on Tuesday after the symbolic stoning of the devil and sacrifice of sheep. The event commemorates Abraham, who, according to Muslim tradition, was called upon to slaughter his son, but instead God sent him a lamb.
Muslims circle around the Kaaba seven times, then walking seven times between two rocky hills, al Safa and Marwa, emulating the path of Abraham’s wife Hagar as she sought water for her son Ismael.
Pilgrimage is one of five main tenets of Islam, which all Muslims are encouraged to carry out, but which only the financially and physically capable are obliged to perform.
Military helicopters roared over the 2.5m pilgrims on Monday who, at the world’s largest religious gathering, chanted: “Here I am, God, to answer your call, God. Here I am . . . ”
Pilgrims, many of them weeping, raised their hands to the heavens to pray for absolution on the mountain where the Prophet Mohammed gave his last sermon.
“I have been praying for God to grant me hajj,” said Amal Mahmoud, 37, a theology teacher. “I am praying for all my loved ones to live this experience. God is proud of us today and the doors of heavens are open.”
This year the threat of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsular, whose stronghold is to the south in Yemen, hovers over the pilgrimage, however.
The group, which launched a campaign to destabilise the kingdom between 2003 and 2007, has not openly threatened the rituals. But Prince Naif, the Saudi interior minister, warned last week of possible attempts to disturb security.
Last month, the country deployed thousands of security forces to patrol the rugged approaches to Mecca. Checkpoints at strategic sites along the highway to the holy city monitor vehicle traffic, linked to some of the most modern surveillance systems in the world.
“When it comes to Mecca and Medina, we take no chances. We have year-round security,” General Mansour al-Turki, the interior ministry’s spokesman told the Financial Times. “Trained special forces are stationed near the two holy mosques who are prepared to deal with any emergency or threat to the safety of the pilgrims.”
The logistics and health challenges of the hajj also demand extensive provision by the Saudi authorities. Pilgrims come from round the world so public announcements are repeated in dozens of languages to enable them to perform the rituals.
During the pilgrimage, officials in most government offices leave the main posts to lend a hand in Mecca if needed, virtually shutting down the bureaucracy for nearly two weeks. Along with them, hundreds of thousands of security forces, firefighters and doctors are deployed throughout the holy sites to prepare.
“It is a very tightly managed, time-sensitive operation. One bottleneck in one area could cause a chain reaction, preventing millions from performing their rituals,’’ said General al-Turki.
The Saudi government has spent billions of dollars to expand the Grand Mosque, adding several levels to mosque as well as the Jamarat Bridge, a platform where Muslims cast pebbles at pillars that symbolise the devil. In 2006, 362 pilgrims died in a stampede at the site as many Muslims rushed to complete the ritual before sunset.
The Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice, begins on Tuesday after the symbolic stoning of the devil and sacrifice of sheep. The event commemorates Abraham, who, according to Muslim tradition, was called upon to slaughter his son, but instead God sent him a lamb.
Muslims circle around the Kaaba seven times, then walking seven times between two rocky hills, al Safa and Marwa, emulating the path of Abraham’s wife Hagar as she sought water for her son Ismael.
Pilgrimage is one of five main tenets of Islam, which all Muslims are encouraged to carry out, but which only the financially and physically capable are obliged to perform.
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