Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca winds down

March 17, 2000
Web posted at: 5:48 a.m. EST (1048 GMT)

In this story: A safe pilgrimage so far Attendance estimated at 1.73 million RELATED STORIES, SITES

MINA, Saudi Arabia -- Symbolic stoning of the devil continued Friday as hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims from around the globe prepared for the closing day of the Hajj.

After spending the night under the stars or in one of the 43,000 air-conditioned, fireproof tents erected for the annual event, pilgrims packed the mile-long Jamarat bridge where they pelted pillars with pebbles while chanting "God is Greatest."

The faithful are to sleep in Mina once again Friday night before the third day of stoning on Saturday, which is the fifth and final day of the Hajj.

As hundreds of police looked on, crowds were moving smoothly as loudspeakers guided pilgrims in eight languages free chilled water was distributed under desert sun that pushed temperatures to 99 Fahrenheit.

"Thank God, we have approached the end of a safe and secure pilgrimage," said Ahmed Abdullah, a Somali. "I hope my Hajj is accepted by the Almighty."

VIDEO CNN's Riz Khan shows what the pilgrims did Thursday. (March 16) QuickTime Play Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Religion today

A safe pilgrimage so far

After suffering considerable loss of life among pilgrims in crowd-related calamities that occurred in the two preceding years, Saudi authorities undertook large-scale efforts this year to ensure a safer pilgrimage.

With one day left of the gathering those efforts appear to be paying off, with an official quoted in the local press as saying the Hajj was going forth "without any unpleasant incident."

In 1998, 119 people were killed during the stoning ritual in a stampede at Jamarat. A year earlier, 343 pilgrims had died in a fire that swept through tents at Mina.

At a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, Saudi authorities implemented safety measures designed to ensure that such incidents would not be repeated.

Attendance estimated at 1.73 million

Planning ministry officials report the total number of pilgrims this year stands at 1.73 million, including a record 1.27 million from outside the kingdom and 466,000 residents. Earlier estimates had put the figure at 2.1 million with 800,000 residents attending.

Looking after the crowds are teams of cleaners and sweepers deployed at Mina, where garbage bins were placed every 10-20 yards.

Traffic jams blocked roads as thousands of pilgrims rode buses heading to nearby Mecca for prayers at the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site.

The pilgrims had prayed at Mount Arafat on Wednesday, the high point of the Hajj, and on Thursday began the devil-stoning ritual and sacrificed hundreds of thousands of cattle at the start of the four-day Eid al-Adha, the Feast of Sacrifice.

Before starting for home on Saturday the pilgrims are to return to Mecca for another round of circling the cube-shaped Kaaba, which Muslims around the world face when they pray five times a day.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam that must be performed by every able-bodied Muslim who has the financial means. Muslims believe those who perform it with a sincere heart will be as pure again as the day they were born.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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Islam - IslamiCity in Cyberspace
Al Hajj: The Hajj & Umrah Comprehensive Information Portal
The last 3 Pillars
Saudi Arabia Information Resource
CIA World Factbook - Saudi Arabia

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