2m Muslims mark peak of hajj

MOUNT ARAFAT, Oct 03(AFP):  Tears flowed and prayers filled the air as the annual Muslim hajj by close to two million believers from around the world reached its zenith on a vast plain in western Saudi Arabia Friday.
"I am now a newborn baby and I don't have any sin," Nigerian pilgrim Taofik Odunewu said, standing at the foot of Mount Mercy on the Arafat plain, tears streaming down his face.
Odunewu raised his hands to the heavens in the seamless two-piece white "ihram" outfit that he wore.
The hajj, which officially ends on Tuesday, is the world's largest Muslim gathering.
It is one of the five pillars of Islam that every capable Muslim must perform at least once, the high-point of his or her spiritual life.
 

Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims arrived at Arafat Friday carrying suitcases and other luggage among thousands of white tents which stood ready to accommodate the multitude.

From early morning, pilgrims crowded onto the slippery, rocky hill known as Mount Mercy, where Muslim Prophet Mohammed made his final sermon 14 centuries ago.
The pilgrims' attire turned the hill white in colour, and they carried umbrellas as shields against the hot desert sun.
All male pilgrims dress in white ihram to symbolise a state of purity, which also emphasises their unity regardless of social status or nationality.
Some pilgrims sat alone on rocks, praying silently, as others gathered in groups, their voices in a loud appeal to God.
The enemies of Muslim nations are trying to spread "chaos and confusion", Saudi Arabia's top cleric told Muslims from around the world in an address during the annual hajj pilgrimage.
"Oh Muslim peoples, your countries have been entrusted to you, so safeguard your security and stability, your gains, your resources and public projects," Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said in a televised address from Nimrah Mosque at Mount Arafat in western Saudi Arabia, home to Islam's holiest sites.
"And know that you are targeted by your enemies who want to tear your ranks, turn your hearts against each other and spread chaos and confusion and beware of their conspiracies," he said from the spot where Prophet Mohammed made his final sermon 14 centuries ago.
The mufti's comments, similar to his hajj sermon last year, come in the context of widespread revulsion among the world's Muslims towards Islamic State group jihadists.
Since last month, Saudi Arabia and four other Arab nations have joined the United States in air strikes in Syria against the militants, who have declared a "caliphate" straddling that country and Iraq where they have committed a spate of atrocities including crucifixions and beheadings.
In August, the mufti urged Muslim youth not to be influenced by "calls for jihad ... on perverted principles."
The kingdom is seeking to deter youths from becoming jihadists after Syria's conflict attracted hundreds of Saudis.
King Abdullah decreed in February jail terms of up to 20 years for citizens who travel to fight abroad.
The mufti has said that radicalism and terrorism "have nothing to do with Islam and (their proponents) are the enemy number one of Islam".
Egyptian pilgrim Mohammed Ahmed, 53, sat with his wife under a yellow garbage bag they set up as a make-shift tent.
He said they were praying for "the victory of Muslims, those who are weak, oppressed, and jailed... all over the world."
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Nayef said the hajj had attracted almost 1.4 million foreign pilgrims from 163 nations.
Local media report that several hundred thousand Saudis are also participating, pushing the total towards two million.
Security forces were deployed en masse across Arafat plain and Mount Mercy to organise the wave of humanity.