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CLOSE TO 1.5 million Muslims from around the world are preparing tonight for the climax of the annual hajj pilgrimage at a rocky hill known as Mount Arafat.
The pilgrims will mark tomorrow with day-long prayers and recitals of the Koran holy book at the spot in western Saudi Arabia where they believe their Prophet Mohammed gave his last hajj sermon.
The numbers are down this year because of the absence of 64,000 Iranians over tensions between their Shiite nation and the Sunni-dominated kingdom.
Last year’s hajj stampede which killed roughly 2,300 people, many of them Iranians, magnified those frictions.
Masses of Iranian faithful held an alternative pilgrimage today in the Shiite holy city of Karbala, south of the Iraqi capital.
After preliminary rituals this week in Mecca at the Grand Mosque, the pilgrims in Saudi Arabia moved east today to the tent city of Mina and Mount Arafat.
They are following in the footsteps of their prophet who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.
“It’s marvellous,” said an Egyptian pilgrim who gave her name only as Louza, 45, as a helicopter monitored the throng.
I’m here closer to God. It’s an indescribable feeling.
The hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.
Pilgrims come from every corner of the globe but Indonesia – the world’s largest Muslim-populated nation – has the largest quota.
Despite diverse languages and origins, they all “meet here in one place under one banner, the profession of the Muslim faith,” Ashraf Zalat, 43, from Egypt, said in Mecca.
Okaz newspaper reported that, for the first time in 35 years, Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric, will not deliver a sermon to the Arafat crowd on Sunday.
The paper cited health reasons for the absence of the grand mufti, who has also waded into the Saudi-Iranian row over the hajj.
Mina main base
After Mecca, Mina becomes the pilgrims’ base, where an expanse of solidly built white fireproof tents can accommodate 2.6 million people in a valley beneath bare mountains.
Guides in orange vests helped to direct pilgrims while police cars patrolled and troops were stationed at regular intervals.
Last 24 September, Mina was the scene of the deadliest disaster in hajj history, when the stampede broke out as pilgrims made their way to the Jamarat Bridge for a stoning ritual.
This year’s “Stoning of the Devil” will start on Monday.
Although Riyadh stuck with a stampede death toll of 769, figures compiled from foreign officials in more than 30 countries gave a tally almost three times higher – at least 2,297.
No results released
Saudi Arabia announced an investigation into the disaster but no results have ever been released, although a number of safety measures have been taken.
Among the changes, government facilities have been moved out of Mina to free up space, and roads in the Jamarat area expanded, Saudi newspapers reported.
Officials have also been issuing pilgrims with bracelets that digitally store their personal data.
Authorities aim to give bracelets to each of the 1.3 million faithful from abroad, who are joined by more than 100,000 Muslims residing in Saudi Arabia.
Interior ministry spokesman General Mansour al-Turki spoke of “great efforts being exerted by the kingdom, not only in maintaining the security and safety of the pilgrims, but in facilitating performance” of the rites in comfort.
Some pilgrims appeared satisfied.
“The transportation went well and the lodging is comfortable,” said Salah Gaddoumi, 40, from Sudan, who is on his second hajj.
It’s better organised this time.
Saudi Arabia has invested billions of dollars in hajj infrastructure and safety projects over the years.
Despite the safety and security measures which Saudi Arabia says it has taken, Iran has questioned the kingdom’s custodianship of Islam’s holiest places.
The two countries do not have diplomatic relations and are at odds over a string of regional issues including the wars in Yemen and Syria.
Iran last year reported the largest number of stampede victims, at 464, and its pilgrims are excluded for the first time in decades after the regional rivals failed to agree on security and logistics.
Many of the Iranians who would have travelled to Mount Arafat wound up instead in Karbala to visit the Imam Hussein shrine.
An official in Karbala said that one million pilgrims were expected, mostly from Iran.
