Faithful await hajj on historic Saudi mountaintop

The pilgrims face new safety measures, including tighter security and ID bracelets, in a bid to prevent a repeat of last year’s disaster.

The stampede had killed around 2,300 people and with this new system Saudi Arabia hopes to reassure pilgrims that such situation will not arise again. “Everybody has a heart'”.

Millions of Muslims from around the world have started arriving in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca ahead of the annual Hajj pilgrimage, a central pillar of the Islamic faith that re-enacts the actions of the Prophet Muhammad from more than 1,400 years ago.

Iran has cancelled the participation of tens of thousands of its pilgrims in this year’s Hajj pilgrimage, which starts on Saturday, due to Saudi Arabia’s creation of obstacles in the way of Iranians seeking to perform the rituals.

A total of 33 Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims died of old age and various illnesses in Saudi Arabia between August 7 and September 8. Saudi Arabia claims that almost 770 people were killed in the incident.

G4S is well known for its work in Israel, where it has worked for the government in upholding the occupation of the Palestinian Territories – this means many Muslims would be outraged at Saudi Arabia working with G4S.

The need for the extra space became tragically clear after a stampede of people completing Hajj, or pilgrimage, past year killed at least 719 people and injured 863 others in Mina, a village outside of Mecca.

His Saudi counterpart Mohammed Bentin told him there were concerns that Iranians would try to “convert” Sunnis to their Shiite branch of Islam, Ohadi said. “Many Muslims believe that once they do the hajj, all their previous sins will be forgiven by Allah, and they will become sinless as the day they were born”.

With respect to the victims who belong to the countries, Al Saud insulted the families of the killed pilgrims by blaming them for the death of their sons, forcing them to pay the amounts of money needed to regain the corpses, and rejecting to conduct serious investigations which lead to trying the culprits.

Iran did not send pilgrims to the hajj in 1988 and 1989, while Saudi Arabia severed diplomatic ties over the violence and Iranian attacks on shipping in the Gulf during the Iran-Iraq war. Saudi’s grand mufti countered by claiming that Iranians were “not Muslims”.

It is the world’s biggest annual gathering of people and all Muslims are expected to do Haj at least once in their lifetime, provided they are well enough and can afford to do it.

Iran has called for an independent body to take over administering the five-day hajj, something the Al Saud family has refused.

Protesters also chanted slogans against the US, Britain and Israel. But protesters offered their harshest criticism for Saudi Arabia.