Tragedy at Pilgrimage
At least 244 people have been killed, hundreds have been injured. May Allah(SWT) gave patience to the deceased families in this trouble time, and reward Jannah(Heaven) to the victims.
At Least 244 Killed in Haj Pilgrimage Stampede
MENA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - At least 244 Muslim pilgrims were crushed to death and an equal number injured in a stampede during a devil-stoning ritual at the climax of the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia Sunday.
Panic spread rapidly after some people in the crowd collapsed as many of the two million white-robed pilgrims, chanting “God is Greatest,” surged toward the Jamarat Bridge in Mena to throw stones at pillars representing the devil.
The ritual on the Muslim Eid al-Adha feast day of sacrifice has triggered stampedes in the past and authorities said they had tried to avert disaster this year by urging people to perform the ceremony at different times.
**“There were more than 400 meters of people pushing in the same direction (which) resulted in the collapse of those next to the stoning area and those behind. That led to panic,” Pilgrimage Affairs and Endowments Minister Iyad bin Amin Madani told reporters.
Head of haj security, Brigadier Ali al-Shoaby, said most of the dead were from East and Southeast Asia – mainly Indonesia, Bangladesh and Pakistan – but included Arabs and other nationalities. He gave no breakdown. **
An Egyptian official said a preliminary count showed 13 Egyptians were among the dead. Four South African nationals have been reported missing.
Another 272 pilgrims had died of natural causes during the haj, which all able-bodied Muslims must perform once in a lifetime if they can afford it.
Many Muslims believe death on the haj is a gift from God, which cleanses them of sin, and the pilgrims continued their rituals, largely unfazed by the disaster.
**STONED THE DEVIL **
Mena is on the pilgrimage route from Mecca in western Saudi Arabia to nearby Mount Arafat.
Pilgrims converged on the main pillar representing the devil Sunday. Onlookers chanted “Harder! Harder!” as they stoned the devil.
Muslims believe the pillar marks the spot where the devil appeared to biblical patriarch Abraham. The haj has seen deadly stampedes almost every year. In 1990, 1,426 pilgrims were crushed to death in a pedestrian tunnel at Mecca. Last year 14 people were trampled to death. In 2001, 35 people died in a stampede at the bridge and 119 were killed in a similar incident in 1998.
The pilgrimage has also been the scene of armed uprisings and bombings. Saudi authorities took massive security precautions this year, deploying thousands of troops to guard against attacks by the al Qaeda network.
A recent statement said to be from al Qaeda, blamed for suicide bombings in the kingdom and for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, vowed to “rid the Arab peninsula of infidels.”
Saudi security forces arrested seven suspects this week, saying they were planning a “terrorist act.”
In his Eid al-Adha sermon, the imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Sheikh Abdulrahman al-Sudeis, urged Muslims to reject violence.
“Islam seeks moderation…Those who deviate from moderation and try to incite Muslims against their rulers are seeking discord and anarchy through destruction, terrorism, bombings and shedding the blood of Muslims and those under the protection of the state,” he told pilgrims in Mecca.
The Eid marks Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at God’s command, according to the Koran. Thousands of sheep, cows and camels are slaughtered
