JEDDAH, 12 January 2006 - Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah yesterday said while watching the pilgrims performing Haj this year he came to the conclusion that they were motivated by five guiding principles: unity, equality, consultation, faith and brotherhood.

Addressing Muslim leaders and heads of Haj delegations attending a reception hosted in their honor in Mina, the king said the pilgrims clearly demonstrated the unity of Islam, despite belonging to different races.

Islam teaches equality of all, and if Muslims followed this precept, "We could end poverty, oppression and injustice," said the king.

King Abdullah said in spite of all their different nationalities and adherence to different schools of thought, the pilgrims gathered at one place and demonstrated the principle of Islamic dialogue. He also said that Muslims during Haj stand for their brothers in need by sharing not only food but also their compassion.

Scenes such as the one in which a son carried his parent on his back demonstrated the atmosphere of love that pervades the pilgrimage, Abdullah said. 

The king stressed that "sympathy" could be the watchword in dealing with our Islamic brothers. "If we have sympathy in dealing with our brothers, we wouldn't fall prey to divisions and infighting," he said.

MINA, 12 January 2006 - Nothing could be more rewarding for a Muslim than to be able to do good deeds while in preparation for the journey of a lifetime. One American Muslim, Yousuf Baaghil, a lawyer from San Francisco, has been able to do just that.

Prior to setting off on the pilgrimage, last year Baaghil and his wife went to a local Islamic center and took classes in order to learn about the Haj rituals. It was a very intensive training course during which an enormous amount of material was presented.

At home, after the final class, Baaghil's wife attempted to create a semblance of order out of all the information they had been given. It was a difficult task and the harder she tried to make some sense of the stack of information before her, the more confused she became.

Baaghil soon joined in the effort and even after consulting all their notes and turning to numerous textbooks on Haj, they were more confused than ever.

Most of the books explaining the pilgrimage were weighty volumes, filled with hundreds of pages of information. A straightforward guide to the rituals simply did not exist. So the couple made it their mission to create one.

"Haj and Umrah at a Glance," is a one-page guide based upon the books of Sheikh Muhammad Naasirruddeen Al-Baanee. The idea behind the guide is that Muslims can fold the guide into a small size, tuck it anywhere and carry it at all times during the pilgrimage. An attempt was made to cram on the one sheet every detail of importance to a first-time pilgrim. This includes tiny illustrations of key points and a diagram of the Holy Mosque, plus prayers and supplications that are written in Arabic with transliteration and translation in English.

"While every Haj group has a well-informed guide it is not possible to catch hold of this person all the time and there are moments when you are all by yourself and you have no idea how to perform the ritual or you need clarification on what ritual will come next," said Baaghil.

Initially, Baaghil distributed printed copies of the guide himself. Then with help, he set up a website, www.islamicbulletin.org, to enable individuals to download the guide in PDF format, wherever they might be.

Within just a few months of the guide appearing on the Internet, Baaghil was deluged with requests to create similar guides in other languages. Through the website people volunteered their language services and now the guide is available in six languages - English, Turkish, Indonesian, French, Spanish and Urdu. All can be downloaded free of charge.

This year, Baaghil and his wife made the trip to Saudi Arabia in order to perform Haj. While in the Kingdom, Baaghil took the opportunity to present himself at the offices of the Ministry of Haj to discuss the possible distribution of "Haj and Umrah at a Glance" to the pilgrims.

"I was pleasantly surprised that the staff at the ministry were already aware of the guide!" exclaimed Baaghil with a smile. "They ran a trial this year in which they downloaded the PDF files in different languages, printed the guide on glossy paper in color and distributed thousands of copies to pilgrims before the Haj. I was told that it was well received. Every good deed done by a Muslim, however small, will be rewarded by Allah. This is a small deed from my side and I hope it will aid many Muslims in enriching their Haj experience."

MINA, 12 January 2006 - A little over two million pilgrims hurled stones, no bigger than beans, at all the three walls representing the devil on the second day of a sacred ritual here yesterday.

Ambulances were spread throughout the redesigned Jamrat area and helicopters monitored pilgrim traffic that flowed smoothly throughout the day.

