Two Million Pilgrims Flock To Mina

"Here I am Allah, answering your call," chanted a chorus of pilgrims as the huge crowd moved on foot or by bus along the road linking Makkah to Mina, which has been transformed into a vast site of fireproof tents, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The journey began mid-morning, proceeding with calm and without major incident amid mild weather conditions.

At least14 , 200buses, with a capacity of673 , 000seats, were mobilized to transport pilgrims, and1 , 039surveillance cameras were installed at various main roads around the holy sites.

The pilgrims will continue to stream through a mountain pass to Mina, some two miles outside Makkah, throughout the day.

Men are clad in a two-piece seamless white cloth which mark a state of purity that erases all differences of race, class or culture, while women are fully covered except for the hands and face.

Camping out at vast tented village, the faithful will spend the day here in prayer and meditation.

Before dawn on Saturday, January31 , the pilgrims will move towards Mount Arafat, a revered place in Islam where the Prophet Mohammad delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago, for the culmination of hajj.

Standing on Mount Arafat before sunset is the high point of the hajj, and pilgrims who fail to make it here on time must repeat their pilgrimage in future.

On Sunday, February1 , the pilgrims will throw stones at three pillars on the spot where the Devil appeared to Prophet Abraham.

Eid Al-Adha begins the same day, with the sacrificing of sheep, goats and cows to commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at God’s command.

Able-bodied Muslims perform hajj least once in their lifetime if they have the financial means.

The Hajj is one of the “five pillars” of Islam, and thus an essential part of Muslims’ faith and practice.

The Hajj consists of several ceremonies, meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.

Security

The journey to Mina is taking place amid the tightest security measures, imposed by the Saudi authorities to ensure the safety of the near two million pilgrims,.

The authorities have warned that they will not tolerate any attempt to undermine security during the hajj.

Saudi security forces captured a wanted militant and several other suspects Thursday, January29 , after a firefight in Riyadh in which five policemen were killed.

In early November they said they had foiled a plot to attack pilgrims gathered in Makkah during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and shot dead two "terrorists."

Securing the hajj is the top priority of the5 , 000Saudi police and military deployed in and around Makkah, reported Reuters.

The security forces are also in charge of controlling the vast sea of pilgrims, after stampedes and crushes killed hundreds of people over the last decade, including 14 last year.

"We are ready for anything," Interior Minister Prince Nayef said earlier this week after he toured Makkah ahead of the five-day rite.

Politics

Saudi Arabia insists the hajj, one of the most striking manifestations of faith and unity in the world today, should be solely a religious affair.

But many pilgrims have politics on their mind.

"I feel like any Muslim who comes to the house of God — we want God to give the Islamic nation success, to liberate our land from the Jews and to return the al-Aqsa mosque (in Jerusalem) to Muslims," Palestinian pilgrim Ribhy Yaseen said.

"We hope God will give success to the Muslim people around the world and especially in our region," said Iraqi pilgrim Qadir Khidr.

Saudi officials say over40 , 000Iraqi pilgrims are in Makkah, the biggest number for years after the fall of Saddam Hussein.