Muslims in Mecca for world's largest pilgrimage

More than two million Muslims from around the world flocked to the holy city of Mecca Saturday to start hajj, the world's largest annual pilgrimage, which unites Islam's followers in mass religious devotion and duty.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is an obligation that must be carried out by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people and their submission to Allah.

Practicing Muslims strive to perform the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime but this year thousands have been held back; some due to visa restrictions while others badly hit by the financial crisis could not afford the high travel expenses.

Customs

Hajj lasts for up to three days and began early on Saturday as pilgrims arrived on foot or by bus in Mina, a dusty valley 10 kilometers (six miles) from Mecca.

Devotees are spending the day in prayer and contemplation in the valley, transformed into a city of fireproof tents lined with dozens of first aid stations.

At dawn on Sunday, pilgrims will head for the top of the holy Mount Arafat—a culminating event of hajj—where Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) gave his final sermon before he died.

Next, the pilgrims return to Mina to pay for an animal to be sacrificed, to commemorate the willingness of Prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son on God's orders. This marks the start of the Eid al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice.

Another two days is spent in Mina for the final rite, the stoning of Satan and each pilgrim throws 21 pebbles at the three pillars symbolizing the devil.

After the stoning ceremony, the pilgrims go to Mecca's Great Mosque for a final trip to the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure into which is set the Black Stone, Islam's most sacred relic.

Security

For the first time, the Saudi authorities have mobilized a force of 100,000 men and have brought in sophisticated U.S.-built helicopters to guard against possible attacks.

"(Saudi forces) are ready to cope with their responsibilities," Interior Minister Prince Nayef Bin Abdel Aziz said after inspecting the security forces supervising the hajj.

"Terrorism is not finished. It is still going," Prince Nayef told journalists ahead of hajj.

During the 2007 hajj, the Saudi authorities announced the arrest of a group linked to the al-Qaeda network which planned to carry out an attack, without, they said, targeting Mecca or the pilgrims themselves.

But it is the vast tide of pilgrims massing in relatively small spaces that has been the source of concern, with stampedes causing the deaths of 364 people in 2006, 251 in 2004 and 1,426 in 1990.

Authorities have made renovations over the past year to ease the flow of pilgrims inside the Grand Mosque and the Jamarat Bridge.

An extra level has been added to the bridge so pilgrims have four platforms from which to throw stones each day, according to the rites set by the Prophet Mohammad.

Pilgrims

In addition to many thousands of Saudis, an estimated 1.7 million of the faithful have descended on the kingdom from around the world, the interior ministry said, adding the number of people could reach three million.

Thousands of Muslims hoping to embark on the spiritual trip have faced various obstacles from financial woes to visa restrictions.

Pilgrims in Pakistan had their dreams of embarking on the spiritual trip shattered after Hajj tour operators, ravaged by the financial crisis that has shaken the world's economies, hiked their prices.

"I have saved 200,000 rupees (about $2,500) during the past years to perform hajj, but when the time came, the fares have increased to an extent I simply can’t afford," teacher Muzzamil Hussein was quoted by Islam Online as saying.

The number of Muslims from Russia making the pilgrimage was set to significantly fall for the first time since the end of the Soviet Union, Moldova.org reported.

More than 25,000 Muslims headed for Mecca from Russia last year but this year the economic crisis has cut incomes and reduced private and government subsidies for those who want to go, the website quoted a culture ministry official as saying.

The official cited the cost of air and bus tickets and the unwillingness of insurers to protect travel firms against risk as another reason.

Some Palestinian pilgrims have been stranded in Gaza in recent days, and the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank, Hamas-run authorities in Gaza and Saudi Arabia traded accusations over who was responsible. Prince Nayef said the kingdom was prepared to receive Palestinian late arrivals.