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12 September 4, 2016 Spotlight The pilgrimage to ecstatic about journey to Mecca

Mostafa Abulezz grims — among them 464 Iranians and 182 Egyptians — died in a stam- pede at the haj, according to tallies from foreign officials. The official death toll from the Saudi govern- ike hundreds of thousands ment was 760. of other at airports It was the deadliest stampede in around the world, Egyptian haj history and fuelled historic ten- pilgrims have been saying sions between conservative Sunni their farewells at Cairo air- and its regional rival, Lport before leaving for Saudi Arabia Shia Iran. to perform the haj in the tradition, they believe, of the Prophet Mo- Many Muslims still hammad and before him. dream of going to Every year tens of thousands of Mecca — even those Egyptians apply for visas to travel who have already to Mecca to join more than 2.5 mil- made repeated lion Muslims from across the world pilgrimages. at the pilgrimage. “When I was chosen, I couldn’t Saudi authorities announced new believe it,” said Afaf Hasan Rifai, security measures for the haj this who was selected by ’s author- year, including electronic bracelets ities to perform the haj to start early and a reduced period for the stoning in September. ritual during which the deaths took “I started crying and I prostrated place. to ,” she said, her beaming hus- Over the centuries, the ritual — band standing next to her outside seen as an elusive moment of Mus- the terminal late on August 26th. lim unity gathering all nationalities Nearby a policeman pushed a and classes — has not been spared wheelchair carrying an elderly the vicissitudes of the . woman with a cane into the termi- There was the time when the Qar- nal. matians, a sanguinary sect that con- trolled present-day Bahrain in the Every year tens of Egyptian pilgrims at the Cairo International Airport on August 25th, 2016, on their way to the annual tenth century, descended on Mecca haj in the Islamic holy cities of Mecca and in Saudi Arabia. thousands of to put an end to what they viewed Egyptians apply for as superstition. visas to travel to They killed thousands of pilgrims white-turbaned Rahmo as he wait- tember 9th and lasts for six days. el for a yearly pilgrimage. Mecca to join more and made off with the sacred Black ed outside the Cairo airport termi- Men will wear seamless white Hesham Edwan, the director of than 2.5 million Stone of the , breaking it into nal. “To visit the Prophet (his tomb clothes and women modest Islamic the crossing, said on August Muslims from across several pieces before ransoming it to and in Medina), this is the garb and circumambulate the Kaaba 30th that nearly 2,500 people were the world. the Abbasid caliphate. greatest happiness. And to visit the seven times. They will walk between expected to leave in the coming In 1979, apocalyptic jihadists took Kaaba. This is my third time.” two neighbouring hills seven times, days. over the Grand Mosque in Mecca His son, Rahmo Mohamed Ibra- emulating Abraham’s wife Hajar’s Rafah is Gaza’s main gateway to Every Muslim who can undertake and held pilgrims hostage before him, said “everyone” would seize search for water, then symbolically the outside world. Egypt has kept the journey is expected to perform special forces flushed them out. the chance to perform the haj if al- cast stones at the . Rafah largely sealed since 2013, the pilgrimage at least once in his Many pilgrims, especially the el- lowed. The cathartic ritual, which pil- when ties with Hamas worsened af- or her lifetime but it can also be per- derly, have died amid the massive “Every person wishes to visit the grims believe cleanses them of , ter the ouster of Egypt’s elected Is- formed on behalf of another follow- crowds while performing the rites. houses of God and to perform the is “spiritual bliss”, said Ibrahim. lamist president Morsi. er of the faith who is unable to do so. Still, many Muslims still dream pilgrimage and fulfil his obligation,” “There is nothing better than Cairo accuses the Islamic militant Muslims have travelled to Mecca of going — even those who have al- said Ibrahim, 53. this,” he said. group, which rules Gaza, of support- for the haj since the seventh centu- ready made repeated pilgrimages, The rituals, believed to date to the Hamas announced that Egypt has ing militants in the Sinai Peninsula, ry, when they say that God ordained such as 93-year-old Salem Ibrahim time of Abraham — whom Muslims opened its border crossing with the allegations denied by Hamas. it in the . Rahmo. say built the original Kaaba as the for three days, allowing Last year, more than 2,200 pil- “I’m happy as can be,” said the first house of worship — begins Sep- hundreds of Muslim faithful to trav- (Agence France-Presse) Haj, a trip of a lifetime

Viewpoint ou see a of The haj seeks to unify the Mus- pilgrims wearing The lim nation by accepting individu- white in Tunis- world’s als and not having a single view of Carthage Interna- largest what is Islamically correct. tional Airport The journey evokes the story of preparing to travel to annual that patient woman, Hager, wife YMecca to perform haj. gathering of Abraham. Millions of pilgrims — You see pilgrims smiling as they does not men and women — have to follow say their goodbyes as their loved push her footsteps between Safa and ones shed tears to see them leave. Marwa as part of their religious Amine The goodbyes are often long as individuals rituals. This alone is a testimony Ben Messaoud those travelling and those bidding to form a that the understanding of the them farewell usually arrive at the consensus Islamic faith should not be based airport well ahead of flight depar- on patriarchal biases. ture time. but rather Her original footsteps were in The haj is a religious obligation stresses search of water to provide for the for every Muslim who is able — the right livelihood of her son Ismail — and physically and financially — to to be this, too, has a lesson for us today. make the journey. Other rituals have their own “Fortune comes to those who different. symbolic messages. The circling wait” is probably muttered by a of the Kaaba or the kissing of its lot of the pilgrims, many of whom black stone or the symbolic ston- had to wait decades to make the ing of the devil — all indicate that trip. Some had spent many years what truly matters is not in the saving money for the trip, which physical buildings but what they this year costs about $4,500. signify. The majority of the pilgrims Those with Islamic State (ISIS) patiently waited in line under the mentalities fail to see the symbol- seniority system, with their hearts ism beyond the stones. As they yearning to follow in the footsteps A 2015 file picture shows Muslim pilgrims praying around the condemn the visiting of revered of Abraham. They have longed to holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque ahead of the annual haj in tombs, they forget that the signifi- breathe the air of the holy cities of Mecca. cance is in the meaning and not Mecca and Medina. the structure of the site. It is indeed fascinating to see Those who fight mere stones are how millions of people, who by same place and time as each other. other as well as forgiveness. themselves made of stone, while nature favour stability, travel to What is more fascinating is that The pilgrims, who are different those who seek to preserve ar- carry out a religious ritual in the many of those people, once they in colour, heritage, traditions and chaeological sites are made of the return home, feel a strong urge to languages, are all unified in the stuff that heritage is made from. visit the again. white garments that they wear. The haj journey is not just a It is maybe because everything Their presence in one place is a physical experience but also a The haj journey is not just in Mecca — from trees to stones — symbol of accepting one another, a spiritual and an intellectual one. It a physical experience but and everything in the surrounding cohesion between civilisations. is also one where people connect holy areas of Mina valley, Arafa The world’s largest annual with their inner selves as well as also a spiritual and an and Muzdalifa evokes the early gathering does not push individu- with others. It is a true experience intellectual one. story of . From Abraham to als to form a consensus but rather of rebirth. the Prophet Mohammad, peace be stresses the right to be different upon them, the intended message — sociologically, historically and Amine Ben Messaoud is a of Islam is knowing and loving the culturally. Tunisian writer.