The annual Islamic pilgrimage of Hajj began on July 29. The holy structure of the Kaaba situated inside Mecca's Grand Mosque was adorned with a new cover called Kiswa (black cloth). A process administered by the staff of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques following the annual tradition.

'Kaaba' gets new corner as holy Hajj commences  | Mecca Madina | World News

<p>The annual ritual of changing Kiswa (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba) held on July 29 at Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia, where mask-clad pilgrims had gathered to perform the Hajj.</p>

<p>Estimating more than 650 square meters long silk material adorned with over 200kg of gold and silver string, the Kiswa's change is praised yearly as a large number of Muslims give testimony regarding it before the forthcoming Eid Al-Adha.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Upwards of 200 Saudi specialists were occupied with creating the Kiswa at the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, which was supplanted within the sight of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.</p>

<p>Great Mosque of Mecca, Arabic al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, also called Holy Mosque or Haram Mosque, mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, built to enclose the Kaʿbah, the holiest shrine in Islam. As one of the destinations of the hajj and ʿumrah pilgrimages, it receives millions of worshippers each year. The oldest parts of the modern structure date to the 16th century.</p>

<p>The very first construction of the Kaaba was done by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Ismail as a house of worship to one God.<br />
<br />
<em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


The annual ritual of changing Kiswa (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba) held on July 29 at Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia, where mask-clad pilgrims had gathered to perform the Hajj.

The annual ritual of changing Kiswa (Ghilaf-e-Kaaba) held on July 29 at Masjid al-Haram in Saudi Arabia, where mask-clad pilgrims had gathered to perform the Hajj. Estimating more than 650 square meters long silk material adorned with over 200kg of gold and silver string, the Kiswa's change is praised yearly as a large number of Muslims give testimony regarding it before the forthcoming Eid Al-Adha. Upwards of 200 Saudi specialists were occupied with creating the Kiswa at the King Abdul Aziz Complex for Holy Kaaba Kiswa, which was supplanted within the sight of the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques. Great Mosque of Mecca, Arabic al-Masjid al-Ḥarām, also called Holy Mosque or Haram Mosque, mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, built to enclose the Kaʿbah, the holiest shrine in Islam. As one of the destinations of the hajj and ʿumrah pilgrimages, it receives millions of worshippers each year. The oldest parts of the modern structure date to the 16th century. The very first construction of the Kaaba was done by Prophet Ibrahim (peace be upon him) and his son Ismail as a house of worship to one God. (With inputs from agencies)

Holy Kaaba in Makkah gets a new Kiswa

<p>Saudi Arabia has issued new health guidelines for the pilgrims during hajj pilgrimage in Mecca due to the coronavirus pandemic.&nbsp;</p>

<p><strong>Also read:&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/china-challenges-us-to-cut-nuclear-arsenal-to-its-level-311541" hreflang="en">China challenges US to cut nuclear arsenal to its level</a></p>

<p>According to the guidelines, the pilgrims will be allowed to drink the holy water from the Zamzam well in plastic bottles. Pebbles that were used by pilgrims to cast away evils and picked along the hajj route, will be sterilised and bagged.&nbsp;</p>

<p>It will be compulsory for pilgrims to bring their own rugs. Saudi Arabia decided in June to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending the hajj to around 1,000 to prevent the spread of the virus.</p>

<p>Touching the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, will be banned during the hajj this year, and a social distancing space of a meter and a half between each pilgrim during the rituals including mass prayers and while in the Kaaba circling area will be imposed, a statement by the Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) elaborated.</p>

<p>Saudi Arabia is one of the worst-hit middle eastern countries in terms of coronavirus pandemic. The Kingdom witnesses over 3,000 to 4,000 cases daily bringing the total number to over 213,000.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The country has reported 1,968 deaths due to virus.&nbsp;</p>


Saudi Arabia has issued new health guidelines for the pilgrims during hajj pilgrimage in Mecca due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also read: China challenges US to cut nuclear arsenal to its level According to the guidelines, the pilgrims will be allowed to drink the holy water from the Zamzam well in plastic bottles.

Saudi Arabia has issued new health guidelines for the pilgrims during hajj pilgrimage in Mecca due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also read: China challenges US to cut nuclear arsenal to its level According to the guidelines, the pilgrims will be allowed to drink the holy water from the Zamzam well in plastic bottles. Pebbles that were used by pilgrims to cast away evils and picked along the hajj route, will be sterilised and bagged. It will be compulsory for pilgrims to bring their own rugs. Saudi Arabia decided in June to limit the number of domestic pilgrims attending the hajj to around 1,000 to prevent the spread of the virus. Touching the Kaaba, the holiest site in Islam, will be banned during the hajj this year, and a social distancing space of a meter and a half between each pilgrim during the rituals including mass prayers and while in the Kaaba circling area will be imposed, a statement by the Centres for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) elaborated. Saudi Arabia is one of the worst-hit middle eastern countries in terms of coronavirus pandemic. The Kingdom witnesses over 3,000 to 4,000 cases daily bringing the total number to over 213,000. The country has reported 1,968 deaths due to virus.

Bottled holy water, sterilised pebbles: Saudi issues new health guidelines during Hajj

January 12 in history: Transmission of first long-distance radio message from Eiffel Tower and more

<p>The Andhra Pradesh government issued a financial order for extending financial assistance to Hajj pilgrims for expenses other than travel expenditure.</p>

<p>"The assistance will be Rs 60,000 for pilgrims having an annual income less than Rs 3 lakhs, and Rs 30,000 for pilgrims having annual income more than Rs 3 lakhs. The expenditure shall be met from the BE 2019-20 of Andhra Pradesh Hajj Committee for this scheme," read a release by the state government on Tuesday.</p>

<p>Apart from this, the Andhra Pradesh Hajj Committee has also made arrangements for free accommodation and food to Hajj pilgrims from the time of their reporting to the Hajj camp to their departure on the pilgrimage.</p>

<p>The Hajj is an <a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/2-million-pilgrims-begin-annual-hajj-in-mecca-241896">annual Islamic pilgrimage</a> to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. It is scheduled to begin on July 28 and will come to an end on August 2 in 2020.</p>


The Andhra Pradesh government issued a financial order for extending financial assistance to Hajj pilgrims for expenses other than travel expenditure. "The assistance will be Rs 60,000 for pilgrims having an annual income less than Rs 3 lakhs, and Rs 30,000 for pilgrims having annual income more than Rs 3 lakhs.

The Andhra Pradesh government issued a financial order for extending financial assistance to Hajj pilgrims for expenses other than travel expenditure. "The assistance will be Rs 60,000 for pilgrims having an annual income less than Rs 3 lakhs, and Rs 30,000 for pilgrims having annual income more than Rs 3 lakhs. The expenditure shall be met from the BE 2019-20 of Andhra Pradesh Hajj Committee for this scheme," read a release by the state government on Tuesday. Apart from this, the Andhra Pradesh Hajj Committee has also made arrangements for free accommodation and food to Hajj pilgrims from the time of their reporting to the Hajj camp to their departure on the pilgrimage. The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. It is scheduled to begin on July 28 and will come to an end on August 2 in 2020.

Andhra government extends financial assistance to Hajj pilgrims

Muslims at hajj gather on Mount Arafat to atone for sins

More than 2 million pilgrims gathered in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia on Friday to perform initial rites of the hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage that takes the faithful along a path traversed by the Prophet Muhammad some 1,400 years ago.

