SAUDI ARABIA: Pilgrims at this year's Haj have no difficulty finding a place to worship thanks to the availability of mobile mosques, courtesy of Saudi Arabia's religious police

Record ID: 188873

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Pilgrims at this year's Haj have no difficulty finding a place to worship thanks to the availability of mobile mosques, courtesy of Saudi Arabia's religious police
  • Date: 9th November 2011
  • Summary: MINA, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 7, 2011) (REUTERS) VOICE OF SHEIKH READS KORAN BY MOBILE MOSQUE LOUDSPEAKERS PILGRIMS GATHER AROUND THE SAUDI PREACHER MOHAMMED AL-MASUDI ASKING HIM ON HAJ MATTERS (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SAUDI PREACHER MOHAMMED AL-MASUDI, SAYING: "Some people may not know the direction of the qibla (direction of prayer) so we help them with this, some people have no water (to perform ablutions) so we help them with this, and some may not know how to perform prayers properly, so we help them and direct them. These gatherings are testimony to people's desire to perform their prayers." (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) HEAD OF THE MOBILE MOSQUES COMMITTEE, SHEIKH ABDULAZIZ AL-HUSSEINAN, SAYING: "The mobile mosque is in essence a vehicle equipped with enough prayer rugs for thousands of worshipers, a water tank with a capacity of 600 litres so people can perform their ablutions, and a sound system. Through the grace of God we were able to bring the mobile mosques to the pilgrims this year." LOGO OF THE MOBILE MOSQUE READING ARABIC (MOBILE MOSQUE) VARIOUS OF THE CALLING FOR THE PRAYERS COMING FROM THE LOUDSPEAKERS OF THE MOBILE MOSQUE VARIOUS OF MOBILE MOSQUE VOLUNTEERS PREPARING THE CARPETS FOR PRAYER (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SHEIKH ABDULAZIZ AL-HUSSEINAN, HEAD OF THE MOBILE MOSQUES COMMITTEE, SAYING: "This experiment is the first time we have brought the mobile mosques to Mecca, and we pray to God to be able to equip more vans with better facilities to serve the Haj pilgrims." VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS PERFORMING ABLUTIONS FROM THE MOBILE MOSQUE WATER PIPES (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PILGRIM, BURIAR AL-DUWIHAI, SAYING: "This has helped us with prayer. We used to have to search for distant mosques but now the mosques are available close by. The mobile mosque is an excellent idea, praise be to God." PILGRIMS GETTING READY FOR THE PRAYER AT THE MOBILE MOSQUE CARPETS MOBILE MOSQUE LOUDSPEAKERS CALLING TO PRAYERS PILGRIMS PRAYING IMAM READING KORAN AT PRAYER VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS PRAYING
  • Embargoed: 24th November 2011 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVAE53E7YZ6HPE8LZ3JB8SNUFTSV
  • Story Text: Pilgrims performing the annual Haj are being encouraged to make full use of mobile mosques, which are being rolled out for the first time at the pilgrimage in Mecca. Finding a space to worship is a challenge for the 3 million people from around the world who descend on the Saudi Arabian holy city every year to take part in the pilgrimage. Now the mosque can come to them.
    Mosques on wheels are specially fitted pick-up trucks that are equipped with remote-operated loud speakers to announce the call for prayers, a water supply so worshippers can perform the ritualistic ablutions, and prayer rugs to spread on the street.
    The initiative was launched by the Saudi religious police, a branch of the Kingdom's General Presidency of the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vices department. The initial idea was to encourage soccer fans tuned into World Cup matches to perform their daily prayers. But as Saudi preacher, Mohammed al-Masudi, explains mobile mosques are perfectly suited to serving the needs of pilgrims performing the Haj.
    "Some people may not know the direction of the qibla (direction of prayer) so we help them with this, some people have no water (to perform ablutions) so we help them with this, and some may not know how to perform prayers properly, so we help them and direct them. These gatherings are testimony to people's desire to perform their prayers," he said.
    The head of the Mobile Mosques Committee, Sheikh Abdulaziz al-Husseinan, says if the experiment proves successful a greater number of mobile mosques could feature at next year's Haj.
    "The mobile mosque is in essence a vehicle equipped with enough prayer rugs for thousands of worshipers, a water tank with a capacity of 600 litres so people can perform their ablutions, and a sound system. Through the grace of God we were able to bring the mobile mosques to the pilgrims this year," al-Husseinan said.
    "This experiment is the first time we have brought the mobile mosques to Mecca, and we pray to God to be able to equip more vans with better facilities to serve the Haj pilgrims," he added.
    Worship is led by an Imam who is a member of the religious police. Saudi religious police are appointed by order of the king. They are required to enforce Sharia Law and have the power to arrest people engaged in any behaviour deemed un-Islamic.
    For one pilgrim, the mobile mosque is an answer to prayer.
    "This has helped us with prayer. We used to have to search for distant mosques but now the mosques are available close by. The mobile mosque is an excellent idea, praise be to God," said Buriar al-Duwihai.
    Since their launch, the number of mobile mosques has grown and they are widely used in cities across the Saudi Kingdom. The cost of equipping the cars with the requisite facilities comes to around 85 thousand Saudi riyals (almost USD $23 thousand), in addition to the price of the car.
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