SAUDI ARABIA: AROUND TWO MILLION MUSLIM PILGRIMS THONG TO THE HOLY CITY OF MECCA ON THE EVE OF THE ANNUAL HAJ PILGRIMAGE

Record ID: 189734

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: AROUND TWO MILLION MUSLIM PILGRIMS THONG TO THE HOLY CITY OF MECCA ON THE EVE OF THE ANNUAL HAJ PILGRIMAGE
  • Date: 18th February 2002
  • Summary: (W4) MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (FEBRUARY 18, 2002) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) 1. GV CALLING FOR PRAYERS IN THE GRAND MOSQUE WHILE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS GATHER AT MOSQUE 0.08 2. LV HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PILGRIMS WAITING AT GRAND MOSQUE AREA TO START PRAYERS 0.16 3. LV MINARETS OF THE GRAND MOSQUE 0.21 4. TV HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF PILGRIMS PRAYING AT THE GRAND MOSQUE 0.29 5. TV PILGRIMS AT PRAYERS 0.35 6. LV HOLY KA'BA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE GRAND MOSQUE 0.41 7. GV HELICOPTER FLYING OVER THE AREA OF MENA, WHERE THE SAUDI AUTHORITIES PROVIDED FIRE-RESISTANCE TENTS TO HOST PILGRIMS 0.51 8. LV TENTS READY TO HOST PILGRIMS 0.55 9. SLV OF SHEEP TO BE SACRIFICED DURING HAJ, LEAVING TRUCK 1.02 10. SLV SHEEP ENTER BARN 1.09 11. LV SHEEP INSIDE BARNS 1.14 12. LV SHEEP LEAVING TRUCK 1.20 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 5th March 2002 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters ID: LVA2LO6EBWPP6XCIXTHF6BCUIY7V
  • Story Text: Around two million Muslim pilgrims thronged the holy
    city of Mecca on the eve of the annual Haj pilgrimage as Saudi
    Arabia imposed tight security measures for the largest Muslim
    gathering since September 11.



    Tens of thousands of men in seamless white clothes and
    modestly dressed women in veils circled the cube-shaped Ka'ba,
    a black structure that Muslims from around the world face at
    prayer, on Monday (February 18) at the heart of the city's
    Grand Mosque in a prelude to the Haj, a journey in the
    footsteps of Prophet Mohammad.

    Many lunged to touch the Kaaba while scores held on to its
    outside walls, weeping and saying prayers in the midst of a
    sea of worshippers.

    The five-day Haj, one of Islam's holiest rituals, starts
    on Wednesday (February 20) when the pilgrims march to nearby
    Mena where they will spend the night before ascending to Mount
    Arafat for the climax of the pilgrimage.

    Thousands of police, troops and plain-clothed security men
    were on guard in and around the Grand Mosque as surveillance
    cameras monitored the crowds. Helicopters flew above as police
    cars patrolled the crowded streets of the city.

    The build up for this year's pilgrimage has been shadowed
    by fears of a spillover of political tensions that rose after
    the September 11 attacks against the United States and
    Washington's subsequent war on terrorism.

    The pilgrims will recreate symbolic actions taught by
    Mohammad and performed by large numbers of Muslims every year
    for the past 14 centuries to seek repentance, purification and
    spiritual renewal.

    Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can afford the trip
    must perform the Haj at least once in a lifetime.

    At two slaughter houses outside the city thousands of sheep
    were prepared for sacrifice on the third day of the
    pilgrimage. Pilgrims are expected to sacrifice up to one
    million sheep, cows and camels.



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