2 million pilgrims begin annual Hajj in Mecca

<p>Women are finally coming out with their sexual harassment incidents without any hesitation, all thanks to the &quot;MeToo&quot; movement. This time its several women in Islam who have spoken up about sexual experiences at Hajj.</p>

<p>Even holy places are not safe for women anymore. Even at Hajj, at&nbsp;the&nbsp;city of&nbsp;Mecca, where people perform their religious Islamic duties.</p>

<p>Women have now come out to talk about the horrid instances while&nbsp;carrying out&nbsp;<i>tawaf&nbsp;</i>around the Kaaba during&nbsp;their pilgrimage to Mecca.</p>

<p>It all started when a woman named Sabica Khan took to Facebook to share her #MeToo moment at Hajj, and found out that she wasn&rsquo;t alone.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Here is her post from a week back:</p>

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<p>This led to an Egyptian-American feminist and journalist Mona Eltahawy to share her story which dated years back - when she was 15, she is now 50 years old. She was also first talked about her experience of sexual assault during Hajj in 2013.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I have shared my experience of being sexually assaulted during Haj in 1982 when I was 15 in the hope that it will help fellow Muslim women break silence and taboo around their experience of sexual harassment/abuse during Haj/Umra or in sacred spaces. Let&rsquo;s use <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a> <a href="https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX">https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX</a></p>
&mdash; Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) <a href="https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/960701491328712706?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">In 2013, I was 1st person to talk about being sexually assaulted at Haj on Arabic-language <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Egyptian?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Egyptian</a> primetime TV show. In 2015, I wrote about it in my book. I&rsquo;m talking about it now &amp; will keep talking about it until Muslim women are safe from sexual harassment &amp; assault at Haj <a href="https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX">https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX</a></p>
&mdash; Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) <a href="https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/961693550747537412?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>She is the women behind the famous #MosqueMeToo, which has caught several people&#39;s attention and soon became a trending topic on Twitter.&nbsp;</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Thank you again to fellow Muslim women who have shared their own experience at Haj. Love and solidarity. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a> <a href="https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX">https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX</a></p>
&mdash; Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) <a href="https://twitter.com/monaeltahawy/status/960970557603885056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>Muslim men and women from around the world started using the hashtag yesterday and in less than 24 hours it was tweeted 2,000 times. It has gone on to become one of the top ten trends of Farsi Twitter.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a> shows once again that sexual harassment and assault has nothing to do with female modesty. It is not because of what a woman is wearing it is because of how men are taught to look at and think of women.</p>
&mdash; Faranak Amidi (@Faranak_amidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/Faranak_amidi/status/961657700940681218?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 8, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I stand with my sisters who&#39;ve experienced sexual assault in environments they thought would be safe. Terrible people can inhabit holy spaces. It is telling of their own character. As Muslims it is our duty to advocate for our sisters who are facing injustice. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a></p>
&mdash; Hanan (@Onecoldcreative) <a href="https://twitter.com/Onecoldcreative/status/961283707234533376?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 7, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I find it hard to think about Umrah now, something that should have been one of the best memories in my life and should have brought me closer to God just ruined me <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a></p>
&mdash; Mariha Syed (@MarihaSyed) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarihaSyed/status/960995477486366721?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I read about <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a>. It brought me to horrible memories during Hajj 2010. People think Mecca is the holiest place for Moslems so nobody would not do something bad. Totally wrong.</p>
&mdash; Anggi Lagorio (@AnggiAngguni) <a href="https://twitter.com/AnggiAngguni/status/960992880570568704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">I was 10 years old and I thought my sister was gripping my hips as not to lose me in the huge crowd after Jumaa prayer. But my sister was next to me and those turned out to not be my sister&rsquo;s hands.<br />
<br />
He didn&rsquo;t move until she elbowed him away.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MosqueMeToo?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#MosqueMeToo</a></p>
&mdash; K R (@NewtmasGrape) <a href="https://twitter.com/NewtmasGrape/status/962040126665707521?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 9, 2018</a></blockquote>
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<p>&nbsp;</p>


Muslim men and women from around the world started using the hashtag yesterday and in less than 24 hours it was tweeted 2,000 times. It has gone on to become one of the top ten trends of Farsi Twitter

Women are finally coming out with their sexual harassment incidents without any hesitation, all thanks to the "MeToo" movement. This time its several women in Islam who have spoken up about sexual experiences at Hajj. Even holy places are not safe for women anymore. Even at Hajj, at the city of Mecca, where people perform their religious Islamic duties. Women have now come out to talk about the horrid instances while carrying out tawaf around the Kaaba during their pilgrimage to Mecca. It all started when a woman named Sabica Khan took to Facebook to share her #MeToo moment at Hajj, and found out that she wasn’t alone. Here is her post from a week back: × This led to an Egyptian-American feminist and journalist Mona Eltahawy to share her story which dated years back - when she was 15, she is now 50 years old. She was also first talked about her experience of sexual assault during Hajj in 2013. I have shared my experience of being sexually assaulted during Haj in 1982 when I was 15 in the hope that it will help fellow Muslim women break silence and taboo around their experience of sexual harassment/abuse during Haj/Umra or in sacred spaces. Let’s use #MosqueMeToo https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX — Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) February 6, 2018 × In 2013, I was 1st person to talk about being sexually assaulted at Haj on Arabic-language #Egyptian primetime TV show. In 2015, I wrote about it in my book. I’m talking about it now & will keep talking about it until Muslim women are safe from sexual harassment & assault at Haj https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX — Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) February 8, 2018 × She is the women behind the famous #MosqueMeToo, which has caught several people's attention and soon became a trending topic on Twitter. Thank you again to fellow Muslim women who have shared their own experience at Haj. Love and solidarity. #MosqueMeToo https://t.co/uDsZFDolgX — Mona Eltahawy (@monaeltahawy) February 6, 2018 × Muslim men and women from around the world started using the hashtag yesterday and in less than 24 hours it was tweeted 2,000 times. It has gone on to become one of the top ten trends of Farsi Twitter. the #MosqueMeToo shows once again that sexual harassment and assault has nothing to do with female modesty. It is not because of what a woman is wearing it is because of how men are taught to look at and think of women. — Faranak Amidi (@Faranak_amidi) February 8, 2018 × I stand with my sisters who've experienced sexual assault in environments they thought would be safe. Terrible people can inhabit holy spaces. It is telling of their own character. As Muslims it is our duty to advocate for our sisters who are facing injustice. #MosqueMeToo — Hanan (@Onecoldcreative) February 7, 2018 × I find it hard to think about Umrah now, something that should have been one of the best memories in my life and should have brought me closer to God just ruined me #MosqueMeToo — Mariha Syed (@MarihaSyed) February 6, 2018 × I read about #MosqueMeToo. It brought me to horrible memories during Hajj 2010. People think Mecca is the holiest place for Moslems so nobody would not do something bad. Totally wrong. — Anggi Lagorio (@AnggiAngguni) February 6, 2018 × I was 10 years old and I thought my sister was gripping my hips as not to lose me in the huge crowd after Jumaa prayer. But my sister was next to me and those turned out to not be my sister’s hands. He didn’t move until she elbowed him away. #MosqueMeToo — K R (@NewtmasGrape) February 9, 2018 ×

#MosqueMeToo becomes top trend on Twitter after women share sexual harassment stories at Hajj

<p>Terming the policy of allowing Muslim women to perform Haj only in the company of a male guardian as &quot;injustice&quot;, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government has removed the restriction following which hundreds of women have applied to travel alone for the pilgrimage.</p>

<p>According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, now Muslim women aged above 45 will be allowed to go for the pilgrimage without &#39;mahram&#39; in a group of at least four.</p>

