Haj pilgrims pray tsunami victims
Haj pilgrims pray tsunami victims
Andrew Hammond, Reuters, Mount Arafat, Saudi Arabia
More than two million Muslim pilgrims thronged holy Mount Arafat near Mecca on Wednesday, praying for deliverance after the Asian tsunami disaster claimed thousands of lives.
Most pilgrims said they were asking God for forgiveness and a better future. But among the personal requests were prayers for the nations ravaged by December's giant wave and earthquake off Indonesia which killed more than 175,000 people, mainly Muslims.
"I am praying to God to avert the disasters that are happening to Muslims," said Ethiopian pilgrim Fouad Amin.
"We are praying for them in Indonesia and elsewhere," added Pakistani Asef Iqbal.
Muslims believe God will hear their prayers if they are made within the sacred zone of Mount Arafat, the site of Prophet Mohammad's last sermon 1,400 years ago.
The tsunami disaster has added a poignancy to this year's haj for the thousands of pilgrims from Asia, home to most of the world's billion Muslims.
"O God, I am in Thy presence again, there is no presence like Thine presence, to You is the praise, the power and domain, there is no equal to You," the pilgrims chanted hypnotically.
Saudi Arabia has cranked up its largest security operation for the ritual, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim, fearing attacks or deadly stampedes like one last year that killed 250 people.
"Being at Arafat is the essence of haj," said Khaled Amal, a Burmese who has spent all his life in Saudi Arabia.
About 50,000 police and 7,000 special forces have deployed around Mecca to prevent stampedes, protests or attacks. So far, no major incidents have marred the ritual.
The pro-U.S. Saudi government, under attack from Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network, fears militants might strike during haj. Saudi Arabia's ability to host about two million pilgrims each year is central to the absolute monarchy's legitimacy.
The kingdom's top Muslim cleric, the Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah al-Sheikh urged worshipers during a sermon to "thwart the enemies of the Muslim nation" and "protect the nation and rally around its leaders".
The government also fears protests by pilgrims from Iran, whose rocky relations with Washington have worsened under U.S. President George W. Bush, and Libya, which Riyadh accuses of trying to assassinate Crown Prince Abdullah.
Libyan pilgrims remained orderly, with large Libyan green balloons announcing their presence above their encampment.
As light rose, the outcrop filled with pilgrims from around the world, who carried flags, prayed, ate food and had their pictures taken by industrious hawkers with camels.
"See, people are laughing and praying in all languages of the world!" one Egyptian woman marveled to her companion as she walked through the crowds of pilgrims, beggars and traders.
Pilgrims spend the day at the Arafat plain in the mountains. On Thursday, they will throw stones at pillars on the spot where the devil is said to have appeared to the biblical patriarch Abraham -- the scene of stampedes in past years.
The Muslim feast of Idul Adha begins the same day, with the slaying of livestock in commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at God's command.