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A make shift accommodation area which can hold 2.5 million pilgrims is erected. Could the same not be done to accommodate those who are fleeing Syria? If they can build this to accommodate their fellow Muslim pilgrims why is it that they cannot do the same for their fellow Muslims in their time of need?
if 1.5 million Muslims climaxed maybe some of them wouldn’t be so uptight
Your dead right,very strange there prepared to risk death crossing the Mediterranean,rather than travel overland into the welcoming arms ofthere fellow Muslim brothers.something stinks.
Your use of the word ‘your’ and ‘there’ stinks.
Sunni Islam Stinks….
Have you got a spare tent at the back of your house for your brothers!!
Peter Fletcher, that’s your mouth…
living in a tent in the desert, or living in europe- i know which one i would go for
All them Muslims in one place…………hmmmm
To be fair to Muslims and Islam, they’ve caused a lot less havoc and violence in Europe tha Christians. Isolated terrorist attacks by people with mental illness who think they are Muslims doesn’t compare to the ravages far-right dictators like Hitler, Franco and Mussolini inflicted on Europe and Africa, and don’t forget Ultranationalist Slobodan Milosevic who orchestrated the most recent genocide in Srebrenica in Europe.
Joey westland you’re an idiot. Typical pro islam liberal comment seen everyday here.
Joey… Those lads you mentioned didn’t do what they did because of some stoneage beliefs in nonsense.
what form of liberalism do you feel is personified by that comment exactly?
also, what is wrong with being ‘pro-Islam’ exactly? i am sure Pfizer have many employees who follow that faith.
To be fair…Milosovitch was no better than the Wahabbis though Mussolini was more of an atrocity FOR Italy…he sent an Italian army to march to Stalingrad…3 men survived.
Tony and Fozz, if only insults could nullify facts, sadly for you two idiots, it doesn’t work like that! Boo hoo :(
Gunnar there are degrees of opposition without blindly hating, but to be honest I think their primitive kind of ideology and what it means for jews, gays, women makes me feel it should not be encouraged at the very least. Ordinary decent Muslims dont come into the equation for me. The ideology stinks.
O-Seán, you’ve been found out so many times as a fraud on here. Why do you continue to pretend otherwise? Your fr-right views are an insult to the Rainbow flag.
Pour urself a drink u have earned it good sir
Joey.
Stop impersonating me with the Facebook account you created yesterday.
“Joey… Those lads you mentioned didn’t do what they did because of some stoneage beliefs in nonsense.”
Most mental comment of the day. Hitler didn’t kill people because of some stoneage belief. Is that saying it was alright? Like somehow better? I mean, Hitler was the most successful human in history at the systematic mass murder of a group of people, in the most cold and callous fashion, all based on a warped ideology. Is it better than some terrorist lunatics because his ideology was newer? To me it’s far worse, actually beyond far worse, it’s off the scale. The far right in Europe in the last century were the most evil people to have ever lived on this planet, they caused the deaths of millions upon millions. They were savages who wrecked the continent over some crappy logic of superiority. What’s most shocking is how quickly people are sliding back to those positions, and how openly they proclaim it. I’m being to understand how ordinary people descended into levels of pure evil in the 1930′s and 40′s based on lies. Probably won’t last 50 years before we’re slaughtering each other again. Humans are an unevolved species, not capable of actual rationality. That will only come when you see every human life as valuable and every human death as the gravest of crimes.
Build it and they will come, just like Woodstock really.
No nor am I offering to build 200 mosques in Europe as a means of helping people fleeing war as Saudi have done despite having this tent city. It is simply a means of spreading sharia across Europe. What kind of religion has followers who would stampede to get to a stoning ritual?. People who attend this festival wear white but we have one still of women wearing black burkhas which is not associated with Mecca, this sort of attire serves only to remind us that women of this faith must dress to avoid being raped. The more I visit this page, the more convinced I am that it is pro sharia.
Don’t forget the new EU debit cards,
Lolol. Journal’s shoddy English strikes again.
the devil’s work
They wouldn’t go there because they would be enslaved. And over here we’re soft as dog poo. Sher aren’t we lifting them out of the water in the mediterranian…
Ditto
Tony you are a dreamer who would not accept the truth from your country man
and worshipping a stone?
