Hadj. Nog even en dan mogen we weer naar Mekka.

[sjun]

We gaan zien of er apenpokken verspreid worden via bezoekjes aan de zwarte steen.

[King George]

Nou je het zegt Sjun, hieronder een eerdere quote van je:

Kennelijk is er weinig vertrouwen op Mohammed's Allah. Shirk ligt maar zo in de rede met die verering van de injectienaald.

Staat de Mekkaroute ook bekend als bron van (overdragen van) ziekten? MERS was toch ook zo’n dingetje? En straks in Afghanistan weer meer polio met de Taliban aan de macht. Die Mekkaroute zou zomaar een bron van apenpokken kunnen zijn.

[Mahalingam]

Record Haj numbers: 2.5 million pilgrims expected in Mecca

Filed the restrictions imposed to contain Covid-19, Saudi authorities speak of an edition with numbers higher than before the pandemic. From religious tourism and pilgrimages at least 12 billion dollars in the Wahhabi kingdom's coffers. The climate of détente with Tehran favours a return of Iranian believers. More than 32 thousand health workers ready to intervene in case of emergencies.

Riyadh (AsiaNews) - A "record-breaking" pilgrimage, with numbers even higher than those recorded in the years preceding the Covid-19 pandemic and the restrictions that have characterised the editions of recent years.

Under these auspices the Hajj opened yesterday, the major pilgrimage to Mecca, the most important holy place in Islam and which, according to the Saudi authorities, in 2023 will record "the highest" influx of believers "in history" exceeding the maximum reached so far of 2.5 million./quote]https://www.asianews.it/news-en/Record- ... 58669.html

[Mahalingam]

Als ik het goed begrijp gaat onderstaande over een soort zwartrijders.

More than 17,000 people arrested in Saudi Arabia for attempting to perform Hajj without permit

Security authorities in Saudi Arabia have arrested over 17,000 people up until Friday for attempting to perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage without a permit, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported on July 1.

The Director of Public Security also Head of the Hajj Security Committee, Lieutenant-General Mohammed Al-Bassami, was cited as saying that a total of 17,615 people were arrested, including 9,509 violators of residency, work and border security regulations, and organizers of 105 fake Hajj campaigns in various regions of the Kingdom. They have reportedly all been referred to the Public Prosecution.

According to SPA, Al-Bassami added 202,695 people who did not have a Hajj permit were sent back from the Makkah entry points and 128,999 vehicles that are not licensed to enter Makkah and the holy sites were also returned.

He reportedly said 33 people who transported pilgrims who did not hold Hajj permits were arrested and referred to the seasonal administrative committees under the General Directorate of Passports at the entrances to Makkah to implement the regulations against them.

The Hajj Security Committee head also said that the Hajj security forces implemented the security and organizational plans with high efficiency and professionalism, SPA said.

This year, Hajj began on June 26 and ended on July 1.

Spoiler! :

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is a pilgrimage every adult Muslim must make at least once in their lifetime if they have the means.

Each year, Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of Muslims from abroad traveling on Umrah and Hajj. Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a pilgrimage to Mecca which adult Muslims must make at least one in their lifetime, provided they are physically and financially able. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year.

This year, Saudi Arabia has reportedly allotted a quota of 7,000 pilgrims to Tajikistan. An appropriate agreement on this subject was singed in Arabia Saudi in January this year.

https://www.asiaplustj.info/en/news/wor ... out-permit

[Mahalingam]

Daar hoeven we niet om te treuren. Zij die dood gaan terwijl ze op de Hajj zijn komen in het paradijs. Wat ze in hun leven uitgevroten hebben doet er dan niet meer toe.
En, daar kunnen klimaat freaks blij over zijn: het komt door het klimaat.

2,000 hit by heat stress during Hajj, as at least 230 die from health complications

MECCA, Saudi Arabia — More than 2,000 people have suffered heat stress during the Hajj pilgrimage, Saudi officials said Thursday, after temperatures soared to 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) during the annual rites.

Over 1.8 million Muslim worshipers performed the days-long Hajj, mostly held outdoors at the height of the Saudi desert summer. Many elderly were among the pilgrims after a COVID-era maximum age limit was scrapped.

Saudi officials said about 1,700 heat stress cases were recorded on Thursday alone — as huge numbers of pilgrims remain at the holy sites, a day after the main rituals finished — added to the 287 reported earlier.
“The number of heat stress cases since the beginning of this day has reached 1,721,” the Saudi health ministry said, urging people to stay out of the sun and drink plenty of water.
Officials did not provide a death toll but at least 230 people — many from Indonesia — died during the pilgrimage, according to numbers announced by various countries which did not list causes of death.

According to the consul general of Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim country, at least 209 Indonesians died during the Hajj.
“It is inaccurate to say that a lot of Indonesian pilgrims died because of heat strokes,” said Eko Hartono, adding that causes of death were mostly due to heart and respiratory ailments.
But he did acknowledge that some pilgrims had “fainted” during the days-long pilgrimage “because of the heat.”

Iran’s oldest pilgrim this year, aged 114, died of a heart attack, the semi-official Fars news agency said, reporting 10 Iranian deaths.

Eight Algerians and four Moroccans died, officials said, while an Egyptian pro-government media outlet said eight pilgrims from the country had passed away.

Extreme temperatures

Hundreds of people were treated for heart problems, including one 78-year-old Filipino man who had successful open-heart surgery in Mecca, the health ministry said.

The real figure for heat stress — which includes heatstroke, exhaustion, cramps and rashes — is probably far higher, as many sufferers were not admitted to hospitals or clinics.

People struggling in the heat was a common sight, especially after the day-long outdoor prayers at Mount Arafat where overheating phones shut down and shade was hard to find.

The Hajj has a history of deadly catastrophes, including stampedes and militant attacks, but this year’s main challenge came from the extreme temperatures.

The kingdom dispatched thousands of paramedics and set up field hospitals to help contain the risks. It was the biggest Hajj since 2.5 million visitors came in pre-COVID 2019.

The Gulf climate is so harsh that in 2021, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned parts of it could become uninhabitable by the end of the century due to global warming.

Maximum summer temperatures of 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) could become an annual occurrence by the end of the century, experts say.

https://www.timesofisrael.com/2000-hit- ... lications/

[Ariel]

Hevig onweer teisterde deze week het islamitische bedevaartsoord Mekka in Saudi-Arabië. Op beelden is te zien hoe bedevaarders en medewerkers meegesleurd worden door rukwinden in de buurt van de Grote Moskee. Ook werd de bekende Abraj Al Bait-toren getroffen door een blikseminslag. De overheid van Saudi-Arabië meldde al dat er geen slachtoffers zijn gevallen, maar de bedevaarders zullen hun reis naar Mekka niet snel vergeten.

[Mahalingam]

Arabië is een land van extremen. Maar dat wisten we al.