In the last of the Haj rituals, pilgrims chanting "God is Greatest" threw seven small pebbles at each of the three gray stone walls. The stoning, which symbolizes the rejection of evil, will be repeated again today as the Haj draws to a close. Watched by guards and policemen, pilgrims were directed to approach the stoning site in orderly waves to avoid disasters.

Though everything went smoothly, pilgrims and Tawafa establishments criticized the "illegal" pilgrims who overstay their visit in the Kingdom and swell the huge crowds by joining in the rituals without Haj permits. "These pilgrims are the ones most likely to carry bags and bundles near the bridge, creating obstacles to smooth movement," said a security official at the foot of the Jamrat Bridge.

The faithful were relieved at having performed the religious duty in relative comfort. The authorities heaved a sigh of relief since in the past the ritual was marked by tragedies.

The stoning of the devil is largely symbolic. However, a lot of pilgrims were seen venting their fury while performing the ritual yesterday. Some gave it a political color saying they see in the devil those who are persecuting Muslims all over the world. "This is nothing but an act of catharsis," said Muhammad Jamaleddine of Algeria. "To me these walls represent those world leaders who are either killing or are responsible for the genocide of my brethren in Palestine and Iraq," he said.

For other pilgrims, the stoning of the devil was actually getting rid of the devil within. "This is an act of self-purification," said a Sudanese pilgrim.

Tension and anxiety had disappeared from the faces of pilgrims and they started sharing lighter moments in Mina. Bahraini Fateh Mubarak was seen strolling on Shara Jawhra with his wife Sarah and enjoying a cup of coffee. "I have come for the third time but this time I performed the Haj rituals completely without any trouble," Mubarak said. "This is really unbelievable that two million pilgrims performed Haj without any incident whatsoever. Just amazing."

The atmosphere in Mina changed yesterday with pilgrims thanking Allah for their successful completion of Haj. "The valley of Mina was surcharged on the first day of the stoning ritual but today it was a changed place. And that was due to the fact that no incident took place and the stoning was peaceful and smooth and everybody is safe and sound. What more can we expect?" said Jabbar Al-Jassimi from Oman.

A Syrian pilgrim with his mother in the wheelchair was unable to hide his happiness and satisfaction when asked for his reaction on the stoning exercise. "I was extremely tense before I left my country to perform Haj with my ailing and old mother who wanted to perform the Haj. But, praise be to God, everything went extremely smoothly and the arrangements were flawless," Saeed Abdul Jabbar said.

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

MINA, 12 January 2006 - Adnan Muhammad Amin Kateb, chairman of the board of South Asian Pilgrim Establishment, is a soft-spoken person. He is also very busy. The organization that he heads is responsible for the arrangements of hundreds and thousands of pilgrims. 

"Every year is a challenge," he told Arab News in his makeshift office in Mina. "For the first time our establishment employed women pilgrim guides. They were tasked with providing health care and other support services to women pilgrims. The experiment was very successful, Mashallah, and we hope to continue it next year as well."

"The women guides did a tremendous job. They visited the sick pilgrims in hospitals. They provided them with moral support and distributed gifts among them with a view to cheering them up and to lifting their spirits. We hope to increase the role of this team in the future by extending their activities in the service departments of the establishment in Makkah and other holy sites," Kateb said. 

He said pilgrims coming from South Asia were now being given extensive training at Haj orientation camps in their respective countries. 

"A serious thought to the training aspect of pilgrims was given after the Kuala Lumpur convention several years ago. The results are there for everybody to see. The successful organization of Haj 2006 is proof of the fact that training is having its effect. Pilgrims from India and Pakistan who form the bulk of our guests are more aware of the Haj rituals now than in the past. They undergo intensive training in their countries about what to do when they are in Makkah, Mina and Arafat. This has eased a lot of pressure on security organizations," he said. 

"Our establishment has its own awareness programs for pilgrims before they arrive in Mina and Arafat. We have a special team that educates pilgrims by gathering them in open areas and giving them instructions about how to perform the stoning of the devil ritual and about the right ways of performing other rituals. In addition, the team distributes books and publications in various languages on various aspects of Haj. The awareness campaign is going great guns but still a lot needs to be done. We need to improve and maintain consistency," Kateb said. 

