MINA, 11 January 2006 - Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and Crown Prince Sultan yesterday congratulated Muslims worldwide on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha.

      "Dear brothers and sisters, from this holy land, from the Holy Mosque, from Mina and Arafat, we congratulate all Muslims all over the world on the occasion of Eid Al-Adha, and we pray to God for peace and security in the Islamic world and for unity of the nation," said the royal statement, which was read on national television by Culture and Information Minister Iyad Madani. 

      Asking God for prosperity and mercy, King Abdullah also congratulated the pilgrims on their performing Haj and wished them a peaceful stay in the Kingdom until their return home.

      Prince Sultan told officers who came to greet him that they ought to consider themselves as servants of God. "This Haj is one of the best and well organized, he said, adding that the Kingdom is committed and determined to serve Muslims, especially pilgrims.

            JEDDAH/RIYADH, 11 January 2006 - Millions of citizens and residents offered Eid Al-Adha prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah and the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah yesterday.

            Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, the imam of the Grand Mosque, in his sermon called on Muslims to respond to the hate campaign against Islam. 

            "Islam is the religion of moderates and yet a vicious campaign has been unleashed to tarnish its image. For the misdeeds of a few, the entire community is being held to ransom," he said. "We all must realize that they are always on the lookout for the mistakes of a few Muslims so that Islam gets a bad name and people all over start hating it."

            Calling for more moderation among Muslims, he said deviation of thoughts and concepts had assumed "dangerous" levels. 

            "We now see fights and challenges taking place in the form of intellectual invasion globally for more freedom," he said.

            "Fight terrorism and extremism," he told Muslims and urged them to spread the message that Islam does not preach terrorism, and moderates should not be held responsible for the crimes and killings being committed by a few in the Muslim world. He appealed to the few disgruntled elements that have strayed from the path of peace to return to their senses.

            "Let's start with ourselves. However, reforms should not be imposed on us. They should come from within us and in keeping with the tenets of Islam," the imam said. 

            Referring to the Al-Aqsa Mosque issue, which remains unsolved, he called a halt to the ongoing killings and destruction of homes and property by Israelis. "They are trying to destroy the mosque," he said. 

            He reminded the Ummah not to forget the people of Iraq who are in a hopeless situation struggling for peace and prosperity. 

            In the capital, Riyadh Governor Prince Salman offered Eid Al-Adha prayers along with citizens and residents. Prayers were also held in 20 locations and 396 mosques in different parts of the capital. Similar were the scenes in Jeddah, Dammam and elsewhere. 

            With many people away either on Haj or vacation, roads in cities wore a deserted look. The sole reminder of the festivities was the exchange of greetings on the road and vehicles passing by with children decked out in their Eid dresses. Others played football and cricket in street lanes as many stayed at home with their families. 

            However, the tempo picked up as the day wore on, with parks, zoos and amusement arcades reporting a fairly good turnout in Riyadh and other places. The holiday crowd thronged the Corniche in Jeddah and the Half Moon Bay in Dammam. 

            Some residents in Riyadh told Arab News that restrictions on the intermingling of men and women as well as on photography not only deprived them of fun but also prevented them from capturing those precious moments on their cameras. 

            "I had to cancel my visit to an amusement park because only women and children were allowed in, while men had to wait outside," Rasheeduddin Ahmed, an IT specialist, said. 

            Shaikh Abdul Haq, computer engineer, said that when he entered the Al-Salamah Park on King Fahd Road after paying admission fee, the park attendant asked them to deposit the cricket bat and ball in a locker.

            For Abdul Mustafa M. Haroon, a company executive who came down to Riyadh from the Eastern Province for the holidays, the Eid festival gave him a rude shock. As he was entering a shop in Hayyl Wuzarat (Hara) to recharge his mobile phone, two street urchins snatched his phone and SR200 from his hand and fled in opposite directions. 

            - Input by Javid Hassan, K.S. Ramkumar & Ebtihal Mubara
           
              


      MINA, 11 January 2006 - Tens of thousands of pilgrims yesterday hurled pebbles at the Jamrat Al-Aqaba, one of the three walls representing Satan. 

      The ritual was conducted in a very organized manner in this tent city. All previous tragedies occurred during this ritual.

      This year the Saudi government showed how organization and logistic support can save human lives. Gen. Marwan Al-Sobhi, the head of the Emergency Special Forces, said there were 10,000 soldiers for organizing the movement and flow of the pilgrims at the Jamrat Bridge, where the three walls are located.

      The ritual took place with military precision. Lines of police directed the crowds. A fleet of ambulances was lined up nearby but there was little need for their services. Too often the pilgrims did not help themselves in the ritual. 