Meanwhile the Jewish Saudi Royal family make the money from this pilgrimage.
You need to cop on
How many will be killed in the annual stampede this year
Last years figure is still only an estimate… In other words they couldn’t be arsed even counting the dead properly.
They have a new thing this year, barcoded armbands which can be read from an app on a phone, to identify and people who die. Also Iran aren’t sending any pilgrims because of what happened last year.
The same tent city that could have taken all those migrant Sunni Muslims ,were the saudis not trying to encourage the spread of Islam particularly Wahhabi teaching of course.
@peter
Let’s play, how many are gonna get crushed this time around ? Will it be 150, 500, or over 1000 ? All so they can chuck rocks at the devil.
id chuck a few rocks at the devil
Then is back to stoning women…
Same thing really Brent… I’ll show myself out…
Not enough.
Morons, gobsites etc..
Its an embarrassment to humanity.
humanity has a lot for which to be embarrassed
Especially the part where they believe in gods.
The whole logistics for this is incredible, feeding, water, sleeping, transport, first aid etc
Over 1.5 million people with no requirement for toilet paper.
I truly would like to experience this. (Not for a religious reason, but purely for the experience)
1.5 million people singing the fields of Athenry, or stand up for the boys in green
Isn’t it bizarre they can’t do the same for the Syrian refugees,don’t get it.
Sounds a bit like electric picnic this time last week.
Islam is one of the few religions that does animal sacrifice where the animal endures a cruel death
Muslims engaged in the Hajj (pilgrimage) are obligated to sacrifice a lamb or a goat or join others in sacrificing a cow or a camel during the celebration of the Eid al-Adha.
Other Muslims not on the Hajj to Mecca are also encouraged to participate in this sacrifice to share in the sanctity of the occasion
When you see what they do to humans,animals dont even come in to the reckoning.
The cruel and inhumane treatment of animals to satisfy Muslim requirements is truly horrific and disgusting
Let’s see how many fatalities ther will be in the name of religion
man’s cruelty to animals knows no religion!
John003….you really should youtube “Halal” animal slaughter…..its where the skills needed for beheading 11 year old Shia children are honed and perfected….
It’s good to see you back…
Why thank you Sis!! You noticed!!
Phone glitch nobbled me and my tecchie son was away…prouzze z missed me also….it hates that it cant provoke me to respond to it….
Great to have you back Pete.
Thank you Joey….I didnt think anyone missed my racist, bigoted islamaphobia….
We just missed your misguided pro-Zionist Hasbara trolling.
Of course I noticed that my Bro wasn’t around ..You were missed!
is this the same person with three accounts talking to him/herself?
Im deffo goin door to door next time im in Ballyhaigue til we shake hands Sis….
The Joey _Westland that we know has had his account hacked. .. the Joey Westland that replied to you is a fake account
For sure ! I’ll watch out for ya …
Hi Joey.
I see you have a copycat account using my name.
Rather childish I suppose.
Guess I’ll just have to check you IP and find out who you really are.
Joey I have to say I admire your honesty regarding what has been going on in The Journal comments section over the last few months. Everybody knew the thumbs were being manipulated by a mixture of Identity Ireland and Israeli Embassy types and it’s a big step for you to come out of that fold and blow the lid their scam. They’re like the Nigerian Prince who emails you asking for your bank details! Good for you Joey.
Hi @ JoeyWESTLAND with an underscore, (total giveaway!) I’ve been commenting on The Journal for the last few months, you just popped up yesterday impersonating me.
Easy there now with your “My Suzie Sunshine ” . I belong to nobody .. don’t refer to me like that again ….
Hey sis, I hate Muslims too, but me and the guys, Peter & Joey thought that when we all rounded on Islam that it made you wet between the legs? That’s the only reason Fechter and I comment here with you?
No.
Hey Joey Westland Facebook.
If you’ve been commenting here for the last few months how come your account was only created yesterday?
