Almost two million Muslims from around the world on Wednesday descended on Islam's holiest site Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj pilgrimage.
As one of the five pillars of Islam, every able-bodied Muslim of appropriate financial means is required to complete the five-day ritual at least once in their lifetime.
Political significance I: In a shrewd political move, the Saudi king will grant visas to pilgrims from major rival Qatar and will pay their costs.
Political significance II: Iranian pilgrims will return this year after a one-year hiatus. Iran abstained after a deadly stampede in 2015 and a diplomatic row over the execution of a Shiite cleric in Saudi Arabia.
The terrorism threat: More than 100,000 security personnel have been deployed after several terrorist cells were dismantled this year.
A history of accidents: Authorities assure pilgrims they have measures in place to avoid a repeat of the 2015 stampede that killed more than 2,000 people and the 2006 stampede that killed more than 300 people
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What is the hajj?
Millions of Muslim Pilgrims
The hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the most holy city for Muslims. All Muslims are expected to perform this religious duty at least once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially able. It is one of the five pillars of Islam, or core ritual practices, and considered to be the largest gathering of people in the world, with millions attending every year.
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What is the hajj?
Following the prophet
As many as three million pilgrims perform a series of rituals over the course of five or six days. First, they stop to pray at the Grand Mosque, home to a cubic building draped in black silk called the Kaaba, Islam’s most important shrine.
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What is the hajj?
Stoning the devil
Pilgrims travel to the village of Mina to again pray and read from the Quran. Next they spend a day at Mount Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammed gave his final sermon, to ask for forgiveness. On their return journey to Mecca, the pilgrims stop on a plain called Muzdalifah to collect stones, which they will throw at three pillars in Mina to symbolically stone the devil.
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What is the hajj?
Circling Kaaba
Finally, upon returning to Mecca, the pilgrims will circle the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque seven times, bringing their hajj to a close. They then shave their heads and perform an animal sacrifice before celebrating the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice.
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What is the hajj?
Tragedy during hajj
Since 1987, more than 5,800 people have died in building collapses, stampedes, trampling and fires. In 2015, a stampede resulted in around 2,400 deaths, making it the worst catastrophe in the history of hajj. The pilgrimage is also a hotbed of infectious disease, as pilgrims from every corner of the planet often trek around in the heat barefoot and share tight sleeping quarters.
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What is the hajj?
Bringing the new to the old
While the hajj is the oldest and most sacred ritual of Islam, it has also been brought into the 21st Century. The Saudi government is using the latest in crowd-control techniques to prevent trampling and architectural collapses. On YouTube, they telecast live hajj and now, Google, iTunes and other sites have come out with hajj apps to help pilgrims better understand and perform the hajj rituals.
aw,sa/rt (AP, AFP, dpa)
