End of Hajj: Algerian Hajjis prepare to return home

19 November, 2010

Algiers- The direction of programming at Air Algeria Company has scheduled 17 flights to transport 63,000 Hadjis from Jeddah airport, Saudi Arabia to five airports in Algeria.

The first group of Algerian Hadjis will arrive tonight at the airport of Constantine, the second at Oran airport and the third at Houari Boumediene International Airport.

According to the director of programming at Air Algeria, Rabah Midou, in an interview with Ennahar, the transaction involves the transport of 63,000 Hadjis for the 2010 season, spread over 17 flights and this, during 12 days, beginning Saturday November 20.

The first group of Hadjis will arrive early Saturday evening at 9 pm at the airport of Constantine where the last group will arrive on December 10th at 4:51 p.m.

Houari Boumediene International Airport will host the largest number of flights from the airport of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, with 92 flights, followed by Oran airport with 81 flights, then Constantine 41 flights, Annaba and Ouargla with five flights each.

According to our interlocutor, the scenario of the month of Ramadhan will not be repeated because Air Algeria has increased its staff with sending 100 staff in the Holy Land in order to ensure a smooth return of Hadjis. Material resources have also been established and dozens of aircraft, including five Airbus 330 with 250 seats and three Boeings 767, with 250 seats are made available. Two planes, including one from Portugal, were leased; a Boeing 767 and an Airbus 340.

Ennahar / Habiba Mahmoudi

Source: Ennahar.
Link: http://www.ennaharonline.com/en/news/5222.html.

Saudi faces daunting task of post-hajj cleanup

by Staff Writers
Mina, Saudi Arabia (AFP) Nov 18, 2010

As the hajj pilgrimage nears its end, Saudi authorities in Mecca face the daunting task of cleaning up after pilgrims who have turned the streets of Muslim holy sites into a garbage dump.

During the short hajj season, it has become almost impossible to walk in the streets of the tent city of Mina, outside Mecca, without a mask due to an overwhelming stench which has pervaded every open space.

Islamic teaching stresses cleanliness, with Muslims taught from an early age that "cleanliness is half of faith" in the words of the prophet.

But as male pilgrims performed the rite of shaving heads on Tuesday, the streets of Mina and the neighborhood of the Grand Mosque in Mecca were strewn with hair and used razors.

The mess appeared to be mostly the work of "unauthorized" pilgrims, without the official permits, who flooded the valley.

Some 2.8 million pilgrims are estimated to have taken part in this year's hajj, almost 800,000 more than expected based on the number of permits issued, according to Saudi authorities.

Those pilgrims with no places reserved in equipped camps or hotel rooms in Mecca have squatted on pavements, under bridges and on rocky terraces. And where police turned a blind eye, they camped in the street.

Colorful bedsheets and blankets were stretched between walls and lamp-posts for shade. Those who were better prepared erected beach tents.

Many of the illegal pilgrims, who flouted the strict rule of "No permit, No hajj," were foreigners who live in Saudi Arabia, although some were Saudi nationals.

"I work in Mecca, so I decided to perform the hajj," said an Egyptian who declined to give his name as he sat on a mat spread under the elevated track of the new Mashair Railway.

These pilgrims, many of them in families with young children, ate and drank in the same place. As their litter grew around them, some admitted that they were at fault.

"We are the reason behind this mess," said Adnan Naji, 26, sitting with two fellow Egyptians on a straw mat on the road in Mina, while trash flowed out of a bin three meters (yards) away.

He explained that some people could not afford to pay for a legal hajj through a licensed group that would charge for decent accommodation, so they "sacrifice for hajj."

"We came to answer Allah's call for hajj," said Al-Sayyed Ali Jad, 24, who works in construction, like Naji.

The small mat they shared was clearly not enough to seat three of them. Their legs were stretched on the dirty tarmac, not far from a stream of stinking water flowing on the road surface.

But their partner on the mat, Nada Qassem, 35, said the surroundings did not shock him as his situation back home was not much different.

"My standard of living is not high so I am not shocked by this," said Qassem, who came from Egypt to work as a bus driver during the hajj, a chance to do the pilgrimage for free.

"Most of us do not have the means to pay for hajj," he said.