Whoa Mike….its the Sunni Wahabbi type muslims that cause me goosepimples….the alawite/hazara/sufi/shia are ok so its not all muslims….but you arent really mike are you?
Wrong !
Some mad shit going on here.
Triple agents on the loose.
Mike… or should I say Tariq / Petr because that’s the usual kind of comment that comes out of the Petr account ..I do not hate all Muslims and never claimed to either …
It’s pathetic ..
Suzie gets all moist when she sees Peter back, saying she missed him. Aww so cute. But also kinda pathetic that she missed a commenter on The Journal! Oh dear.
So what’s with the nasty stuff targetting Suzie eh?
Man up there you guys ans stop acting like schoolyard bullies.
I’m willing to bet that Tariq/Petr/Liam Egan is behind these duplicate fake accounts.
And there’s the Petr account .. you just proved my point !
Joey_Westland .. cheers for that . . . It’s just some sad little git hiding behind a few accounts .. he’s to be pitied really ..
this is literally the most confusing thread i have ever read
Those who hide their identity because deep down they are ashamed of their extremist views can’t really complain when someone else freely chooses the same moniker. ‘Tis a free world like.
Joey you seem to prevail your sanity despite seeing Islam, Muslim, haj, burqini etc on the Joirnal.ie, fair play
Its fantastic that the tent city is getting used..even if only for a couple of weeks in the year…of course only “real” muslims get to enjoy the Hajj….
Tards.
idiot
Tardidiots?
Tardits
Tariq, any answer to the historical evidence question? You should read Tom Holland’s book in the shadow of the sword very enlightening and educational.
I’ve read Holland’s ‘Rubicon’ and ‘Millenium’, both fantastic pieces of writing, I will get ‘In The Shadow of the Sword’ next, thanks for the tip John. Pretty sure I cited primary sources in my response to you.
Cited wikipedia more like.
Also, is it not true that thr was another kaaba type structure located somewhere in Yemen? And lastly why do Muslims worship the fanny shaped meteor stone stuck on the side of the kaaba?
why not?
For the same reason christians worship the cross. As Bill Hicks said, you think if Jesus did come back he would really want to see another cross? Look around Ireland on any given weekend and there are god squadders traipsing up to the top of mountains, standing around wells or praying at lumps of rock. Islam, Christianity, Hinduism and on and on, its all the same nonsense.
Just like the Vatican…..Saudi smells the money…. https://www.rt.com/business/337135-saudi-hajj-revenues-oil/
“The tourism sector contributes $22.6 billion”
wow
sure thats nothing, Ireland has so much money it is trying to give away €13 billion
The Arab tribes attacked Persia and tore down the cities, they wanted to inflict Islam on the polytheist Persian people. The rest is history.
everything is history
Correct, even the future will one day be history.
Shareef don’t like it
Rock the kasbah….
walk the cat walk
Id love to do the Haj someday but i would have to become a Sunni muslim first or they wont let in so thats that.
Great place to pick up a child bride though….
That’s Shiite Peter.
@peter fletcher and co
You are such a loss for them…
Certainly draws the crowds, we should think about a yearly bicycle race around Knock or something.
Just putting it out there.
Pig! Don’t panic. There’s a pig.
Lol!
Amazing what the Islam Bro’s can do in Mecca – So why are the Syrians comin to Europe – They’re goin in the wrong direction – Off to Mecca with Ya.
Nope. Off to Europe with them, and not a single thing you can do about it. You must feel utterly helpless. LMAO
Dopes , handy money for RSA every year
I hope you mean the KSA… Last thing South Africa need is a million and a half religious lunatics showing up.
Road Safety Authority?
I wouldn’t mind a million and a half religious nut jobs show up at the Road Safety Authority to be honest.. Might give them something to actually do…
Royal and Sun Alliance need the money from extra costumers, might bring down insurance prices.
Yep the KSA , sorry about that
Bunch of mongos.
What’s your family got to do with this?
Do they all climax together?
Freaks
Greeks
Persians and Arabs do no get on.
Any more banal generalisations you’d like to share with the class?