<p>In his monthly radio address of &#39;Mann ki baat&#39;, the prime minister said removal of the restriction of having a male guardian or &#39;mahram&#39; may appear as a &quot;small thing&quot;, but such issues &quot;have a far reaching impact on our image as a society&quot;.</p>

<p>He said when he first heard of the restriction, he was surprised as to who wold have drafted such a rule.</p>

<p>&quot;Why this discrimination? And when I went into the depth of the matter I was surprised to find that even after 70 years of our independence, we were the ones who had imposed these restrictions. For decades, injustice was being rendered to Muslim women but there was no discussion on it,&quot; he said in his broadcast.</p>

<p>He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries.</p>

<p>&quot;I am happy to note that this time about 1300 Muslim women have applied to perform Haj without &#39;mahram&#39; and women from different parts of the country from Kerala to north India, have expressed their wish to go for the Haj pilgrimage,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He said he has suggested to the Ministry of Minority Affairs that they should ensure that all women who have applied to travel alone be allowed to perform Haj.</p>

<p>&quot;Usually there is a lottery system for selection of Haj pilgrims but I would like that single women pilgrims should be excluded from this lottery system and they should be given a chance as a special category,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He said it is his firm belief that the journey of India?s progress has been possible due to women-power and on the basis of their talent...It should be our constant endeavour that our women also get equal rights and equal opportunities...,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>While referring to Muslim women and their rights, the prime minister did not mention about the bill passed by Lok Sabha last week which bans the practice of instant triple talaq.</p>

<p>He, however, had referred to the issue of instant triple talaq or &#39;talaq-e-biddat&#39; while inaugurating the 85th Sivagiri Pilgrimage Celebrations at Sivagiri Mutt in Kerala via video conference this morning.</p>

<p>Referring to Christmas, Modi said Jesus Christ taught us about the spirit of service or &#39;sewa bhaav&#39;.</p>

<p>&quot;Be it any religion, caste or creed, tradition or colour in this world; the spirit of service is an invaluable hallmark of the highest human values,&quot; he said.</p>

<p>He also recalled the life of Guru Gobind Singh which was full of instances of courage and sacrifice.</p>

<p>On the 350th anniversary of the Sikh guru, he said Guru Gobind Singh preached the virtues of sublime human values and at the same time, practiced them in his own life in letter and spirit.</p>


Following the removal of restriction, hundreds of women have applied to travel alone for the pilgrimage

Terming the policy of allowing Muslim women to perform Haj only in the company of a male guardian as "injustice", Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said his government has removed the restriction following which hundreds of women have applied to travel alone for the pilgrimage. According to the Ministry of Minority Affairs, now Muslim women aged above 45 will be allowed to go for the pilgrimage without 'mahram' in a group of at least four. In his monthly radio address of 'Mann ki baat', the prime minister said removal of the restriction of having a male guardian or 'mahram' may appear as a "small thing", but such issues "have a far reaching impact on our image as a society". He said when he first heard of the restriction, he was surprised as to who wold have drafted such a rule. "Why this discrimination? And when I went into the depth of the matter I was surprised to find that even after 70 years of our independence, we were the ones who had imposed these restrictions. For decades, injustice was being rendered to Muslim women but there was no discussion on it," he said in his broadcast. He pointed out that such a restriction is not prevalent in many Islamic countries. "I am happy to note that this time about 1300 Muslim women have applied to perform Haj without 'mahram' and women from different parts of the country from Kerala to north India, have expressed their wish to go for the Haj pilgrimage," he said. He said he has suggested to the Ministry of Minority Affairs that they should ensure that all women who have applied to travel alone be allowed to perform Haj. "Usually there is a lottery system for selection of Haj pilgrims but I would like that single women pilgrims should be excluded from this lottery system and they should be given a chance as a special category," he said. He said it is his firm belief that the journey of India?s progress has been possible due to women-power and on the basis of their talent...It should be our constant endeavour that our women also get equal rights and equal opportunities...," he said. While referring to Muslim women and their rights, the prime minister did not mention about the bill passed by Lok Sabha last week which bans the practice of instant triple talaq. He, however, had referred to the issue of instant triple talaq or 'talaq-e-biddat' while inaugurating the 85th Sivagiri Pilgrimage Celebrations at Sivagiri Mutt in Kerala via video conference this morning. Referring to Christmas, Modi said Jesus Christ taught us about the spirit of service or 'sewa bhaav'. "Be it any religion, caste or creed, tradition or colour in this world; the spirit of service is an invaluable hallmark of the highest human values," he said. He also recalled the life of Guru Gobind Singh which was full of instances of courage and sacrifice. On the 350th anniversary of the Sikh guru, he said Guru Gobind Singh preached the virtues of sublime human values and at the same time, practiced them in his own life in letter and spirit.

Muslim women can travel for Haj without male guardian: Prime Minister Modi

<p>The government has accepted a high-level committee&#39;s recommendation of increasing by over three percent the quota of private tour operators sending Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.</p>

<p>The high-level committee formed by the government to frame draft &#39;Haj Policy 2018-2022&#39; had made the recommendation last month.</p>

<p>The committee had recommended that the quota of private tour operators be increased from the present 26.47 percent to 30 percent.</p>

<p>Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has confirmed that the panel&#39;s suggestion has been accepted.</p>

<p>India has an annual Haj quota of 1.70 lakh.</p>

<p>Out of this, according to the allocation for 2017, 1.25 lakh pilgrims could travel to Saudi Arabia through the Haj Committee of India (HCoI).</p>

<p>The private tour operators (PTOs) could transport 45,000 devotees.</p>

<p>The revision of the quota allocation now will mean that 51,000 devotees can travel through the PTOs.</p>

<p>Remaining 1.19 lakh devotees can undertake the journey through the HCoI.</p>

<p>&quot;We have accepted the recommendation. It is a logical recommendation which has been accepted after studying each aspect of the issue including that of interests of the pilgrims,&quot; Naqvi said.</p>

<p>He also said that the categories of PTOs have been increased to three from two.</p>

<p>The private players are categorized based on the number of years they have facilitated pilgrims (more the number of years of operation, higher the category they are put in).</p>

<p>Those, who have successfully completed at least seven years of operations, are put in category 1.</p>

<p>According to a source in the ministry, the allocation revision &quot;should not make much of a difference&quot; for devotees given the Haj subsidy is being gradually reduced in view of a 2012 Supreme Court order.</p>

<p>As per the apex court&#39;s order, the subsidy is to be abolished gradually till 2022.</p>

<p>&quot;Earlier people would seek to go through the HCoI because they would get subsidy. Now the subsidy is being gradually lowered since 2012,&quot; a source said.</p>

<p>&quot;So, it should not make much of a difference to the devotees whether they undertake the journey either through the HCoI or PTOs in future,&quot; the source added.</p>

<p>The source also said that the ministry plans to ensure stricter regulations to see pilgrims are not troubled by PTOs.</p>


The government has accepted a high-level committee's recommendation of increasing by over three percent the quota of private tour operators sending Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia

The government has accepted a high-level committee's recommendation of increasing by over three percent the quota of private tour operators sending Haj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia. The high-level committee formed by the government to frame draft 'Haj Policy 2018-2022' had made the recommendation last month. The committee had recommended that the quota of private tour operators be increased from the present 26.47 percent to 30 percent. Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi has confirmed that the panel's suggestion has been accepted. India has an annual Haj quota of 1.70 lakh. Out of this, according to the allocation for 2017, 1.25 lakh pilgrims could travel to Saudi Arabia through the Haj Committee of India (HCoI). The private tour operators (PTOs) could transport 45,000 devotees. The revision of the quota allocation now will mean that 51,000 devotees can travel through the PTOs. Remaining 1.19 lakh devotees can undertake the journey through the HCoI. "We have accepted the recommendation. It is a logical recommendation which has been accepted after studying each aspect of the issue including that of interests of the pilgrims," Naqvi said. He also said that the categories of PTOs have been increased to three from two. The private players are categorized based on the number of years they have facilitated pilgrims (more the number of years of operation, higher the category they are put in). Those, who have successfully completed at least seven years of operations, are put in category 1. According to a source in the ministry, the allocation revision "should not make much of a difference" for devotees given the Haj subsidy is being gradually reduced in view of a 2012 Supreme Court order. As per the apex court's order, the subsidy is to be abolished gradually till 2022. "Earlier people would seek to go through the HCoI because they would get subsidy. Now the subsidy is being gradually lowered since 2012," a source said. "So, it should not make much of a difference to the devotees whether they undertake the journey either through the HCoI or PTOs in future," the source added. The source also said that the ministry plans to ensure stricter regulations to see pilgrims are not troubled by PTOs.

Government accepts panel's recommendation to hike quota of private Haj tour operators

<p>As this year&rsquo;s hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, draws to a close on Monday. As pilgrims from across the Muslim world begin their journeys back to their home countries, friends, relatives, and fellow countrymen in India and elsewhere can all breathe a sigh of relief. This year&rsquo;s hajj will have concluded with no major loss of life. This is no minor feat.</p>

<p>Every year Saudi Arabia hosts over 2 million pilgrims. And each year, the kingdom spends hundreds of millions of dollars, deploying a small army of medical professionals, traffic experts, and security assets to manage what is easily the world&rsquo;s largest gathering and, arguably, its most ambitious and successful experiment in public health and crowd control.&nbsp;</p>

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<h5>Over the half a century since 1957, Saudi authorities deserve great credit for their steady management of the health, safety, and security of the hajj.</h5>
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<p>The twin tragedies of 2015&rsquo;s hajj season, a construction collapse at the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca and the horrific stampede at the Jamrat Bridge, where perhaps as many as 2,400 were trampled to death, represent major setbacks in an otherwise stellar record of progress. In recent years, Muslims and international observers have become accustomed to a seemingly never-ending string of hajj-related panics ranging from SARS and Swine Flu to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola.</p>

<p>In reality, however, each of these panics has turned out to be non-events. Vaccinations now required in order to obtain pilgrimage visas have decreased the risk of hajj-related meningitis, polio, and yellow fever infections. And setting aside 2015&rsquo;s terrible loss of life, in living memory, the hajj has been remarkably free of catastrophic casualties. Thus, while many have justifiably complained about the tragic events of 2015 or even the wholesale bulldozing and redevelopment of Mecca, making way for gaudy towers, shopping malls, and luxury hotels, to be fair, there is also much to be praised.</p>

<p>To better understand the Saudi monarchy&rsquo;s record of hosting the hajj, we need only to compare it to the colonial-era pilgrimage that they inherited. From the 1860s until even after India and Pakistan gained their independence from the British Empire in 1947, Indian pilgrims endured nearly a century of hajj-related tragedies and scandals. While the advent of industrial steam shipping increased oceanic travel and global commerce, it also had the unintended consequence of globalising epidemic cholera. British steam enabled cholera to leap beyond its previous endemic range in the Ganges Delta.</p>

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<h5>During the 1865 hajj season, cholera struck Mecca, killing an estimated 15,000 pilgrims.</h5>
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<p>Freed from the rhythms of sailing with the monsoon cycle, the costs of transport and the length of passage for Indian Ocean pilgrims were reduced drastically. While previous generations of pilgrims were confined mainly to elite officials, wealthy merchants, and scholars, the steamship made the hajj accessible to ordinary Muslims of modest means.</p>

<p>During the 1865 hajj season, cholera struck Mecca, killing an estimated 15,000 pilgrims. As the surviving pilgrims returned home, they carried cholera in their wake, setting in motion a global pandemic with outbreaks across Egypt, the ports of the Mediterranean, Europe, and even as far away as New York City. The severity of the pandemic focused international attention on cholera prevention for the remainder of the century.</p>

<p>In 1866, an international sanitary conference was held in Istanbul in order to discuss how best to protect Europe from future outbreaks of what was then known as &ldquo;Asiatic cholera.&rdquo; Despite British claims to the contrary, the expert international opinion concluded that cholera was endemic in India&rsquo;s Ganges Valley and nowhere else. As for cholera&rsquo;s mode of transmission, the delegates blamed the unsanitary conditions of Hindu pilgrimage centers within India, as well as the hajj, which they argued was the second stage by which cholera was spread from the subcontinent to Europe.</p>

<p>Between 1831 and World War I, cholera spread from India to Mecca on at least forty separate occasions, ensuring that global outbreaks of cholera were a perennial threat. And in India itself, between 1865 and 1947, at least 23 million Indians died of this dreaded disease.</p>

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<h5>In 1951, the fledgling Saudi state created the Ministry of the Hajj and in 1957 the World Health Organisation finally recognised Saudi Arabia as capable of undertaking full control of the pilgrimage&rsquo;s public health responsibilities.</h5>
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<p>As the relative affordability of the steamship-era hajj made the journey possible for ordinary pilgrims, European colonial administrators and even Muslim officials in India, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire identified cholera as a disease of poverty, blaming its spread on a &ldquo;dangerous class&rdquo; of so-called &ldquo;pauper pilgrims.&rdquo; In essence, international opinion blamed the victims of cholera. In the midst of repeated waves of failed monsoons, drought, and famine, late-nineteenth-century India became fertile ground for the incubation of cholera, malaria, plague, and a host of other epidemic diseases. As historians and ordinary Indians know all too well, these events were no mere accidents of nature, nor were they the fault of poor Muslim pilgrims. Rather, they were man-made catastrophes, born out of the British Raj&rsquo;s unjust rule.</p>

<p>For decades, millions of Muslim men, women, and children crowded into the holds of slow-moving steamers bound for Mecca. Sea sick, clinging to their belongings, and often deprived of clean water and sanitary facilities, hajj pilgrims endured weeks of misery from Bombay or Calcutta to Arabia. The claustrophobic spaces below decks provided the perfect environment for cholera&rsquo;s incubation and spread from one victim to another. As cholera&rsquo;s regular presence on pilgrimage steamers became increasingly predictable, bravely enduring discomfort and facing down an unimaginably horrific death became a normal part of ordinary Muslims&rsquo; hajj experience.</p>

<p>In 1882, the Ottoman Empire opened the Kamaran Island quarantine station just off the coast of Yemen. From 1882 until 1956, pilgrimage vessels arriving from the Indian Ocean were forced to stop on this barren patch of earth jutting out of the Red Sea. Over the years, the Kamaran Island quarantine station became a symbol of the suffering, intimidation, and humiliation endured by colonial-era pilgrims stigmatised as cholera carriers, rather than victims. At the same time, the people of Yemen suffered right alongside India. Ports cities like Aden and Hudaydah found themselves trapped in a kind of epidemiological buffer zone between India and Mecca, victimised by repeated outbreaks of disease in the process.</p>