Meanwhile, binmen in yellow overalls toiled non-stop, pushing overflowing orange bins, sweeping the streets and loading large garbage containers onto lorries.

The situation in the Arafat plain, where pilgrims spent the hajj peak day on Monday, and in Mecca itself was not better. Streets around the Grand Mosque were awash with litter.

Source: Terra Daily.
Link: http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Saudi_faces_daunting_task_of_post-hajj_cleanup_999.html.

Muslims on hajj in Saudi start ascent of holy site

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press

MOUNT ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia – Nearly 3 million Muslims performing the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia began making their way up the rocky desert Mount Arafat on Monday, chanting that they have come to answer God's call.

The white-robed pilgrims began their ascent at the crack of dawn, covering the Mountain of Mercy at Arafat in an endless sea of white as their chants "Labyek Allah," or "Here I am, God, answering your calling," reverberated overhead.

The climb at Arafat is one of the cornerstones of the pilgrimage, which is required from every able-bodied Muslim at least once in their life time. It's the site where Islam's Prophet Muhammad delivered his farewell sermon and Muslims believe on this day the doors of heavens open to answer prayers and grant forgiveness.

As they began their climb from the tent-city in the valley, many of the pilgrims looked tired from lack of sleep, having spent the entire night praying. Charities and vendors along the way handed out food packages and umbrellas to shield the climbers from the harsh sun.

One of the pilgrims, Wassim Ahmad, from Mumbai, India, said this was his first hajj and that he felt like a child, reborn.

"Today is like judgment day," said the 29-year-old. "We have come to pray to God ... a new child has been born."

Alone and obviously on her first hajj, 46-year-old Egyptian, Um Sayed, kept asking people for directions.

"There is nothing greater than feeling that you are going to meet God," she said. "The whole body shivers."

Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifa are the three stops on the pilgrims' journey during the hajj, as worshipers trace the steps of Prophet Muhammad.

The hajj draws millions of worshipers each year, the sheer numbers a challenge in preventing stampedes at holy sites, fires in pilgrim encampments and the spread of disease.

This year Saudi authorities have taken new measures to improve crowd management, including launching a new light-rail system to transport pilgrims between the shrines.

Al-Qaeda denies plot to target Muslim pilgrims in Saudi Arabia

WARNING: Article contains propaganda!

* * * * *

Sun, 14 Nov 2010

Cairo - A branch of al-Qaeda denied on Sunday that it was seeking to attack Muslims conducting the hajj pilgrimage, after a Saudi Arabian minister warned that he could not rule out the possibility of such operations.

"We are keen not to spill the blood of Muslims, wherever they are. Mecca is more sacred than any other place," al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said in a statement.

The message was posted to Islamist websites on the first day of hajj, the annual sacred Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia. Some 2.5 million people are expected to take part in the ritual.

Riyadh's interior minister, Prince Nayef bin Abul Aziz, said last week that officials are on alert for a possible al-Qaeda attack.

"We don't rule out any attempt of action that disturbs the security of pilgrims. But we are ready for any possibility," he said.

But AQAP, a Yemen-based group believed to be behind a recent attempt to send parcel bombs to the United States, slammed Saudi Arabia for making the suggestion and for cooperating with the West to defeat the militant organization.

The discovery of the parcel bombs in Britain and Dubai, officials say, came after a tip-off from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia was engaging in "desperate attempts" to eliminate the group, AQAP charged, saying there was never a plan to target the pilgrims.

The group, affiliated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network, is also alleged to have been involved in last year's Christmas Day attempt to blow up a plane over Detroit and a shooting spree that left 13 dead at a military base in Fort Hood, Texas.

AQAP was formed in January 2009 from the merger of al-Qaeda's Yemeni and Saudi branches.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/353471,muslim-pilgrims-saudi-arabia.html.

Muslim pilgrims begin annual rituals without incident

14/11/2010

By Ali Khalil

MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AFP) -- Hundreds of thousands of Muslims began the main rituals of the annual pilgrimage on Sunday, heading from Mecca to the camp of Mina with no major incidents reported since they descended on the holy city.

There are no official figures yet for the total number of pilgrims but some estimates put the number as high as 2.5 million this year.