If people spent more time on the here and now they would accomplish more for society instead of wasting time praying for something that they should be striving to achieve whilst they are alive and thus benefit everyone. Religion inhibits progression and development and creates stagnation and intolerance leading to violence.
Latest statistics show there are more atheists on the Journal than pilgrims at Mecca.
For all you ‘atheists’
https://youtu.be/vp3Q6pfC-N8
The message of God written in DNA
Christian fundamentalists are worst fundamentalists.
Any fundamentalist is the worst fundamentalist.
‘Christian fundamentalists are worst fundamentalists.’
Says who?
I don’t use this phrase lightly but, that was possibly the greatest load of deluded, grasping at straws load of been bollox I have ever seen
Hi Joey.
I see you have a copycat account using my name.
Rather childish I suppose.
Guess I’ll just have to check you IP and find out who you really are.
ps
You forgot the underscore bar.
I’ve already reported you, nice try at impersonating my account, using a Twitter account to impersonate my Facebook account is quite lame, anyway, goodbye!
Hey Joey.
Your account was only created yesterday. My Twitter account has a long history.
Your IP address will be revealing.
‘You’ve reported me’
Probably best not to bring the attention of the moderators to yourself Joey.
i like to decipher what links are without clicking on them by reading the usually action wordy URLs
Some job someone from Yemen gets in there with a nuke sometime, that would be a thought?
IS types down go to Mecca, they’re too busy smoking dope and having gay sex.
Donal that is not true, it isn’t sex, it is gay rape and pedo rape…
“Following in the prophets footsteps” ALLEGEDLY! To a large diverse, questioning, and non-religious proportion of this fair land we all inhabit, reporting rubbish like this is akin to having a serious debate about “Sleeping beauty” or “Cinderella” or Jesus Christ” or Mickey Mouse” or any other fabrication you could imagine. At least say “as belived by this particular religion/corporation/whatever….
Mad to think that so many people believe this idiocy! That’s their right suppose.
It is indeed hard to figure out how many people can believe any religious claptrap. But there you are; if it isn’t the hogwash a warmongering paedophile claims to have written in a book, it’s talking snakes, zombie carpenters, a god who wipes out most of the human race several times and kills a guy for choking the chicken, or Xenu the galactic tyrant who stuffs a few billion beings (or was that trillions?) into volcanoes and nukes them.
But the hajj is really big business as well. I have noticed in several Indian cities that there are completely separate – and often very large – Hajj terminals at several airports.
Deborah yes, 1.8 billions and numbers are increasing as truth prevails and you might not like many Irish brothers and sisters have accepted Islam after a thorough research and in debt scrutiny of the holy Quran and the mind boggling knowledge it provides proven by science recently.
Religion allows evil people to pretend that they are godly, too many people create their own morality based on what they are told to believe, then when they are doing evil they think they are right because for them to do evil then the person they condemn must be evil because they want them to be evil as an excuse to be evil themselves while they at the same time haven’t a clue? That is how a lot of moral and religious people behave?
Inshallah tariq inshallah.
As-salamu alaykum Brother Mjhint!
What’s with the ‘inshalla’? He’s an atheist apparently
His other account Petr is the atheist, apparently. It seems he forgets which is which.
Aalhamdullillah…..
Alaykum as salamu sister
Sister?
…s are doing it for themselves
I saw that video once…
There is an article elsewhere on The J about home improvement, why are some of you talking about inshallation here?
2 joeys? It’s so confusing… Who do I green thumb? It’s almost like an American sitcom. The 2 Joeys.
Green thumb the Twitter one with the underscore bar _.
I’m unique.
The other’s a copycat.
So confusing Joey… wait, is this Joey no.1 or no.2.
15th anniversary of 9/11. On this holy day of Islam. I predict a terror attack.
You’re really ugly.
By 2050 our muslum friends are planning a gig in Rome
Burke no we are not, you bought the wrong ticket:)
Yo I dident buy any ticket I don’t follow any superstitions only complete idiots believe in any of this religious nonsense since I’ve grown up
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