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<h5>While cholera is nowhere to be found in the gleaming hotels of Mecca, it now afflicts over 500,000 victims in Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen.</h5>
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<p>With the Ottoman Empire&rsquo;s collapse during World War One, the Ottoman quarantine system and the public health of the hajj became a ward of Britain and the other European colonial powers. This was the hajj that the new Kingdom of Saudi Arabia inherited when it conquered Mecca in 1925. In 1951, the fledgling Saudi state created the Ministry of the Hajj and in 1957 the World Health Organisation finally recognised Saudi Arabia as capable of undertaking full control of the pilgrimage&rsquo;s public health responsibilities. Since the &ldquo;decolonisation&rdquo; of the hajj in 1957, Saudi Arabia has worked hard to rehabilitate the pilgrimage&rsquo;s image. And while there have been notable setbacks, like 2015&rsquo;s stampede, over the half a century since 1957, Saudi authorities deserve great credit for their steady management of the health, safety, and security of the hajj.</p>

<p>That said, the hajj is a time for Muslims to reflect on the unity of the faith, regardless of language, class, nationality or even sectarian difference. As Indian hajjis return home safely, the suffering of past pilgrims is especially poignant this year. For although the pilgrimage itself appears to have been free from any major crises, sadly cholera is once again bringing unimaginable horrors to the Arabian Peninsula. And while cholera is nowhere to be found in the gleaming hotels of Mecca, it now afflicts over 500,000 victims in Saudi Arabia&rsquo;s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen.</p>

<p>Yemen has been rocked by repeated waves of civil war and multiple insurgencies since 2011. And over the last two years, it has been devastated by fighting between a Saudi-led military coalition and the country&rsquo;s Houthi rebels (with limited support from Iran). With the complicity of its American and British arms suppliers, Saudi Arabia and its anti-Houthi coalition have repeatedly bombed civilians, closed Yemeni airspace, and imposed a blockade to starve rebel-held areas into submission. In the crossfire, ordinary Yemeni men, women, and children are teetering on the brink of total famine. More than 20 million Yemenis are in need of immediate emergency aid.</p>

<p>Partly due to the total collapse of the country&rsquo;s infrastructure and partly due to the overwhelming malnourishment of the population, Yemen is now home to the world&rsquo;s worst cholera epidemic. It is a man-made tragedy of such horrifying dimensions that they invite comparisons to the callousness and carelessness of a bygone era of colonial oppression, the depths of which perhaps only India can truly comprehend.</p>


While cholera is nowhere to be found in the gleaming hotels of Mecca, it now afflicts over 500,000 victims in Saudi Arabia?s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen.

As this year’s hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, draws to a close on Monday. As pilgrims from across the Muslim world begin their journeys back to their home countries, friends, relatives, and fellow countrymen in India and elsewhere can all breathe a sigh of relief. This year’s hajj will have concluded with no major loss of life. This is no minor feat. Every year Saudi Arabia hosts over 2 million pilgrims. And each year, the kingdom spends hundreds of millions of dollars, deploying a small army of medical professionals, traffic experts, and security assets to manage what is easily the world’s largest gathering and, arguably, its most ambitious and successful experiment in public health and crowd control. Over the half a century since 1957, Saudi authorities deserve great credit for their steady management of the health, safety, and security of the hajj. × The twin tragedies of 2015’s hajj season, a construction collapse at the Grand Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) in Mecca and the horrific stampede at the Jamrat Bridge, where perhaps as many as 2,400 were trampled to death, represent major setbacks in an otherwise stellar record of progress. In recent years, Muslims and international observers have become accustomed to a seemingly never-ending string of hajj-related panics ranging from SARS and Swine Flu to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Ebola. In reality, however, each of these panics has turned out to be non-events. Vaccinations now required in order to obtain pilgrimage visas have decreased the risk of hajj-related meningitis, polio, and yellow fever infections. And setting aside 2015’s terrible loss of life, in living memory, the hajj has been remarkably free of catastrophic casualties. Thus, while many have justifiably complained about the tragic events of 2015 or even the wholesale bulldozing and redevelopment of Mecca, making way for gaudy towers, shopping malls, and luxury hotels, to be fair, there is also much to be praised. To better understand the Saudi monarchy’s record of hosting the hajj, we need only to compare it to the colonial-era pilgrimage that they inherited. From the 1860s until even after India and Pakistan gained their independence from the British Empire in 1947, Indian pilgrims endured nearly a century of hajj-related tragedies and scandals. While the advent of industrial steam shipping increased oceanic travel and global commerce, it also had the unintended consequence of globalising epidemic cholera. British steam enabled cholera to leap beyond its previous endemic range in the Ganges Delta. During the 1865 hajj season, cholera struck Mecca, killing an estimated 15,000 pilgrims. × Freed from the rhythms of sailing with the monsoon cycle, the costs of transport and the length of passage for Indian Ocean pilgrims were reduced drastically. While previous generations of pilgrims were confined mainly to elite officials, wealthy merchants, and scholars, the steamship made the hajj accessible to ordinary Muslims of modest means. During the 1865 hajj season, cholera struck Mecca, killing an estimated 15,000 pilgrims. As the surviving pilgrims returned home, they carried cholera in their wake, setting in motion a global pandemic with outbreaks across Egypt, the ports of the Mediterranean, Europe, and even as far away as New York City. The severity of the pandemic focused international attention on cholera prevention for the remainder of the century. In 1866, an international sanitary conference was held in Istanbul in order to discuss how best to protect Europe from future outbreaks of what was then known as “Asiatic cholera.” Despite British claims to the contrary, the expert international opinion concluded that cholera was endemic in India’s Ganges Valley and nowhere else. As for cholera’s mode of transmission, the delegates blamed the unsanitary conditions of Hindu pilgrimage centers within India, as well as the hajj, which they argued was the second stage by which cholera was spread from the subcontinent to Europe. Between 1831 and World War I, cholera spread from India to Mecca on at least forty separate occasions, ensuring that global outbreaks of cholera were a perennial threat. And in India itself, between 1865 and 1947, at least 23 million Indians died of this dreaded disease. In 1951, the fledgling Saudi state created the Ministry of the Hajj and in 1957 the World Health Organisation finally recognised Saudi Arabia as capable of undertaking full control of the pilgrimage’s public health responsibilities. × As the relative affordability of the steamship-era hajj made the journey possible for ordinary pilgrims, European colonial administrators and even Muslim officials in India, Egypt, and the Ottoman Empire identified cholera as a disease of poverty, blaming its spread on a “dangerous class” of so-called “pauper pilgrims.” In essence, international opinion blamed the victims of cholera. In the midst of repeated waves of failed monsoons, drought, and famine, late-nineteenth-century India became fertile ground for the incubation of cholera, malaria, plague, and a host of other epidemic diseases. As historians and ordinary Indians know all too well, these events were no mere accidents of nature, nor were they the fault of poor Muslim pilgrims. Rather, they were man-made catastrophes, born out of the British Raj’s unjust rule. For decades, millions of Muslim men, women, and children crowded into the holds of slow-moving steamers bound for Mecca. Sea sick, clinging to their belongings, and often deprived of clean water and sanitary facilities, hajj pilgrims endured weeks of misery from Bombay or Calcutta to Arabia. The claustrophobic spaces below decks provided the perfect environment for cholera’s incubation and spread from one victim to another. As cholera’s regular presence on pilgrimage steamers became increasingly predictable, bravely enduring discomfort and facing down an unimaginably horrific death became a normal part of ordinary Muslims’ hajj experience. In 1882, the Ottoman Empire opened the Kamaran Island quarantine station just off the coast of Yemen. From 1882 until 1956, pilgrimage vessels arriving from the Indian Ocean were forced to stop on this barren patch of earth jutting out of the Red Sea. Over the years, the Kamaran Island quarantine station became a symbol of the suffering, intimidation, and humiliation endured by colonial-era pilgrims stigmatised as cholera carriers, rather than victims. At the same time, the people of Yemen suffered right alongside India. Ports cities like Aden and Hudaydah found themselves trapped in a kind of epidemiological buffer zone between India and Mecca, victimised by repeated outbreaks of disease in the process. While cholera is nowhere to be found in the gleaming hotels of Mecca, it now afflicts over 500,000 victims in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen. × With the Ottoman Empire’s collapse during World War One, the Ottoman quarantine system and the public health of the hajj became a ward of Britain and the other European colonial powers. This was the hajj that the new Kingdom of Saudi Arabia inherited when it conquered Mecca in 1925. In 1951, the fledgling Saudi state created the Ministry of the Hajj and in 1957 the World Health Organisation finally recognised Saudi Arabia as capable of undertaking full control of the pilgrimage’s public health responsibilities. Since the “decolonisation” of the hajj in 1957, Saudi Arabia has worked hard to rehabilitate the pilgrimage’s image. And while there have been notable setbacks, like 2015’s stampede, over the half a century since 1957, Saudi authorities deserve great credit for their steady management of the health, safety, and security of the hajj. That said, the hajj is a time for Muslims to reflect on the unity of the faith, regardless of language, class, nationality or even sectarian difference. As Indian hajjis return home safely, the suffering of past pilgrims is especially poignant this year. For although the pilgrimage itself appears to have been free from any major crises, sadly cholera is once again bringing unimaginable horrors to the Arabian Peninsula. And while cholera is nowhere to be found in the gleaming hotels of Mecca, it now afflicts over 500,000 victims in Saudi Arabia’s impoverished southern neighbor, Yemen. Yemen has been rocked by repeated waves of civil war and multiple insurgencies since 2011. And over the last two years, it has been devastated by fighting between a Saudi-led military coalition and the country’s Houthi rebels (with limited support from Iran). With the complicity of its American and British arms suppliers, Saudi Arabia and its anti-Houthi coalition have repeatedly bombed civilians, closed Yemeni airspace, and imposed a blockade to starve rebel-held areas into submission. In the crossfire, ordinary Yemeni men, women, and children are teetering on the brink of total famine. More than 20 million Yemenis are in need of immediate emergency aid. Partly due to the total collapse of the country’s infrastructure and partly due to the overwhelming malnourishment of the population, Yemen is now home to the world’s worst cholera epidemic. It is a man-made tragedy of such horrifying dimensions that they invite comparisons to the callousness and carelessness of a bygone era of colonial oppression, the depths of which perhaps only India can truly comprehend.