Authorities say permits have been granted to 1.7 million foreign pilgrims, with a further 200,000 or so issued to pilgrims from within Saudi Arabia and from neighboring Gulf states.

This year has seen a crackdown on pilgrims who do not have the requisite papers as authorities attempt to prevent numbers getting out of hand.

A driver caught transporting unauthorized pilgrims faces a fine of 10,000 riyals ($2,667) for each individual.

The passage to Mina marks the official launch of the hajj on the eighth day of the Muslim calendar month of Dhul Hijja.

The day is known as Tarwiah (Watering) as pilgrims in the past stopped at Mina to water their animals and stock up for the following day's trip to Mount Arafat.

The vast plain of Mina was a canvas of huge white tents. It comes to life for just five days a year.

On Monday, the pilgrims move on to Mount Arafat and its surrounding plain, some 10 kilometers (six miles) to the southeast, where they spend the day in prayer and reflection.

After sunset, they move to Muzdalifah, halfway between Mount Arafat and Mina, where they spend the night.

On Tuesday, the first day of Eid Al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, the pilgrims head back to Mina after dawn prayers.

They then perform the first stage of the symbolic "stoning of the devil" and make the ritual sacrifice of an animal, usually a lamb.

During the remaining three days of the hajj, the pilgrims continue the ritual stoning before performing the circumambulation of the Kaaba shrine in Mecca and heading home.

No major incidents have been reported this year since the pilgrims began gathering in Mecca. The city's Grand Mosque has been flooded with the faithful, with an estimated 1.7 million taking part in the main weekly Muslim prayers on Friday.

The movement of pilgrims between the holy sites is a major headache for Saudi authorities who have had to deal with deadly stampedes in the past.

In recent years, the kingdom has used its huge oil revenues for massive spending on new infrastructure to ease the flow of people.

This year, the first phase of the new Mashair Railway -- or Mecca metro -- will transport pilgrims between Mina and Mount Arafat through Muzdalifah.

The Jamarat Bridge, where pilgrims perform the ritual stoning, has also been expanded to three levels with movement channeled in one direction.

Security remains a concern. Last Wednesday, Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz said he could not rule out the possibility of a sabotage attempt by Al-Qaeda.

Source: Ma'an News Agency.
Link: http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=333680.

Saudi Arabia- Zamzam will be served to pilgrims right from arrival

(MENAFN - Arab News) Zamzam will be served to pilgrims from the point of their arrival in the Kingdom until departure, said Suleiman Abu Ghaliyah, chairman of the board of directors of the Zamzam United Office.

Ghaliyah said pilgrims would be able to drink Zamzam wherever they may be in Jeddah, Makkah, and Madinah under a three-fold plan. He added that since Oct. 20, the first phase of the program has begun, which includes supplying pilgrims with 300ml bottles of Zamzam.

"Before arriving at the grouping center, the pilgrims will receive their quota of 300ml of Zamzam water inside the bus," he said.

Ghaliyah said that under the second program, containers of 20 liters of Zamzam would be given to pilgrims at their places of accommodation in Makkah starting Nov. 3.

This program will continue until Nov. 25 when pilgrims will leave Makkah for Mina. He added that the third program in the plan would start on Nov. 30 when the pilgrims would be given containers of 1.5 liters of Zamzam water to take home. "This arrangement would continue till the end of December when all pilgrims have departed for their respective homes," he said.

By Badea Abu Al-Naja

Source: Middle East North Africa Financial News (MENAFN).
Link: http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093278901.

Another batch of 400 hajis from Jammu and Kashmir leaves for Jeddah

Srinagar, Oct 22 : Another batch of 400 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir today left for Jeddah to perform Hajj 2009.

Official sources said the pilgrims, including women and children, in Ahram (white dress) were taken in special buses to Srinagar International Airport from Haj house at Bemina where their documents were checked by the authorities.

The pilgrims were also checked for swine flu, they said, adding later the pilgrims left for Jeddah in two flights.

With this, 1198 pilgrims from Jammu and Kashmir left for Jeddah since October 20.

Source: New Kerala.
Link: http://www.newkerala.com/nkfullnews-1-135943.html.