MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In sweltering temperatures, Muslim pilgrims in Mecca gathered Friday in a large tent camp in the desert, officially opening the annual hajj pilgrimage. Before their trip, they walked around the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already gathered in and around Mecca for the Hajj, with the numbers continuing to grow as more pilgrims from Saudi Arabia joined. Saudi authorities expected the number of pilgrims to exceed 2 million this year.
This year’s hajj took place against the backdrop of the raging war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian militants, which pushed the entire Middle East to the brink of a regional war between Israel and its allies on the one hand and Iran-backed militant groups on the other side. other.
Palestinians in the coastal enclave of Gaza were unable to travel to Mecca for the hajj this year due to the closure of the Rafah crossing in May, as Israel expanded its ground offensive to the southern city of Rafah on the border with Egypt.
According to Palestinian authorities, 4,200 pilgrims from the occupied West Bank have arrived in Mecca for the Hajj. Saudi authorities said another 1,000 relatives of Palestinians killed or injured in the Gaza war also arrived to perform the hajj at the invitation of Saudi Arabia’s King Salman. The thousand guests were already outside Gaza – mainly in Egypt – before the Rafah border crossing was closed.
“We are deprived of performing the hajj because the border crossing is closed and because of the raging wars and destruction,” said Amna Abu Mutlaq, a 75-year-old Palestinian woman from the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, who was planning to perform a hajj to perform. Hajj this year. “They (Israel) have robbed us of everything.”
This year’s hajj also saw Syrian pilgrims travel to Mecca on direct flights from Damascus for the first time in more than a decade. The move was part of an ongoing thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and conflict-ridden Syria. Syrians in rebel-held areas used to cross the border with neighboring Turkey during their grueling journey to Mecca for the Hajj.
“This is the natural thing: pilgrims go to the hajj directly from their home countries,” said Abdel-Aziz al-Ashqar, a Syrian coordinator of the group of pilgrims who left Damascus for the hajj this year.
The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all Muslims are required to perform the five-day hajj at least once in their lives, if they are physically and financially able to do so.
It is a moving spiritual experience for pilgrims who believe it absolves sins and brings them closer to God while uniting the world’s more than two billion Muslims. It is also a chance to pray for peace in many conflict-ridden Arab and Muslim countries, including Yemen and Sudan, where more than a year of war between rival generals has created the world’s worst displacement crisis.
For many Muslims, the Hajj is the only major journey they have made in their lives. Some spend years saving money and waiting for a permit to begin the journey in their 50s or 60s, after raising their children.
The rituals during the Hajj largely commemorate the stories in the Quran about Prophet Ibrahim, his son Prophet Ismail and Ismail’s mother Hajar – or Abraham and Ishmael as they are called in the Bible.
Male pilgrims wear an ihram, two unstitched sheets of white cloth that resemble a shroud, while women wear conservative, loose-fitting clothes with headscarves and forgo makeup and perfume. Since their arrival in Mecca, they have been performing the ritual circuit around the cube-shaped Kaaba, counterclockwise, in the Grand Mosque with seven minarets.
Saudi authorities have introduced security restrictions in and around Mecca, with checkpoints on roads leading into the city to prevent people without hajj permits from reaching the holy sites.
Security authorities arrested many people trying to bring pilgrims to Mecca who did not have hajj permits, said Lt. Gen. Muhammad al-Bassami, head of the Hajj Security Committee. Most of them were deported, while travel agents faced up to six months in prison, according to the Interior Ministry.
On Friday the pilgrims went to Mina, where the hajj was officially opened. They will then hold a day-long vigil on Saturday on Mount Arafat, a desert hill where the Prophet Mohammed is said to have given his last speech, known as the Farewell Sermon. Healthy pilgrims make the journey on foot, others use the bus or train.
The time of year the Hajj takes place varies, as the Hajj lasts five days in the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Most Hajj rituals are held outdoors with little or no shade. When it falls in the summer months, temperatures can rise above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). The Health Ministry has warned that temperatures at the holy sites could reach 48 degrees Celsius (118 Fahrenheit). Many pilgrims carried parasols against the scorching sun.
After Saturday’s warship in Arafat, pilgrims will travel a few kilometers to a site known as Muzdalifa to collect pebbles that they will use in the symbolic stoning of pillars representing the devil in Mina.
Pilgrims then return to Mina for three days, which coincides with the festive Eid al-Adha holiday, when financially able Muslims around the world slaughter livestock and distribute the meat to the poor. They then return to Makkah for the final circumambulation, known as Farewell Tawaf.
In recent years, the annual pilgrimage has returned to its monumental scale, after three years of heavy restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, more than 1.8 million pilgrims performed the hajj, approaching the level of 2019 when more than 2.4 million pilgrims took part in the pilgrimage.
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Associated Press religion reporting is supported by the AP’s partnership with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
