SAUDI ARABIA: The annual haj season draws to a close with no major incidents reported by Saudi authorities who were determined to ensure a safe pilgrimage

Record ID: 189834

  • Title: SAUDI ARABIA: The annual haj season draws to a close with no major incidents reported by Saudi authorities who were determined to ensure a safe pilgrimage
  • Date: 17th October 2013
  • Summary: MENA, SAUDI ARABIA ( OCTOBER 17, 2013) (REUTERS VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS WALKING TO JAMARAT TO CONDUCT THE LAST PHASE OF STONING TO CONCLUDE HAJ SIGN OF BIG JAMRAH VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS STONING PILLARS REPRESENTING THE DEVIL POLICEMEN PRESENT AS PILGRIMS STONING PILLARS VARIOUS OF PILGRIMS LEAVING MINA TO END HAJ
  • Embargoed: 1st November 2013 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Saudi Arabia
  • Country: Saudi Arabia
  • Topics: Religion
  • Reuters ID: LVACQTE6LOJPRAIDMC2MBYUHK50M
  • Story Text: Hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims on Thursday (October 17) concluded haj with no significant incidents reported by Saudi authorities.
    Saudi authorities said a total of 1.98 million pilgrims performed haj this year, against the 3.2 million who attended last year.
    The annual pilgrimage, one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, had previously been known to be prone to stampedes as pilgrims rushed to complete haj rituals and return home.
    To prevent any repetition of the 2006 stampede in which hundreds of pilgrims died, Saudi authorities spent vast sums of money to expand the main haj sites and improve Mecca's transportation system.
    In June, Saudi religious authorities approved a request by the government to reduce the number of pilgrims permitted at Islam's annual haj due to expansion work on the Grand Mosque in Mecca.
    The decision, which cut the number of pilgrims from abroad by a fifth and halved the number of pilgrims from inside Saudi Arabia also came amid worries by the potential spread of the SARS-like coronavirus MERS, but the authorities drew no link between the two issues.
    Of the total number of pilgrims this year, 1.38 million came from 188 countries, a 21 percent slide, and the remaining were domestic pilgrims, with their numbers dropping by around 57 percent.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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