      Many still insisted on toting large bundles and bags to the stoning area despite being instructed not to do so.

      A very relieved Dr. Hamad Al-Manie, the health minister, told Arab News that the Jamrat ritual went off without a hitch.

      "There were, by the grace of God, no injuries and no deaths as more than 2 million pilgrims performed the stoning of the devil ritual," said Manie. "It is an achievement that the whole exercise went off in a much, much better way than last time. We always try to achieve the best possible results. This will not stop us from further streamlining and improving health services in the future."

      The minister also said that there have been no reported cases of serious contagious diseases or outbreak of epidemics.

      Pilgrims were frantically throwing pebbles at Satan with disdain very much evident on their faces. A tide of white-robed faithful had gathered around the site from early morning. Carrying their pebbles, no bigger than a bean, in plastic bags or small empty water bottles, the pilgrims chanted "Allah-o-Akbar" as they threw each pebble.

      Relatives threw protective rings around women and the elderly to prevent them from falling or being shoved.

      Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed said the movement of pilgrims from Muzdalifah to Mina was smooth and accident free in the morning. Some 15,000 buses were deployed to transport the pilgrims.

      The General Statistics Department of the Economy and Planning Ministry put the total number of pilgrims this year at 2,130,594. Of them, 1,557,447 came from abroad while 573,147 performed Haj from inside the Kingdom. Most of the pilgrims from inside the Kingdom were non-Saudis.

      Yesterday also marked the start of Eid Al-Adha, the feast of the sacrifice, which recalls Prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son as God tested his faith. At the last moment, God substituted a sheep for the son, Ismael.

      Municipal authorities at the holy sites prepared slaughterhouses to cope with the rush. There are three main slaughterhouses in Mina for sacrificing sheep. This year the municipality added a fourth for sacrificing camels and cows.

      Returning from the stoning, the pilgrims looked extremely pleased. The act itself seemed to have a great cathartic effect. After the stoning, those who had not deputized others to perform the sacrifice on their behalf proceeded to the abattoirs. Others went to have their heads shaved.

      At the abattoirs, the poor congregated to take away their share of the sacrificial meat. There was also a long line of refrigerated trucks.

      Before returning to Mina from Arafat, the pilgrims spent the night in the plain of Muzdalifah where they collected pebbles for the stoning ritual.

      After completing the rituals of the day, thousands of pilgrims lined up to phone home. "The pilgrimage has gone much easier than I expected," said Shahnawaz Ahmad, a 36-year-old Indian from Calcutta.

      Sabeel Norani, another pilgrim from India, praised the improved arrangement at the Jamrat that has made it easier for pilgrims to do the stoning.

      "Everything went according to plan and, by the grace of Allah, we have had no untoward incident at the Jamrat," said Ibrahim Sulaiman, a Syrian.

      "I finished the stoning ritual in less than 15 minutes," Jalal Abdel Fattah, an Egyptian, proudly said.

      "It was a piece of cake this year," said Suleiman Fallatah, 26, a Saudi native of Makkah, as a barber shaved his head with a razor.

      The shaving or shortening of hair by male pilgrims is the first step of ending their state of ihram, or sacred dedication, which they entered into before the Haj started Sunday.

      Fallatah who has performed the annual pilgrimage 10 times was to head next to Makkah to perform another key rite, Tawaf Al-Ifadah which involves circling the Kaaba in the center of the Grand Mosque.

      Pilgrims will mass again at the Jamrat Bridge today, this time to stone all three walls representing Satan.

      - With input from Siraj Wahab, Syed Faisal Ali, Hasan Hatrash and Wael Mahdi 



      MINA, 11 January 2006 - Officials managing Haj arrangements said yesterday that pilgrims should behave responsibly and avoid carrying unnecessary stuff with them during the symbolic ritual of stoning the Satan at the Jamrat.

      The stoning ritual is the one in which hundreds of people have died in stampedes in the past. Officials in charge of crowd control say one of the major obstacles in smooth flow of pilgrims toward the Jamrat are the pilgrims themselves. They are those pilgrims who carry heavy luggage with them causing immense problems all through the way for others. 

      "The government is persistent in persuading them not to carry anything while moving to stone the Satan but the problem persists," said Abdullah Hadi, an official at the Jamrat. 

      To cope with the situation, the security forces early yesterday started confiscating heavy luggage on all the roads leading to Jamrat, which saw some skirmishes between the pilgrims and security personnel. But those manning the roads and were deployed to manage the crowd were adamant and confiscated hundreds of items. All seized items were piled up by the side of roads under the custody of Civil Defense personnel until pilgrims could return for them.