Hajj in a time of Cholera: Remembering India?s colonial past and Yemen?s tragic present

<p>The Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in the holiest city for Muslims is due to start from 30th August this year. It is reported that nearly two&nbsp;million Muslims from across the globe will be converging on Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage. The Hajj is a religious duty for those who can afford financially and physically.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Mina is preparing for <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hajj2017?src=hash">#Hajj2017</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hajj?src=hash">#Hajj</a> <a href="https://t.co/SF5lHo6X51">pic.twitter.com/SF5lHo6X51</a></p>
&mdash; Captain ??? ????? &trade; (@ansari_captain) <a href="https://twitter.com/ansari_captain/status/901050110590631941">August 25, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>Saudi&nbsp;Arabia, every year, comes out with a number of people they can accommodate&nbsp;from every country depending on the number of Muslims in the area.</p>

<p>Indonesia is the world&#39;s most populous Muslim nation, and it also provides the largest number of pilgrims for the Hajj. According to this division, Indonesia ranks up highest in terms of Muslims arriving for Hajj in Mecca followed by Pakistan and India in second and third positions.</p>

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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">One of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hajj?src=hash">#Hajj</a> 2017 oldest pilgrims, 104-year-old Mariah Marghani Muhammad of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Indonesia?src=hash">#Indonesia</a> greeted upon landing in Jeddah <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/SaudiWelcomesTheWorld?src=hash">#SaudiWelcomesTheWorld</a> <a href="https://t.co/YEdhB2owGP">pic.twitter.com/YEdhB2owGP</a></p>
&mdash; CIC Saudi Arabia (@CICSaudi) <a href="https://twitter.com/CICSaudi/status/901543841316188160">August 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Subhan Allah ?<br />
The arrival of Indonesian Hajj group at Madinah Airport. Hajis reciting salawat while they are waiting at immigration. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Hajj?src=hash">#Hajj</a> <a href="https://t.co/LcB7xuvQne">pic.twitter.com/LcB7xuvQne</a></p>
&mdash; Wasim Bari???? ???? (@wasim_dr) <a href="https://twitter.com/wasim_dr/status/900721744553660417">August 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<p>As reported by AFP, a 47-year-old woman named Eni from Indonesia said, &quot;I&#39;m so excited because many people dream of coming to this place.&nbsp;We feel more religious when we leave this place.&quot;</p>

<p>Eni&#39;s compatriots throng Jeddah airport 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Mecca, as tens of thousands of pilgrims pass through the gateway to the Hajj every day. Eni is, however, oblivious to any of this and she continues to study the Koran in&nbsp;distressing heat.&nbsp;</p>

<p>She said, &quot;After my first pilgrimage I felt I wanted to come back to feel myself close to him.&quot; She referred to the Prophet Mohammed in this statement before returning&nbsp;to reading the Islam&#39;s holy book.</p>

<p>Hajj, according to Islam, is one of the five pillars of the religion.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Abdelmajeed Mohammad Al-Afghani, director of Hajj and Umra (lesser pilgrimage) affairs said to AFP, &quot;This year we expect around two million pilgrims.&quot;</p>

<p>In a turn of events, this year will see the return of&nbsp;pilgrims from Shiite Iran, a regional rival to Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia. This, when the entire Gulf region is clouded in a political crisis with an increase in violence in the area because of the&nbsp;Islamic State group jihadists.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Last year, pilgrims from Iran had not attended following a deadly&nbsp;Mecca stampede&nbsp;that killed nearly 2,300 pilgrims. It was the worst catastrophe in the history of the Hajj, with 464 people from the Islamic Republic of Iran among the dead.</p>

<p>After the disaster, Iran came out against&nbsp;Saudi Arabia&#39;s organisation of the Hajj. It resulted in the severing of diplomatic relations between the two. The two countries have now moved past it.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Speaking on the incident,&nbsp;Slimane Zeghidour, author of &quot;La vie quotidienne &agrave; La Mecque: De Mahomet &agrave; nos jours&quot; (Daily Life in Mecca from Mohammed to Today) said,&nbsp;&quot;To politicise an event like this does no good.&quot;</p>

<p>For&nbsp;author Zeghidour, going on the Hajj takes pilgrims to another level altogether. &quot;The pilgrim has to run, move, and perform several stages&quot; of the ritual.</p>

<p>He said,&nbsp;&quot;It is so physically and mentally demanding that he doesn&#39;t have time to think about the crisis in the Gulf. For him this is literature. Many pilgrims come from Asia or Africa, far from the Middle East, and they come to a place where they can try to forget their lives back home.&quot;</p>

<p>But this is not the only occasion on which Saudi Arabia has been accused of politicising the Hajj. For almost three months, there ensued a political crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Saudi boycotting the latter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>In the wake of making amends, Saudi Arabia has announced relaxing certain restrictions for Hajj pilgrims from Qatar.&nbsp;</p>

