(Photo: Haj pilgrims at the Plains of Arafat, 15 Nov 2010/Mohammed Salem)
Millions of Muslims gathered around Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammad delivered his last sermon, to beg for God’s forgiveness on Monday, the spiritual climax of the annual haj pilgrimage. Pilgrims flocked mostly on foot to Arafat, a rocky outcrop in a dusty plain a few kilometers away from Mecca, to pray until sunset. They set up tents where they could, squatted on the side of the road in shelters or stayed at the nearby Namira mosque.
A record of at least 2.5 million pilgrims have come to Saudi Arabia to perform this year’s haj, one of the world’s biggest displays of mass religious devotion. So far, the authorities have reported none of the major problems or disasters that marred the event in previous years, such as building collapses and deadly stampedes caused by overcrowding.
But the sheer number of pilgrims was still a worry for the Saudi government. Around 100,000 security forces have been deployed to the oversee the pilgrimage, security officials said.
“I thank God for sending me to haj but it’s really difficult with so many people here and the heat,” Mohammed Ramzi, a pilgrim from Egypt, said as he cooled off under one of thousands of water sprinklers erected by the authorities against temperatures of up to 40 degrees Celsius. “I’ve just lost a friend in the crowd … but God will give me the strength to perform haj despite the difficulties.”
(Photo: Haj pilgrims at the Plains of Arafat, 15 Nov 2010/Mohammed Salem)
“Haj is difficult with the crowds and heat but God will help us,” said Abdulrahman Kado, a pilgrim from Nigeria.
