Almost 1.5 million Muslims at launch of hajj

MECCA - From Asia, Africa and points in between, nearly 1.5 million Muslims launched the annual hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites Saturday, undeterred by a stampede last year that cost around 2,300 lives.

The numbers are down because of the absence of tens of thousands of Iranians over tensions between their Shiite nation and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia which is home to the sites in Mecca and Medina.

The 2015 stampede magnified those frictions.

After preliminary rituals this week in Mecca at the Grand Mosque, the pilgrims moved on Saturday, many by bus, in debilitating temperatures exceeding 40 C (100 F) to Mina, several kilometres (miles) to the east.

They are following in the footsteps of their Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.

"It's an indescribable feeling. You have to live it to understand. This is my sixth hajj and I still cannot express how happy I am to be in Mecca," said Hassan Mohammed, 60, from Egypt.

The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.

"People come from every country of the world, talk every language of the world, and meet here in one place under one banner, the profession of the Muslim faith," said Ashraf Zalat, 43, also from Egypt.

The first day of hajj was traditionally the chance for pilgrims to let their animals drink and to stock up on water.

Then they proceed to Mount Arafat, several kilometres further, for the peak of the hajj on Sunday.

Mina becomes their base, where an expanse of solidly-built white fireproof tents can accommodate 2.6 million pilgrims.

Last September 24, Mina was the scene of the deadliest disaster in hajj history, when the stampede broke out as pilgrims made their way to the Jamarat Bridge for a stoning ritual.

This year's "Stoning of the Devil" will start on Monday.

Although Riyadh stuck with a stampede death toll of 769, data from foreign officials in more than 30 countries gave a tally almost three times higher -- at least 2,297.

Saudi Arabia announced an investigation but no results have ever been released, although a number of safety measures have been taken.

'WE FEEL SAFE'

Government facilities have been moved out of Mina to free up space, Saudi newspapers reported, and roads in the Jamarat area expanded.

Officials have been issuing pilgrims with bracelets that digitally store their personal data, after some foreign officials expressed concern about difficulties in identifying the stampede dead.

AFP found pilgrims wearing the new bracelets which authorities aim to give each of the more than 1.4 million faithful from abroad, who are expected to be joined by more than 100,000 Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia.

But there has been no figure for the number of bracelets distributed so far.

Interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki spoke of "great efforts being exerted by the kingdom, not only in maintaining the security and safety of the pilgrims, but in facilitating performance" of the rites.

Many pilgrims appeared satisfied on Saturday.

"Everything is well organized," said Nasser Benfitah, 54, from Morocco.

"We feel safe," chimed in a Nigerian pilgrim, Hafsa Amina, 26.

Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in hajj infrastructure and safety projects over the years.

This includes expansion of the Grand Mosque whose complex includes a plaza of white stones stretching for hundreds of metres (yards).

Just beyond this area, known as the Haram, or sacred site, luxury multi-storey hotels and shopping centres fill the skyline.

The hajj draws rich and poor, whose common humanity is emphasized by the white garment that each man wears. Women wear loose dresses, typically also white.

Many pilgrims now beam their spiritual journey back home through cyberspace to family and friends, and a range of specially-designed mobile applications can be downloaded.

Despite the safety and security measures which Saudi Arabia says it has taken, Iranian authorities have questioned the kingdom's custodianship of Islam's holiest places.

The two countries do not have diplomatic relations and are at odds over a string of regional issues including the wars in Yemen and Syria.

Iran reported the largest number of stampede victims, at 464, and its pilgrims are excluded for the first time in decades after the regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Saudi king vows to find cause of pre-hajj crane tragedy

MECCA, Saudi Arabia -- Saudi Arabia's King Salman vowed on Saturday to find out what caused a crane collapse that killed 107 people at Mecca's Grand Mosque ahead of the annual hajj pilgrimage.

The hajj, a pillar of the Muslim religion which last year drew about two million faithful, will take place despite Friday's tragedy, Saudi authorities said as crowds returned to pray a day after the incident.

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims had already arrived in Mecca when the massive red and white crane toppled over during a Friday thunderstorm.

"We will investigate all the reasons and afterwards declare the results to the citizens," Salman said after visiting the site, one of Islam's holiest.

Parts of the Grand Mosque remained sealed off on Saturday around the wreckage of the crane, which also injured around 200 people when it crashed into a courtyard.