<p>(WION)</p>


Saudi Arabia relaxes certain restrictions imposed on Hajj pilgrims from Qatar

The Hajj, an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, in the holiest city for Muslims is due to start from 30th August this year. It is reported that nearly two million Muslims from across the globe will be converging on Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the pilgrimage. The Hajj is a religious duty for those who can afford financially and physically. Mina is preparing for #Hajj2017 #Hajj pic.twitter.com/SF5lHo6X51 — Captain ??? ????? ™ (@ansari_captain) August 25, 2017 × Saudi Arabia, every year, comes out with a number of people they can accommodate from every country depending on the number of Muslims in the area. Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation, and it also provides the largest number of pilgrims for the Hajj. According to this division, Indonesia ranks up highest in terms of Muslims arriving for Hajj in Mecca followed by Pakistan and India in second and third positions. One of #Hajj 2017 oldest pilgrims, 104-year-old Mariah Marghani Muhammad of #Indonesia greeted upon landing in Jeddah #SaudiWelcomesTheWorld pic.twitter.com/YEdhB2owGP — CIC Saudi Arabia (@CICSaudi) August 26, 2017 × Subhan Allah ? The arrival of Indonesian Hajj group at Madinah Airport. Hajis reciting salawat while they are waiting at immigration. #Hajj pic.twitter.com/LcB7xuvQne — Wasim Bari???? ???? (@wasim_dr) August 24, 2017 × As reported by AFP, a 47-year-old woman named Eni from Indonesia said, "I'm so excited because many people dream of coming to this place. We feel more religious when we leave this place." Eni's compatriots throng Jeddah airport 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Mecca, as tens of thousands of pilgrims pass through the gateway to the Hajj every day. Eni is, however, oblivious to any of this and she continues to study the Koran in distressing heat. She said, "After my first pilgrimage I felt I wanted to come back to feel myself close to him." She referred to the Prophet Mohammed in this statement before returning to reading the Islam's holy book. Hajj, according to Islam, is one of the five pillars of the religion. Abdelmajeed Mohammad Al-Afghani, director of Hajj and Umra (lesser pilgrimage) affairs said to AFP, "This year we expect around two million pilgrims." In a turn of events, this year will see the return of pilgrims from Shiite Iran, a regional rival to Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia. This, when the entire Gulf region is clouded in a political crisis with an increase in violence in the area because of the Islamic State group jihadists. Last year, pilgrims from Iran had not attended following a deadly Mecca stampede that killed nearly 2,300 pilgrims. It was the worst catastrophe in the history of the Hajj, with 464 people from the Islamic Republic of Iran among the dead. After the disaster, Iran came out against Saudi Arabia's organisation of the Hajj. It resulted in the severing of diplomatic relations between the two. The two countries have now moved past it. Speaking on the incident, Slimane Zeghidour, author of "La vie quotidienne à La Mecque: De Mahomet à nos jours" (Daily Life in Mecca from Mohammed to Today) said, "To politicise an event like this does no good." For author Zeghidour, going on the Hajj takes pilgrims to another level altogether. "The pilgrim has to run, move, and perform several stages" of the ritual. He said, "It is so physically and mentally demanding that he doesn't have time to think about the crisis in the Gulf. For him this is literature. Many pilgrims come from Asia or Africa, far from the Middle East, and they come to a place where they can try to forget their lives back home." But this is not the only occasion on which Saudi Arabia has been accused of politicising the Hajj. For almost three months, there ensued a political crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Saudi boycotting the latter. In the wake of making amends, Saudi Arabia has announced relaxing certain restrictions for Hajj pilgrims from Qatar. (WION)

Two million pilgrims converge on Mecca for hajj

The haj is no longer an old person&#39;s ritual as a new generation of youthful Muslim pilgrims has transformed both the annual rites and Mecca itself.<br />
<br />
&quot;The younger you are, the easier it is,&quot; says Saniah, a British pilgrim who, at 25, was on her second trip to Islam&#39;s holiest site in Saudi Arabia.<br />
<br />
&quot;Twelve years ago my family and I came for umrah,&quot; the lesser pilgrimage which can be performed throughout the year, she says, elegantly veiled in green and black.<br />
<br />
This year, Saniah returned for the haj because it is a religious obligation and &quot;a radical change of life&quot;, said the Briton, preferring not to give her last name.<br />
<br />
Saniah is among roughly 1.5 million people from across the world attending the haj which formally began on Saturday.<br />
<br />
The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.<br />
<br />
A can of soft drink in one hand and a cone of French fries in the other, Saniah eats with her husband at one of the many modern commercial centres dotted around the Grand Mosque in Mecca after performing Friday prayers.<br />
<br />
&quot;In early generations young people waited to be old before doing the pilgrimage,&quot; Saniah says.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
&quot;But the new generations, we&#39;re more aware of our religious obligations.&quot;<br />
<br />
Smiling, she adds that the long haj marches and prayers under a burning sun &quot;are easier to bear when you&#39;re young&quot;.<br />
<br />
Omar Saghi, author of &quot;Paris-Mecca, Sociology of the Pilgrimage&quot;, says the haj is no longer &quot;the mystical horizon of an entire life but a rational event&quot; which has become almost routine.<br />
<br />
Mohammed, 33, who travelled to the haj with his wife from Paris, says a number of their friends have already performed the haj.<br />
<br />
Their travel agency told them it is also sending many other young couples.<br />
<br />
&quot;The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam,&quot; says Mohammed, a physical education teacher.<br />
<br />
&quot;It&#39;s an obligation and so, as soon as we had the means and while we&#39;re healthy, we decided to do it,&quot; he says, waiting in line at a luminous fast food counter with his wife Madiha, 28, a student of education science.<br />
<br />
&quot;Rather than buy material things like a car, better to spend our money on something that is going to benefit us on a spiritual level,&quot; she says.<br />
<br />
Mohamed Khazma, who works on the security team at a hospital in Tripoli, Libya, is searching for a table to eat his fried chicken.<br />
<br />
At 27, he says he is delighted he was able to gather enough money to come to Mecca, because &quot;it&#39;s an opportunity that not everybody has&quot;.<br />
<br />
The rising number of such young people, &quot;more educated and already used to tourism and mass consumption&quot;, has slowly helped to change the face of Mecca, the author Saghi says.<br />
<br />
&quot;The big (advertising) signs, the big companies, capture this new clientele that the classical market of hotels and family restaurants can&#39;t satisfy,&quot; he says.<br />
<br />
Saniah recalls that, during her first visit to Mecca 12 years ago, they ate in the street.<br />
<br />
&quot;It&#39;s a lot better (now). We have the option of five-star service.&quot;<br />
<br />
Khazma, however, wants nothing to do with the shopping centres, their air conditioning, restaurants and shops.<br />
<br />
&quot;I forget all of that,&quot; says the young man with a short trimmed beard and long grey jalabiya robe.<br />
<br />
&quot;I take my Koran, some dates and some water and I stay in the Grand Mosque from afternoon until the middle of the night,&quot; says Khazma.<br />
<br />
Mohammed also says he is sometimes uncomfortable with all the modern conveniences which are &quot;very far from the time of Abraham and the harshness of the desert&quot; thousands of years ago.<br />
<br />
He says he and his wife were obliged to accept their travel agent&#39;s plan and hotel to perform the pilgrimage in the footsteps, they believe, of the Prophet Mohammed and Abraham before him.<br />
<br />
&quot;But we often wonder if all of that is in line with our spiritual quest,&quot; Mohammed says.<br />
<br />
&quot;The shops, the luxury, the commercial centres, it clouds the spiritual&nbsp;<br />
<br />
(AFP)<br />
&nbsp;

A new generation of youthful Muslim pilgrims has transformed both the annual rites and Mecca itself

