www.aljazeera.net More than two million Muslim pilgrims symbolically stoned the devil-stoning at this year’s hajj putting to the test new safety measures.
Saudi Arabia attacked Iraq for marring the spirit of the hajj, one of the world's biggest displays of mass religious devotion which is a duty for able-bodied Muslims with the means.
Eid al-Adha, the most important day in the Islamic calendar, marked the beginning of the three-day stoning ritual at the Jamarat Bridge when pilgrims symbolically cast out sins.
With such large crowds, Saudi Arabia deployed more than 50,000 security men to try to avoid deadly stampedes.
Hundreds of thousands of elated pilgrims, clad in white robes symbolising equality and selflessness, managed to move over the Jamarat Bridge without incident.
In the worst hajj tragedy in 16 years, 362 pilgrims were crushed to death in January as crowds surged across the bridge to throw stones at three large walls representing the spot where Islam says Satan tempted the biblical patriarch Abraham.
"Circulation has been fluid, people have managed to get on and off the bridge with ease," said Zohra Qanqum from Morocco.
New construction work allowed 250,000 pilgrims to pass over the bridge in safety each hour.
For the first time, Saudi authorities also removed most of the pilgrim squatters who in past years have set up tents at the side of the bridge.
"This is incomparable to previous years. I managed to throw my stones in less than an hour early in the morning," said Mohammed Abdel-Jabbar from Sudan.
Saudi government-backed clerics have encouraged pilgrims to stone throughout the day, challenging those who insist on the afternoon and thus risk a surge of pilgrims at one time.
Pilgrims, mostly moving on foot, cover a 44km circuit around Mecca during the gruelling five-day ritual.
Saudi officials said 2.4 million pilgrims were performing hajj. But with hundreds of thousands of local residents sneaking into Mecca without official permits, the total number could be closer to three million.
|