      Though officials tried their best, the tide of pilgrims became at times overwhelming and security personnel were seen giving up efforts to confiscate items. One Civil Defense official said that he and his colleagues were having a difficult time regulating the confiscation of large items as well as maintaining safety measures. 

      "Unless pilgrims themselves take the initiative and realize what a great threat they pose to others by carrying such items with them, the problem will continue," said Saleh Al-Ghamdi, a Civil Defense official. 

      Many pilgrims simply do not have a place to put their belongings. Al-Ghamdi said that there should be a public awareness campaign to warn pilgrims of the dangers of bringing too many personal effects to the Jamrat.

      "I have observed that a good number of pilgrims come to the Jamrat with their baggage in a bid to go to Makkah directly from there for Tawaf," he said. "Also many pilgrims come directly from Muzdalifa to Jamrat with their baggage to perform the stoning."

      Pilgrims carrying heavy baggage are a common sight in the valley of Mina. They carry everything from bags to a trolley, folding chairs, umbrellas and even portable tents. Their presence reduces the speed of pilgrims' flow toward the Jamrat. Sometimes, they bang into other pilgrims leading to injuries. But they look unconcerned.

      Not only are the pilgrims responsible for this hazard, equally responsible are some of the muallims that don't pay much attention to the safety of their pilgrims. They just leave the pilgrims to do anything, any time, anywhere, Al-Ghamdi said.

      Pilgrims have their own explanations for carrying inconvenient baggage. They say that they cannot leave their belongings in camps - for fear of theft. An African pilgrim, Abdullah Saed, said, "Who will take the responsibility of my luggage? We are poor people and if we lost something it will be difficult for us to buy them again."

      When reminded that the Haj is obligatory only on those who can afford it, Abdullah disagreed and moved on with his loaded trolley.

      MINA, 11 January 2006 - Yesterday morning there were no police cars rushing by, no convoys of ambulances tearing toward the hospitals. The sun rose on a scene that was eerily quiet in the Mina camps. For the first time in five years, on this Eid Al-Adha we were woken by the beeping of the alarm clock, not the wailing of sirens. Early in the morning our phones weren't ringing incessantly with news agencies demanding confirmation of some horrible rumor of deaths on the Jamrat Bridge. It was wonderful! In the past our first destination on this day used to be the emergency wards of the hospitals. Thanks be to Allah, this year we slept well and woke up to the smiling faces of pilgrims returning after performing the stoning ritual. 


      * * *

      After a difficult day at Arafat on Monday, many journalists were among the first to reach Mina. The tent town was still mostly empty because all the pilgrims were massing in Muzdalifah to spend a night under the stars and to collect pebbles for the stoning of the devil ritual. Imagine our surprise then when on a quick visit to the Jamrat area we saw hundreds of people stoning Jamrat Al-Aqaba. At midnight barbers were already busy shaving the heads of male pilgrims. Strange. 


      * * *

      The weather on Monday night was especially cold and since our media group was riding two-wheeled scooters, we could feel the chill in the breeze as we headed toward Mina. Our thoughts immediately went to the pilgrims camping in Muzdalifah in their ihram under open skies. The pilgrims that we spoke to yesterday morning said that they were shivering most of the night. They added that they didn't feel miserable though because there was some sort of spiritual warmth that kept them going. Throughout the night they recited verses from the Holy Qur'an and contemplated their resolutions for leading a totally new life. 


      * * *

      Thus far this is the most successful Haj ever witnessed and the credit should go to all the Haj agencies. They have been working in tandem and in complete harmony to ensure that the rituals are moving forward peacefully. The Interior Ministry, the tawafa organizations, the Haj Ministry, the Boy Scouts, various country missions - so many dedicated individuals working in teams have played a part in making this a smooth exercise. 


      * * *

      Yesterday there was some crowding at the Jamrat, which is normal. This year it was easy to see, however, that the lessons in crowd management have been well learned. All the pilgrims were made to follow a designated route on the Jamrat bridge and once they completed the stoning they had to take a specific path to return to their camps. This ensured that there was no clash between the oncoming and returning pilgrims. In the past, pilgrims who had completed the ritual would take the same route through which they had come, resulting in complete chaos. This is now forbidden. 


      * * *

      Of course knowing all the ins and outs of Haj takes years of experience. With numerous news outlets springing up throughout the Muslim world, every year more journalists are at the holy sites to cover the pilgrimage. The management of some news organizations believes that anyone can be sent to cover Haj. In some cases this person can even be far removed from the scene. There is no doubt that a person sitting hundreds or thousands of kilometers away from Mina may be able to give reports on the activities taking place. The basics of the rituals never change. They have been so for the past 14 centuries and we all know the sequence of events over the five days of the pilgrimage. What we don't know is how the pilgrimage will eventually unfold. Without being immersed in the life of the pilgrims, a journalist is unable to add special details to the copy and the reports will be dull and colorless. 