The haj is no longer an old person's ritual as a new generation of youthful Muslim pilgrims has transformed both the annual rites and Mecca itself. "The younger you are, the easier it is," says Saniah, a British pilgrim who, at 25, was on her second trip to Islam's holiest site in Saudi Arabia. "Twelve years ago my family and I came for umrah," the lesser pilgrimage which can be performed throughout the year, she says, elegantly veiled in green and black. This year, Saniah returned for the haj because it is a religious obligation and "a radical change of life", said the Briton, preferring not to give her last name. Saniah is among roughly 1.5 million people from across the world attending the haj which formally began on Saturday. The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives. A can of soft drink in one hand and a cone of French fries in the other, Saniah eats with her husband at one of the many modern commercial centres dotted around the Grand Mosque in Mecca after performing Friday prayers. "In early generations young people waited to be old before doing the pilgrimage," Saniah says. "But the new generations, we're more aware of our religious obligations." Smiling, she adds that the long haj marches and prayers under a burning sun "are easier to bear when you're young". Omar Saghi, author of "Paris-Mecca, Sociology of the Pilgrimage", says the haj is no longer "the mystical horizon of an entire life but a rational event" which has become almost routine. Mohammed, 33, who travelled to the haj with his wife from Paris, says a number of their friends have already performed the haj. Their travel agency told them it is also sending many other young couples. "The haj is one of the five pillars of Islam," says Mohammed, a physical education teacher. "It's an obligation and so, as soon as we had the means and while we're healthy, we decided to do it," he says, waiting in line at a luminous fast food counter with his wife Madiha, 28, a student of education science. "Rather than buy material things like a car, better to spend our money on something that is going to benefit us on a spiritual level," she says. Mohamed Khazma, who works on the security team at a hospital in Tripoli, Libya, is searching for a table to eat his fried chicken. At 27, he says he is delighted he was able to gather enough money to come to Mecca, because "it's an opportunity that not everybody has". The rising number of such young people, "more educated and already used to tourism and mass consumption", has slowly helped to change the face of Mecca, the author Saghi says. "The big (advertising) signs, the big companies, capture this new clientele that the classical market of hotels and family restaurants can't satisfy," he says. Saniah recalls that, during her first visit to Mecca 12 years ago, they ate in the street. "It's a lot better (now). We have the option of five-star service." Khazma, however, wants nothing to do with the shopping centres, their air conditioning, restaurants and shops. "I forget all of that," says the young man with a short trimmed beard and long grey jalabiya robe. "I take my Koran, some dates and some water and I stay in the Grand Mosque from afternoon until the middle of the night," says Khazma. Mohammed also says he is sometimes uncomfortable with all the modern conveniences which are "very far from the time of Abraham and the harshness of the desert" thousands of years ago. He says he and his wife were obliged to accept their travel agent's plan and hotel to perform the pilgrimage in the footsteps, they believe, of the Prophet Mohammed and Abraham before him. "But we often wonder if all of that is in line with our spiritual quest," Mohammed says. "The shops, the luxury, the commercial centres, it clouds the spiritual (AFP)

Young hajis transform Mecca pilgrimage

Undeterred by a stampede that killed about &nbsp;2,300 people last year, about 1.5 million Muslims from Asia, Africa and points in between, begin the annual hajj in western Saudi Arabia today, AFP reported.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
The city of Mecca receives 20 million visitors annually, but around three million pilgrims of a religion, that has around 1.5 billion followers worldwide, visit the city during the annual pilgrimage.<br />
<br />
This year, however, tens of thousands of Iranians are absent because of long-running tensions between their Shiite nation and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. The tensions have increased between the two countries after last year&#39;s stampede killed 464 Iranian pilgrims, according to AFP. &nbsp;<br />
<br />
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<strong>Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam&nbsp;</strong><br />
<br />
The pilgrims will complete preliminary rituals in Mecca at the Grand Mosque first and will start moving today, taking buses, trains or even on foot to Mina, about five kilometres east.&nbsp;<br />
<br />
During hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims retrace the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.<br />
<br />
Traditionally, the first day of Hajj offers a chance for the pilgrims to give water to their animals and store water. The pilgrims then proceed to Mount Arafat, for the peak of Hajj.&nbsp;<br />
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<h5>During hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims retrace the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago.</h5>
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They then proceed to Mina, where white fireproof tents are set up for shelter. The tents can accommodate 2.6 million people.&nbsp;<br />
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Mina becomes their base, where an expanse of white fireproof tents can accommodate 2.6 million pilgrims.<br />
<br />
<strong>Hajj to boost economy</strong><br />
<br />
Ossama Fadhul al Bar, mayor of Mecca, has said large crowds will benefit the economy.<br />
<br />
&quot;For the state, the Hajj is a cost center, but for the private sector, it&#39;s a profit center. On an average, two million pilgrims contribute 17 billion dollars to the housing sector, 200 million to transportation and about 1.2 billion to the food and beverage sector. It&#39;s a season that has a huge impact on the city&#39;s economy.&quot;<br />
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The kingdom also has an ambitious plan to expand the holy mosques, widen roads, and build trains and other transport infrastructure.&nbsp;<br />
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The first phase is expected to cost 120 billion Dollars, reports Reuters.<br />
<br />
Till now the Mosque has been expanded from 300,000 to 1.5 million square metres. Its capacity has increased from 600,000 worshippers to two million.<br />
<br />
(WION with inputs from agencies)&nbsp;

Due to long-running tensions between Shia Iran and Sunni Saudi Arabia, thousands of Iranians will be absent this year

Undeterred by a stampede that killed about 2,300 people last year, about 1.5 million Muslims from Asia, Africa and points in between, begin the annual hajj in western Saudi Arabia today, AFP reported. The city of Mecca receives 20 million visitors annually, but around three million pilgrims of a religion, that has around 1.5 billion followers worldwide, visit the city during the annual pilgrimage. This year, however, tens of thousands of Iranians are absent because of long-running tensions between their Shiite nation and Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia. The tensions have increased between the two countries after last year's stampede killed 464 Iranian pilgrims, according to AFP. Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam The pilgrims will complete preliminary rituals in Mecca at the Grand Mosque first and will start moving today, taking buses, trains or even on foot to Mina, about five kilometres east. During hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims retrace the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago. Traditionally, the first day of Hajj offers a chance for the pilgrims to give water to their animals and store water. The pilgrims then proceed to Mount Arafat, for the peak of Hajj. During hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, Muslims retrace the footsteps of Prophet Mohammed who performed the same rituals about 1,400 years ago. They then proceed to Mina, where white fireproof tents are set up for shelter. The tents can accommodate 2.6 million people. Mina becomes their base, where an expanse of white fireproof tents can accommodate 2.6 million pilgrims. Hajj to boost economy Ossama Fadhul al Bar, mayor of Mecca, has said large crowds will benefit the economy. "For the state, the Hajj is a cost center, but for the private sector, it's a profit center. On an average, two million pilgrims contribute 17 billion dollars to the housing sector, 200 million to transportation and about 1.2 billion to the food and beverage sector. It's a season that has a huge impact on the city's economy." The kingdom also has an ambitious plan to expand the holy mosques, widen roads, and build trains and other transport infrastructure. The first phase is expected to cost 120 billion Dollars, reports Reuters. Till now the Mosque has been expanded from 300,000 to 1.5 million square metres. Its capacity has increased from 600,000 worshippers to two million. (WION with inputs from agencies)

Nearly 1.5 million Muslims begin annual haj in Saudi Arabia's Mecca

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