About the accommodation problem in Makkah, Kateb said: "The increase in the number of pilgrims and the limitation of housing in the central area of Makkah led some establishments to set up accommodation in places far away from the central area but they have sufficient transport to take them to the holy mosque. With the huge construction activity that is going on in the holy city, this has become the necessity. Even with all the expansion, there would still be proper transportation to serve all the pilgrims whether they live close or far away from the holy mosque," he said. 

Kateb said Haj 1426 (2006) was successful "because of the grace of God and the countless efforts of Haj Minister Fouad Al-Farsy. The scientific and accurate implementation of all the basic plans greatly contributed to the smooth flow of pilgrims first from Makkah to Mina, then from Mina to Arafat and from Arafat to Muzdalifah and back to Mina. The Haj minister was in constant touch with all the relevant agencies and was constantly and continuously following up on the plan's implementation." 

A board of 12 members heads the establishment. There is the parent establishment that works around the year with 30 officials. The establishment has field service offices that offer direct services to pilgrims. Each office serves around 5,000 pilgrims. 

"We have 81 offices to serve pilgrims this year," Kateb said. "There are seasonal committees with 1,000 Saudi employees that operate various services including reception, transport, housing and general supervision." 

For Adnan Kateb, the Haj of 1997 will remain etched in his memory forever.

"That was the year when a ferocious fire reduced more than 20,000 tents to ashes. It was a difficult year. We faced many crises because of the fire accident. After that year, we had these new fire-resistant tents. It led to the complete elimination of fire in Mina for good. Alhamdulillah," he said. 

"We want to express our sincere thanks to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, Crown Prince Sultan and the Haj minister and all the government agencies and the respective missions of the South Asian countries for their support and facilities. Haj mabroor," Kateb said. 

MINA, 12 January 2006 - Eight million free meals will be distributed by the end of Haj tomorrow, according to Haj Committee estimates. Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed, president of the committee, said yesterday that the current total of free meals distributed in Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina so far is six million. 

According to the Haj Committee, 70 percent of the meals have consisted of was dry food while the rest was cooked. Most of the food was distributed in mobile cars and cooling trucks at various distribution points. 

Bandar Al-Harbi, the Saudi manager of the InterContinental Hotels Group, said that many Tawafa agencies and philanthropists sign contracts with hotels each year to provide free meals for pilgrims in holy sites. 

This year's Haj included a new branch of Mohammad Al-Amoudi Charity Institute at the holy sites, which was inaugurated by Prince Abdul Majeed right before the start of Haj. 

Amoudi, the Ethiopian-born real estate entrepreneur and one of the world's richest men, told Arab News that the new branch of his charity, built on 5,000 square meters at a cost of SR55 million, is considered the largest in the Kingdom. This center alone distributed half of the six million meals given out so far this Haj. More than 2,000 people have been working around the clock distributing and preparing the food. Amoudi said he wished that more Saudi businessmen would participate in charity works.

MINA, 12 January 2006 - Things started out well, but the number of missing pilgrims increased sharply by the third day of Haj, authorities in charge of tracking missing persons said yesterday. 

An official at the Saudi Boy Scouts, the organization that works in tandem with the Haj Ministry to find missing persons and track statistics, told Arab News that by yesterday there were 30 percent more missing persons than registered during the entire Haj period last year. 

There was a marked increase in reports of missing pilgrims on the day of Eid and the stoning at Jamrat, said Shaker Radain, the head of census, guidance and computer systems at the Saudi Scouts' information center in Mina. 

Last year, the total number of pilgrims reported missing was 17,000; the number this year is 21,000 so far, according to Radain, who points out that the day of Eid is always when reports of lost pilgrims reach its peak. In fact, the first two days of Haj saw a great reduction in the number of lost pilgrims compared to last year, thanks to increased organization and visual aids for lost pilgrims.

A majority of the lost pilgrims are usually from India, Turkey and African countries, according to Haj Ministry statistics. This year, however, the number of lost Arab pilgrims increased substantially, about 10,000 in the first three days.