      * * *

      Now who exactly qualifies to be a journalist reporting on Haj is certainly debatable. One Indian television station has in fact taken on the manager of a "boufiya" restaurant in Makkah as their star reporter for the pilgrimage. It seems that they had a small disagreement with their star reporter of previous years over compensation. When they found out that the "boufiya" manager would work for free, the TV station signed him on. One can only speculate about the specific angle that the TV station's management hoped the "boufiya" correspondent would bring to their Haj coverage. Perhaps by tomorrow he can be including liver and egg sandwich recipes in his reports! 


      * * *

      Excellent reports are coming to the attention of the media concerning the new policy of the Fawaz Abdul Aziz Al-Hokair Company, owners of numerous retail establishments across the Kingdom including Geant. Al-Hokair have given their employees, which number in the thousands, the opportunity to perform Haj at corporate expense. Mir Haider from Bangladesh working in a distribution center for one of the company's clothing stores in Riyadh and Keralite Zainul Abedeen, a driver at the company, were fulsome in their praise for Al-Hokair's generosity. This was the first year that such an offer was made and the company allowed any employee who met the government's requirements for the Haj permit to join Al-Hokair's "hamla" (Haj offer). The only money that the Al-Hokair employees paid for the Haj was SR350 for the sacrifice. The employees said that all in the group were praying for the welfare and continued success of Al-Hokair's management. 


      * * *

      As the afternoon of Eid Al-Adha progressed in Mina, the sun hid behind a bank of clouds. A pleasant breeze was blowing and more and more pilgrims came out to the street dressed in their best, colorful clothes. Everyone was smiling and the men kept rubbing their hands over their unusually shaved pates. Most looked very tired but satisfaction shone in their eyes. These pilgrims have accomplished a large task and now is the moment for a bit of relaxation and joy. Eid Mubarak.



            MINA, 11 January 2006 - It is common knowledge that many enterprising Muslims from Central Asian countries come to Saudi Arabia not only to perform Haj but also to make some extra money. They sell carpets, silver items and binoculars in Makkah, Mina and Madinah after arriving in the Kingdom passing through Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan. In each country they stop and sell items they have brought with them in order to cover the costs of the journey. What is less known, however, is that there are also many from African-Arab countries who come here to make a fast buck. 

            Al-Filali Najeeb, a Moroccan in his late 40s, is one of those. He has been coming here for the last six years. "I deal in Moroccan thobes. I have a chain there in my name. In 2000, I was here to perform Haj. At that time I brought a few hundred thobes with me to be sold when the pilgrimage was over. I sold them in a few hours. I was happy and the businessman in me was excited. I saw an opportunity and the next year I was back in Mina, but this time not as a pilgrim but purely as a trader." 

            Najeeb, whose makeshift shop is located in one of the tents near Jamrat area, said his Haj business has grown in the last three years. "I now have two tent shops in Mina. I met a Saudi and rented these two shops. Part of the profit goes for his commission. Alhamdulillah, I make enough money," he said. 

            For Najeeb, the business begins in Ramadan itself. "I generally come to the Kingdom from Casablanca during the first week of Ramadan. That is when I unload my consignment of readymade thobes, ihrams and ghutras. I have makeshift shops in Makkah as well. Ramadan gives me an idea about what is in demand. Because Makkah draws people from all over the world, I immediately get to know what the pilgrims want. Then I order goods for the Haj period," he explained. 

            "Trading during Haj is allowed. Merchants have for centuries pinned their hopes of increasing business on the annual pilgrimage," Najeeb said. "I have always put a cap on profit. I don't jack up prices. I believe in fixed-price business. I don't believe in haggling. Many pilgrims come and start haggling and I tell them if you come to Morocco, you will find no difference in prices. I make money here based on the volume of business that I do. During Haj 2004, I must have sold 100,000 thobes. That was the best year for me. In Morocco, it would take me about eight months to sell 100,000 thobes. What a difference! Eight months there and five days in Mina! Alhamdulillah," he added. 

            Last year was bad for Najeeb. "Business was good but my profits were washed away by the rains that flooded Mina on the last day of Haj. My shop was completely destroyed. I could barely retrieve anything but I didn't lose anything. I didn't make anything. It is all Allah's will. I am happy in every situation," he said with a smile. "People who come to Haj are huge spenders. They always buy souvenirs. My branded thobes make an ideal gift. The best buyers are of course Saudis. Then there are pilgrims from Gulf countries. They love Moroccan thobes. I have thobes ranging in price from SR40 to SR700. People from Third World countries find my prices too high but they are big kaffiyeh buyers," he said.

           
              

     

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