SAUDI ARABIA: PILGRIMS ATTEND PRAYERS AT ISLAM'S HOLIEST SHRINE IN MECCA ON THE EVE OF THE HAJ

Record ID: 189742

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: PILGRIMS ATTEND PRAYERS AT ISLAM'S HOLIEST SHRINE IN MECCA ON THE EVE OF THE HAJ
  • Date: 2nd March 2001
  • Summary: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA (MARCH 2 2001)(REUTERS) 1. LAS PILGRIMS WALKING TO PRAYERS 0.06 2. SV CHILD IS PUSHED IN A WHEELCHAIR TOWARDS PRAYERS (2 SHOTS) 0.16 3. SLV WORSHIPPERS ON THE ROADS LEADING TO MOSQUE WHERE PRAYERS WILL BE HELD 0.23 4. TV OVER MOSQUE AND VICINITY THRONGED WITH PILGRIMS (2 SHOTS) 0.35 5. TV WORSHIPPERS AROUND THE KAABA SHRINE (2 SHOTS) 0.45 6. TV OF VICINITY AND MOSQUE (3 SHOTS) 1.01 7. TV OF PILGRIMS 1.10 8. TV PRAYERS TAKING PLACE (4 SHOTS) 1.49 9. LV PILGRIMS LEAVING AFTER PRAYERS HAVE FINISHED 1.55 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
  • Embargoed: 17th March 2001 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: MECCA, SAUDI ARABIA
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Reuters ID: LVABEQPWQC4NL7GF50CEZ7MBFNWJ
  • Story Text: An estimated two million pilgrims attended Friday
    prayers at Islam's holiest shrine in Mecca on the eve of the
    haj, the annual pilgrimage in the footsteps of the Prophet
    Mohammad.



    Men and women of all ages, races and backgrounds
    thronged to the Grand Mosque at noon on Friday (March 2), to
    listen to an emotional sermon by Sheikh Abdel Rahman al-Sudais
    appealing for support to the Palestinian intifada, or
    uprising, against Israeli occupation.

    Worshippers crowded the mosque, its vicinity and the roads
    leading to it, and lined up in rows around the stone cube of
    the Kaaba, the shrine at the centre of the massive mosque
    towards which all Muslims turn when they pray.

    "In the name of all pilgrims, we appeal to decision-makers
    of the world to end the bloodletting in Muslim Palestine and
    support the blessed intifada," Sheikh Abdel Rahman al-Sudais
    said in his sermon.

    Holding back tears, he said he hoped the day would come
    soon when Islam's third holiest shrine, the al-Aqsa Mosque in
    Jerusalem, would be freed from "the hands of the Zionist
    gang".

    Sudais urged pilgrims to refrain from any political
    demonstration during the haj, and called on Muslims to unite.

    Saudi authorities, who have the daunting task of ensuring
    the safety of the crowds, will be hoping for a trouble-free
    haj for the third year in a row. A blaze in 1997 killed 343
    pilgrims, and in 1998 up to 119 people died in a stampede.

    Saudi Arabia has spent nearly 200 million U.S. dollars
    over the past year alone as part of a long-term plan to
    improve safety. It has installed more fire-proof tents and
    firefighting equipment as well as completing a new road
    network.

    More than 10,000 medical personnel were deployed in
    hospitals and clinics in and around Mecca to deal with health
    problems. Authorities advised pilgrims how to avoid fires and
    diminish health risks.

    The haj, which officially starts on Saturday, is one of
    the five pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied adult Muslim who
    can afford the trip must perform the pilgrimage at least once.

    Muslims from all over the world flock to Mecca, the
    birthplace of Mohammad in 570 AD and the place where the holy
    book of the Koran was revealed to him 40 years later. The
    Koran describes the pilgrims as "guests of God".

    The prophet performed the haj only once, shortly before
    his death. He taught his followers the ritual to mark the
    story of Abraham and his family.

    The first ritual the pilgrim performs is Tawaf, circling
    the Kaaba seven times upon arrival in Mecca. But the five-day
    haj officially starts when pilgrims move to Mena, 12 km (eight
    miles) from Mecca, and camp there for the night. They spend
    the next day on Mount Arafat, where Mohammad delivered his
    parting sermon.

    Over the following three days the pilgrims follow a ritual
    of stoning three pillars in Mena symbolising the devil. They
    will also sacrifice more than half a million animals to mark
    Eid al-Adha (the Feast of Sacrifice). The meat is distributed
    to the needy in Muslim countries.

    Muslims believe pilgrims return home from the haj as pure
    as the day they were born.


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