MINA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — In sweltering temperatures, Muslim pilgrims in Mecca converged on a vast desert camp on Friday, officially opening the annual Hajj pilgrimage. Before the trip, they circled the cube-shaped Kaaba in the Grand Mosque, Islam’s holiest site.
More than 1.5 million pilgrims from around the world have already flocked to Mecca and surrounding areas for the Hajj, and the number continues to grow as more pilgrims from within Saudi Arabia join. Saudi authorities expected the number of pilgrims to exceed 2 million this year.
This year’s Hajj was set against the backdrop the violent war in the Gaza Strip between Israel and Palestinian militantswhich has pushed the entire Middle East to the brink of a regional war between Israel and its allies, on the one hand, and militant groups backed by Iran, on the other.
Palestinians in the coastal enclave of Gaza were unable to travel to Mecca for Hajj this year due to the closure of the Rafah crossing in May, when Israel extended its ground offensive to the city of Rafah, in the south of the strip, on the border with Egypt.
Palestinian authorities said 4,200 pilgrims from the occupied West Bank arrived in Mecca for the Hajj. Saudi authorities said an additional 1,000 families of Palestinians killed or injured in the war in Gaza also arrived to perform Hajj at the invitation of King Salman of Saudi Arabia. The 1,000 guests were already outside Gaza – the majority in Egypt – before the Rafah crossing was closed.
“We are deprived of (performing) the Hajj because the crossing is closed and because of the violent wars and destruction,” said Amna Abu Mutlaq, a 75-year-old Palestinian woman from the southern Gaza town of Khan Younis, who planned to perform Hajj this year. “They (Israel) deprived us of everything.”
This year’s Hajj also saw Syrian pilgrims traveling to Mecca on direct flights from Damascus for the first time in more than a decade. The move was part of an ongoing thaw in relations between Saudi Arabia and conflict-ridden Syria. Syrians in rebel-held areas used to cross the border into neighboring Turkey on their grueling journey to Mecca for Hajj.
“This is natural: pilgrims go to the Hajj directly from their home countries,” said Abdel-Aziz al-Ashqar, Syrian coordinator of the group of pilgrims who left Damascus this year for the Hajj.
Pilgrimage is one of the Five Pillars of Islamand all Muslims are obliged to perform the five-day Hajj at least once in their lifetime if they are physically and financially able to do so.
It is a moving spiritual experience for pilgrims who believe it absolves sins and brings them closer to God, while also uniting the world’s more than 2 billion Muslims. It is also an opportunity to pray for peace in many conflict-stricken Arab and Muslim countries, including Yemen and Sudan, where more than a year of war between rival generals has created the biggest displacement crisis in the world.
For many Muslims, Hajj is the only great journey they have taken in their lives. Some spend years saving money and waiting for a license embark on the journey in their 50s and 60s, after raising their children.
Rituals during the Hajj largely commemorate the Qur’anic accounts of the prophet Ibrahim, his son the prophet Ismail, and Ismail’s mother Hajar – or Abraham and Ishmael, as they are named in the Bible.
Male pilgrims wear an ihram, two sheets of unstitched white cloth that resemble a shroud, while women wear conservative, loose-fitting clothing with headscarves, and forgo makeup and perfume. They have been making the ritual circuit around the cube-shaped Kaaba, counterclockwise in the seven-minaret Grand Mosque, since arriving in Mecca in recent days.
Saudi authorities have adopted security restrictions in and around Mecca, with checkpoints set up on roads leading into the city to prevent those without Hajj permits from reaching the holy sites.
Security authorities have arrested many people who tried to take pilgrims to Mecca who did not have Hajj permits, said Lt. Gen. Muhammad al-Bassami, head of the Hajj Security Committee. Most of them were expelled from the country, while travel agents faced imprisonment for up to six months, according to the Ministry of the Interior.
On Friday, pilgrims headed to Mina, officially opening the Hajj. They will then hold a day-long vigil on Saturday on Mount Arafat, a desert hill where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have delivered his final speech, known as the Farewell Sermon. Healthy pilgrims make the journey on foot, others use the bus or train.
The time of year when the Hajj occurs varies, as the Hajj is scheduled for five days in the second week of Dhu al-Hijjah, the last month of the Islamic lunar calendar.
Most Hajj rituals are performed outdoors, with little or no shade. When it falls into the summer months, temperatures can rise to over 40 Celsius (104 Fahrenheit). The Ministry of Health warned that temperatures at sacred sites could reach 48 Celsius (118 Fahrenheit). Many pilgrims carried umbrellas against the scorching sun.
After Saturday’s warship in Arafat, pilgrims will travel a few kilometers to a site known as Muzdalifa to collect pebbles that they will use in the symbolic stoning of the pillars representing the devil in Mina.
The pilgrims then return to Mina for three days, coinciding with the festive holiday of Eid al-Adha, when financially able-bodied Muslims around the world slaughter cattle and distribute the meat to the poor. Afterwards, they return to Mecca for the final circumambulation, known as Farewell Tawaf.
In recent years, the annual pilgrimage has returned to its monumental scale after three years of heavy restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic. Last year, more than 1.8 million pilgrims performed Hajj, approaching the level of 2019 when more than 2.4 million pilgrims participated in the pilgrimage.
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Associated Press religion coverage receives support through AP collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.
