MECCA: Pilgrims began arriving in the holy city of Mecca on Saturday for a second size Hajj staging during the coronavirus pandemiccirc IslamThe most sacred places in masks and on distant roads.
The state is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to participate, trying to replicate last year’s success that saw no virus outbreaks during the five-day ritual.
This year’s Hajj with participants selected through lottery is bigger than the abridged version held in 2020, but much shorter than the usual time, causing outrage among Muslims abroad, who have been banned once again. has gone.
After being loaded into buses and brought to the Grand Mosque of Mecca, pilgrims begin performing “tawaf”, circumambulating the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in golden embroidered black cloth, to which Muslims around the world pray.
Many people came out with umbrellas to save themselves from the scorching heat.
“Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the Tawaf of Arrival,” Haj Ministry Spokesman Hisham al-Sayed said AFP. “After each group leaves, a sterilization process is done at the sanctuary.”
Hajj, one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world with around 2.5 million people attending in 2019, is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims are encouraged to do so at least once in their lives. should be done from
It consists of a series of religious rites, formally beginning on Sunday, completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.
Among those selected this year was Amin, a 58-year-old Indian oil contractor based in the eastern city of Dammam, who was selected for the ritual along with his wife and three adult children.
“We are very happy,” said Amin.
“Many of our friends and relatives were rejected,” he told AFP.
Earlier this month, the Hajj ministry said it was working on the “highest level of health precautions” in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new forms.
Like other countries in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is home to significant expatriate populations from South Asia, the Far East, Africa, as well as the Middle East.
“I Think I Won the Lottery,” Egyptian Pharmacist, Mohammed the Ether Said after being selected.
“It’s a special, unforgettable moment in someone’s life. I thank God for giving me this opportunity, acknowledged among the many who applied,” the 31-year-old told AFP.
According to the Hajj ministry, selected from over 558,000 applicants through an online screening system, the event is limited to those who have been fully vaccinated and are aged 18-65.
The pilgrims will be divided into groups of 20 “only to restrict any exposure to those 20, to limit the spread of the infection”, under secretary of the ministry Mohamed Al-Bijavik told official media.
Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including more than 8,000 deaths.
More than 20 million doses of vaccine have been given in a country of over 34 million people.
Hajj last year proceeded on the smallest scale in modern history. Officials initially said that only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed, although local media said that eventually up to 10,000 attended.
No infections were reported as the authorities set up several health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances for the pilgrims, who were taken to religious places in small batches.
In normal years, pilgrimages pack large crowds into overcrowded shrines, but this year even fewer incidents are seen as a possible mechanism of infection.
“The biggest challenge of this Haj season will be to pass without anyone for it. COVID-19 infection,” a doctor working at a hospital in Mecca told AFP over the phone.
Worshipers were given amenity kits last year including sterilized pebbles for the “stoning the devil” ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and a traditional seamless white Hajj garment made from bacteria-resistant materials.
Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, for whom the guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites is their most powerful source of political legitimacy.
But there has been deep dismay among Muslims around the world, except for foreign pilgrims, who usually save up for years to attend.
Haj Ministry received painful questions on Twitter About strictly controlled government lotteries from rejected applicants.
One Twitter user wrote, “We are still eagerly waiting to be accepted, as if we are facing a test.”
And the price of participating in this year’s Hajj, including official taxes, is 12,000 riyals ($3,200), in addition to several virus-related hurdles.
The state is allowing only 60,000 fully vaccinated residents to participate, trying to replicate last year’s success that saw no virus outbreaks during the five-day ritual.
This year’s Hajj with participants selected through lottery is bigger than the abridged version held in 2020, but much shorter than the usual time, causing outrage among Muslims abroad, who have been banned once again. has gone.
After being loaded into buses and brought to the Grand Mosque of Mecca, pilgrims begin performing “tawaf”, circumambulating the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in golden embroidered black cloth, to which Muslims around the world pray.
Many people came out with umbrellas to save themselves from the scorching heat.
“Every three hours, 6,000 people enter to perform the Tawaf of Arrival,” Haj Ministry Spokesman Hisham al-Sayed said AFP. “After each group leaves, a sterilization process is done at the sanctuary.”
Hajj, one of the largest annual religious gatherings in the world with around 2.5 million people attending in 2019, is one of the five pillars of Islam and all Muslims are encouraged to do so at least once in their lives. should be done from
It consists of a series of religious rites, formally beginning on Sunday, completed over five days in Islam’s holiest city and its surroundings in western Saudi Arabia.
Among those selected this year was Amin, a 58-year-old Indian oil contractor based in the eastern city of Dammam, who was selected for the ritual along with his wife and three adult children.
“We are very happy,” said Amin.
“Many of our friends and relatives were rejected,” he told AFP.
Earlier this month, the Hajj ministry said it was working on the “highest level of health precautions” in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new forms.
Like other countries in the Gulf, Saudi Arabia is home to significant expatriate populations from South Asia, the Far East, Africa, as well as the Middle East.
“I Think I Won the Lottery,” Egyptian Pharmacist, Mohammed the Ether Said after being selected.
“It’s a special, unforgettable moment in someone’s life. I thank God for giving me this opportunity, acknowledged among the many who applied,” the 31-year-old told AFP.
According to the Hajj ministry, selected from over 558,000 applicants through an online screening system, the event is limited to those who have been fully vaccinated and are aged 18-65.
The pilgrims will be divided into groups of 20 “only to restrict any exposure to those 20, to limit the spread of the infection”, under secretary of the ministry Mohamed Al-Bijavik told official media.
Saudi Arabia has so far recorded more than 507,000 coronavirus infections, including more than 8,000 deaths.
More than 20 million doses of vaccine have been given in a country of over 34 million people.
Hajj last year proceeded on the smallest scale in modern history. Officials initially said that only 1,000 pilgrims would be allowed, although local media said that eventually up to 10,000 attended.
No infections were reported as the authorities set up several health facilities, mobile clinics and ambulances for the pilgrims, who were taken to religious places in small batches.
In normal years, pilgrimages pack large crowds into overcrowded shrines, but this year even fewer incidents are seen as a possible mechanism of infection.
“The biggest challenge of this Haj season will be to pass without anyone for it. COVID-19 infection,” a doctor working at a hospital in Mecca told AFP over the phone.
Worshipers were given amenity kits last year including sterilized pebbles for the “stoning the devil” ritual, disinfectants, masks, a prayer rug and a traditional seamless white Hajj garment made from bacteria-resistant materials.
Hosting the Hajj is a matter of prestige for Saudi rulers, for whom the guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites is their most powerful source of political legitimacy.
But there has been deep dismay among Muslims around the world, except for foreign pilgrims, who usually save up for years to attend.
Haj Ministry received painful questions on Twitter About strictly controlled government lotteries from rejected applicants.
One Twitter user wrote, “We are still eagerly waiting to be accepted, as if we are facing a test.”
And the price of participating in this year’s Hajj, including official taxes, is 12,000 riyals ($3,200), in addition to several virus-related hurdles.
.