"We logged 3,000 reports of lost pilgrims in our computer systems in the first six hours of the stoning period alone," said Radain. "This increase surprised us, considering that our preparation has been excellent. We added many services for the first time to help the pilgrims get back to their camps." 

Most lost pilgrims are eventually reunited with their groups, either on their own recognizance or with the help of the Boy Scouts or local officials in charge of crowd control.

"The problem starts after they finish stoning," said Radain, "because while they are stoning they focus on stoning itself and forget about the group, and when they are finished they start looking for each other, often in vain."

Mina is a very small area, nevertheless people can get lost easily. One reason is that all camps look similar. There are also many squatters lying down on the streets with their personal belongings thus blocking the main entrances and exits of Haj camps and sidewalks, creating confusion. 

Sami Siraj Mulla, a supervisor at a Haj Ministry help center, told Arab News that another main cause for the loss of pilgrims is the lack of supervision from pilgrim establishments (mutawwifs) over their assigned pilgrims. 

Furthermore, Mulla said that the ministry established the lost pilgrims guidance centers to help pilgrims who are staying with specific groups in designated camps, "but if the pilgrim is staying nowhere in the street and he is lost we cannot take him to his group or place."

According to Mulla, another major obstacle that prevents them from delivering the pilgrims successfully is the absence of proper identification with the pilgrims. 

"The campaign management should issue cards and bracelets that carry the information of the pilgrim along with the camp location on it. Without this it is difficult for us to guide the pilgrims," said Mulla.

The ministry added two new help centers this year, putting the total to 20. This year the ministry added a creative directional map (called the self-guiding map) that will allow any pilgrim who is capable of reading to reach any location in the holy sites. There are also many directional signs and wall maps posted in many places to guide pilgrims.

MINA, 12 January 2006 - This is a Haj devoid of high anxiety. At Haj the idea that "no news is good news" is certainly true. This Haj has gone so smoothly in every way that everyone has begun to optimistically look forward to an early departure from Mina. All we need is for the rain to hold off for 24 hours. For a second day at Mina the weather continued to be excellent. The sun has been hiding behind the clouds since Tuesday and a cool breeze is constantly blowing across the valley. Now is the time in Mina for pilgrims to take souvenir photos, buy trinkets and catch up on the latest news. 


* * *

After our story yesterday on illegal pilgrims an official of the Passport Department, who is himself performing Haj, told us that the illegal pilgrims are not necessarily the Kingdom's expatriate workers, but more often are illegal overstayers. These overstayers of many nationalities come into the country legally on Umrah visas. This is a deception as they have every intention of performing Haj as well and simply stay on. They live in squalor in Jeddah, doing menial jobs until Haj time. Then they perform the pilgrimage and after that they wait for the government to deport them. In some cases they voluntarily hand themselves over to the Passport Department. After Haj their numbers are so high that sometimes the Passport Department personnel have no choice but to send them away, asking them to return at a later date. The overstayers know about a specific bridge in Jeddah where they can wait for the immigration authorities and police to come and arrest them so they can be deported home. According to the Passport Department official, these overstayers are a nuisance but form a minority compared to the legal pilgrims with permits. 


* * *

Year after year we have always been discussing how organized the Indonesians are. Almost everyone regards the pilgrims from this nation as role models. There are frequent comments on how well trained Indonesian pilgrims are. They stay within their designated groups, careful in their movements and avoiding trouble. However, Tuesday night at the Jamrat it was quite a surprise to see a large group of Indonesian women, several hundred in fact, occupying the space close to the Jamrat. They were just sitting and blocking the path for other oncoming pilgrims. Indonesian groups always moved in a way which does not impede the movement of others. We could not see any guide with them, so perhaps there was an emergency that resulted in this behavior.


* * *

Tuesday night the whole Jamrat area was chaotic. With the Indonesians sitting on the left side of the Jamrat area and the illegal squatters on the right, the area was quite congested. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims turned out to perform the stoning ritual late in the evening. Due to the tragedies of previous years, numerous religious leaders have given permission for the stoning to take place into the night in order to reduce the crush of the morning hours. Unfortunately, there seemed to be no coordination concerning which groups would be stoning at what hours. This led to a lull in the stoning in the afternoon, with the numbers then picking up again after sunset. Fortunately, crowd control was tight and the stoning passed without incident. 


