Mecca heaving with Muslim pilgrims ahead of Hajj
Sunday, 14 November 2010
MECCA, Nov 13 (AFP): Muslim pilgrims dressed in white robes descended in their hundreds of thousands on Mecca for weekly prayers on Friday, two days ahead of the start of the annual Hajj pilgrimage.
All streets leading to the grand mosque were crammed with praying pilgrims, with lines stretching back about a kilometre (0.6 mile).
Plazas and corridors of surrounding malls were also crowded with devotees spreading their prayer mats, as were grocery stores which stopped selling for the prayers.
Some 2.5 million people are expected in Mecca by the start on Sunday of the hajj, which is being held amid tight security and with new facilities, including a railway, to ease the sometimes fatal congestion.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has said he cannot rule out an Al-Qaeda attempt to disrupt the five-day ritual, although the group has not attacked pilgrims in the past.
Were it to do so, it would embarrass Saudi Arabia, which many Muslims consider the guardian of Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, and which showcased its security forces in a military parade on Wednesday.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars, or requirements, of Islam, which must be performed at least once in their life by all believers who have the health and the means to do so.
While most of those who crowded the streets of Mecca on Friday had donned white ihram garments for the pilgrimage, some were still dressed in their countries' traditional clothes, reflecting the number of nationalities and ethnicities represented in the annual season.
And in stark contrast to the strict rule of segregation between sexes usually imposed by Saudi Arabia's religious police, men and women prayed shoulder to shoulder-a behaviour accepted only in the holy mosque during pilgrimage.
On Wednesday, Prince Nayef raised the spectre of a possible Al-Qaeda attack, but suggested it was unlikely.
"We cannot trust them. We do not rule out any attempt to disturb the security of the hajj," he told reporters when asked about a possible threat by Al-Qaeda, which is growing strong in neighbouring Yemen, with prominent Saudi elements.
"We are ready for any act that might take place. God willing, nothing of that will happen, out of respect to this rite," he said after a demonstration of skills by security forces and civil defence.
At Wednesday's parade, civil defence units brought out dozens of fire engines, ambulances, cranes that can lift up to 160 tonnes, smoke extractors and lifeboats, all of which have been used at some point in Hajj incidents.
The kingdom has been spending continuously on projects aimed at expanding the capacity of Mecca to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims.
All streets leading to the grand mosque were crammed with praying pilgrims, with lines stretching back about a kilometre (0.6 mile).
Plazas and corridors of surrounding malls were also crowded with devotees spreading their prayer mats, as were grocery stores which stopped selling for the prayers.
Some 2.5 million people are expected in Mecca by the start on Sunday of the hajj, which is being held amid tight security and with new facilities, including a railway, to ease the sometimes fatal congestion.
Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz has said he cannot rule out an Al-Qaeda attempt to disrupt the five-day ritual, although the group has not attacked pilgrims in the past.
Were it to do so, it would embarrass Saudi Arabia, which many Muslims consider the guardian of Islam's two holiest cities, Mecca and Medina, and which showcased its security forces in a military parade on Wednesday.
The Hajj is one of the five pillars, or requirements, of Islam, which must be performed at least once in their life by all believers who have the health and the means to do so.
While most of those who crowded the streets of Mecca on Friday had donned white ihram garments for the pilgrimage, some were still dressed in their countries' traditional clothes, reflecting the number of nationalities and ethnicities represented in the annual season.
And in stark contrast to the strict rule of segregation between sexes usually imposed by Saudi Arabia's religious police, men and women prayed shoulder to shoulder-a behaviour accepted only in the holy mosque during pilgrimage.
On Wednesday, Prince Nayef raised the spectre of a possible Al-Qaeda attack, but suggested it was unlikely.
"We cannot trust them. We do not rule out any attempt to disturb the security of the hajj," he told reporters when asked about a possible threat by Al-Qaeda, which is growing strong in neighbouring Yemen, with prominent Saudi elements.
"We are ready for any act that might take place. God willing, nothing of that will happen, out of respect to this rite," he said after a demonstration of skills by security forces and civil defence.
At Wednesday's parade, civil defence units brought out dozens of fire engines, ambulances, cranes that can lift up to 160 tonnes, smoke extractors and lifeboats, all of which have been used at some point in Hajj incidents.
The kingdom has been spending continuously on projects aimed at expanding the capacity of Mecca to accommodate the ever-increasing number of pilgrims.