But there was little mourning among pilgrims, who snapped pictures of the collapsed metal and continued with their prayers and rituals.

"I wish I had died in the accident, as it happened at a holy hour and in a holy place," Egyptian pilgrim Mohammed Ibrahim told AFP.

Om Salma, a Moroccan pilgrim, said "our phones have not stopped ringing since yesterday with relatives calling to check on us".

Indonesians and Indians were among those killed when the crane collapsed, while the injured included Malaysians, Egyptians, Iranians, Turks, Afghans and Pakistanis.

Salman expressed his condolences to the families of the dead, and then visited a local hospital "to check on the health of the injured", the official Saudi Press Agency said.

"Suddenly, I heard thunder and then we heard a very loud noise. That was the sound of the crane falling," Mohammed, a Moroccan pilgrim, told AFP.

Another visitor caught up in the tragedy, Ahmed from Egypt, said he and those around him were "very scared, hysterical even".

A Saudi official said the hajj, expected to start on September 21, would go ahead despite the tragedy.

- Inquiry has begun -
"It definitely will not affect the hajj this season, and the affected part will probably be fixed in a few days," said the official, who declined to be named.

The pilgrimage is a must for all able-bodied Muslims who can afford it.

An investigative committee has "immediately and urgently" begun searching for the cause of the collapse, SPA reported.

The contractor, engaged in a major expansion of the mosque, has been directed to ensure the safety of all other cranes at the site, it added.

The cranes soar skywards over the sprawling expansion taking place beneath the Mecca Royal Clock Tower, the world's third tallest building.

For years, work has been under way on a 400,000-square-metre (4.3-million-square-feet) enlargement of the Grand Mosque to allow it to accommodate up to 2.2 million people at once.

"We saw people dying before our eyes", the Arab News quoted Sheikh Abdul Raheem, a witness, as saying.

Pictures of the incident on Twitter showed bloodied bodies strewn across the courtyard, where part of the crane had landed atop an ornate, arched and colonnaded section of the complex.

- 'Act of God' -

Irfan al-Alawi, co-founder of the Mecca-based Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, suggested that the authorities had been negligent by having a series of cranes overlooking the mosque.

"They do not care about the heritage, and they do not care about health and safety," he told AFP.

Alawi is an outspoken critic of redevelopment at the Muslim holy sites, which he says is wiping away tangible links to the Prophet Mohammed.

But an engineer for the Saudi Binladin Group, the developer, told AFP the crane had been installed in "an extremely professional way" and that there had been no technical problem.

"It was an act of God", he said.

Saudi Binladin Group belongs to the family of the late Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.

Sheikh Ahmed al-Ghamdi, former head of Mecca's religious police, told AFP the accident was a "test" from God.

"We need to accept what happened," he said, at the same time calling for a thorough investigation.

Condolences came in from around the world, including from Arab leaders, as well as from Britain, Canada, India and Nigeria.

It was not the first tragedy to strike Mecca pilgrims, although the hajj has been practically incident-free in recent years.

In 2006, several hundred people died in a stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual in nearby Mina, following a similar incident two years earlier.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Fox News apologizes for 'totally Muslim' remarks

WASHINGTON - US television network Fox News has apologized several times for claiming there are "totally Muslim" no-go zones in Europe, comments that aired on the station following deadly attacks in France.

Commentators on the network and anchors suggested there were areas in France and Britain in particular where non-Muslims aren't allowed in and police won't go.

Security analyst Steven Emerson said a week ago that "non-Muslims just simply don't go in" to the British city of Birmingham, during a discussion of multiculturalism.

Following an uproar on Twitter and elsewhere, Fox News aired a lengthy apology during several broadcasts Saturday.

"Over the course of this last week, we have made some regrettable errors on air regarding the Muslim population in Europe," anchor Julie Banderas said.

Three days of violence in France left 17 people dead earlier this month, including 12 people at the offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo.

The newspaper had angered many Muslims over its repeated publication of cartoons depicting Islam's Prophet Mohammed.

In the wake of the attacks, Fox News had suggested some Muslims were out of control in Europe, drawing mockery online and from European public officials.

Prime Minister David Cameron called Emerson a "complete idiot."

Fox News said "we deeply regret the errors," but also added a caveat.

"There are certainly areas of high-crime in Europe, as there are in the United States and other countries, where police and visitors enter with caution," it said.

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com