* * *

Yesterday, we bumped into a pilgrim from India, Amjad Ali from Jharkhand. Soon after he landed in Madinah on his way to perform Haj, he stopped off at a local clothing shop and bought a set of Saudi clothes, including thobe and headdress. Ali is a politician and he has a special affinity for Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. "I am very impressed by him and his services to his nation and to the nation of Islam," said Ali. "We can never forget the Saudi contribution to the people of all the countries especially Indian Muslims."

On Tuesday, after being released from ihram, he donned the Saudi clothes he had purchased weeks ago. He felt that this was a way of showing respect toward the Saudi people and their king. He stated, "The Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him, was an Arab and therefore Arabs hold a special place in our hearts." Ali is tall and thin and has a beard similar to that of King Abdullah. He looked quite handsome in the Saudi attire. Outside his tent he was observed by some of the Saudi guides and Arab journalists and became an instant celebrity. He was taken to be introduced to some of the Haj officials. His good intentions have given him an unexpected "15 minutes" of fame. * * *


One of the more interesting sights on Tuesday night was a group of about 150-200 Qatari women coming back from stoning the Jamrat. These women pilgrims in their traditional black Qatari abayas were surrounded by a human chain of Qatari men protecting them from the crowds. The effect was similar to a huge school of black fish, surrounded by a white barrier, swimming for their home waters. * * *


The pilgrims went into Haj as one sea of white but now their national and ethnic differences are appearing. The different areas of Mina are divided by regions. Africans, Indians, Indonesians and Europeans are all grouped in specific areas, for example. Walking through the tents, the aroma of different foods wafts through the air and one can instantly determine which nationalities are housed in that area. Most people are now wearing their native dresses, so it is amusing to see how the fashions change from one area to the next even though the tents remain basically the same. Many pilgrims are seated in any small public space near their tents selling small goods from their native lands. The nature of these items change too as one moves through the different ethnic areas. The term "global village" is often used to describe the world today. Mina truly is a global village. 

JEDDAH, 12 January 2006 - The annual Haj begins another type of pilgrimage, that of poor African bag ladies seeking a piece of the charity-meat pie. The Al-Madinah daily reported that the perennial gathering of the impoverished women hoping to collect charitable hand-outs has begun. They gather at roadsides and intersections beseeching Eid celebrants to direct charity toward them. Some of the women can be seen racing each other when they see cars slow down. Shopping carts normally filled with empty cans, glass, and other recyclable rubbish are filled with "udhiya", or sacrificial meat.

MINA, 12 January 2006 - A Haj group disturbed the flow of pilgrims when it realized a member of the group had disappeared. Thinking they spotted the old gentleman in the crowd, some of the groups' members chased after him. When they caught up with the man, they discovered that they were chasing the wrong fellow, but the resemblance between him and the lost pilgrim was strikingly similar, reported Al-Watan newspaper. When they finally found their lost member, they introduced the two men who both agreed to the mutual resemblance. Both men were from Pakistan, but one had lived in the Kingdom for over 20 years. In perhaps an anti-climactic ending to this story, they both said that they were not related in any way.

And Finally**********************************************************************************************

MENA, 12 January 2006 - Beggars at the holy sites use the huge crowd as a barrier to hide and practice beggary, reported Al-Madinah newspaper. Saudi scouts caught one Haji beggar from his ihram clothes, who was acting as a cripple. As the scouts were questioning the man, he pushed them away with force and ran away.

22 Million Phone Calls

Pilgrims have made 22.3 million overseas phone calls from Arafat and Muzdalifah. According to the Saudi Telecom Company, this marks an increase of 23 percent over 17.2 million calls made in the last Haj. Pilgrims using Jawal made 1.7 million calls, an increase of 14 percent over the last Haj. SMS Eid messages this time totaled 63 million.


¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface
at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html

To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/CGI/wa.exe?S1=gambia-l
To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to:
[log in to unmask]
¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