http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...034&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
244 killed in haj tragedy
RAWYA RAGEH
ASSOCIATED PRESS
MINA, Saudi Arabia—At least 244 people were trampled to death and hundreds more hurt yesterday under the crush of worshippers in one of the deadliest disasters during the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
The stampede occurred during the stoning of the devil, an emotional and notoriously perilous haj ritual. Pilgrims throw rocks, shout insults or hurl their shoes at three stone pillars to demonstrate deep disdain for Satan.
Safety measures were in place at the site — one where fatal stampedes have been frequent — but "caution isn't stronger than fate," said Saudi Haj Minister Iyad Madani. "All precautions were taken to prevent such an incident, but this is God's will."
The stampede broke out on one of two ramps leading to the 15-metre stone pillars. Tens of thousands of people were on the uppermost ramp, which is about the width of a five-lane highway.
Authorities said a few pilgrims fell, causing panic as pressure built up in the crowd behind.
Brig. Mansour al-Turki of the Saudi General Security Forces said about 10,000 security officers were on duty in the area at the time. Their intervention "resulted in containing the pushing toward the pillar to prevent more pilgrims from falling," an unidentified interior ministry official told the state-run Saudi Press Agency.
The same area was the scene of similar deadly incidents in 1998, 2001 and last year. Yesterday's tragedy marked the worst disaster at the annual haj since 1997, when 340 pilgrims died in a fire at their tent city in Mina, near the holy city of Mecca.
Most of the dead yesterday were pilgrims from inside the kingdom who may not have been authorized to participate, Madani said. It was unclear how many foreign pilgrims died, but Egypt's Middle East News Agency reported 13 Egyptians were among the dead.
Madani also said 272 pilgrims had died of natural causes during the haj, the pilgrimage all Muslims who can afford it are asked to make at least once in a lifetime. About two million Muslims, many of them elderly, are participating in this year's pilgrimage.
"Think of 20 Super Bowls altogether," Khaled Maeena, editor of the Saudi newspaper Arab News, told the Washington Post.
"A life is a life and we cannot afford to have these things happen. But it's two million people confined to a very narrow arrow, for quite some time — three days. It's not a joke."
Saudi officials emphasized they have become students of crowd control as a result of administering an event unique in the world. Admission to the haj from abroad is by permit, allowing the Department of General Statistics to produce the exact number of foreign nationals officially participating in this year's pilgrimage: 1,419,706.
Support staff is assigned to help the throngs cope with the desert sun, handing out ice water and umbrellas. Saudi boy scouts stand by with maps to assist pilgrims who invariably get separated from their groups in a sea of worshippers all clad in the simple white garments pilgrims wear to erase distinctions between rich and poor.
Officials designate guides and interpreters to steer foreign pilgrims through the rituals of the haj. And because certain annual bottlenecks — including the bridge leading to the devil's pillars — have proved dangerous in the past, foreign pilgrims were assigned specific times to set off in hopes of staggering the crowds over several hours.
Madani said the huge throngs early yesterday resulted in part from the half-million Saudi pilgrims who swelled the ranks, overwhelming efforts at crowd control. Reports said many of the Saudi worshippers carried belongings that became obstacles when the panic erupted around 9 a.m.
The chaos came after a sleepless night of prayer at the climax of the haj, when pilgrims from around the world listened to Saudi Arabia's top cleric at the Namira Mosque.
In a televised sermon remarkable not only for its strong language but also its timing — at the peak of the pilgrimage — Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh called on Muslims around the world to forsake terrorism.
He told pilgrims that terrorists are giving their enemies an excuse to criticize Muslim countries.
"Is it holy war to shed Muslim blood? Is it holy war to shed the blood of non-Muslims given sanctuary in Muslim lands?" he asked in the sermon on Saturday.
"Is it holy war to destroy the possessions of Muslims?"
A large number of the victims of suicide attacks in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Iraq and elsewhere have been Muslims.
Al-Sheikh also criticized non-Muslims, accusing them of attacking Wahhabism, the sect whose strict interpretation of Islam is followed in Saudi Arabia.
"This country is based on this religion and will remain steadfast on it," he said. "Islam forbids all forms of injustice, killing without just cause, treachery ... hijacking of planes, boats and transportation means."
Yesterday morning, pilgrims prayed at dawn, then gathered pebbles to throw at the pillars. Each participant throws seven times, chanting "bismillah" ("In the name of God") and "Allahu Akbar" ("God is great").
Calling America "the greatest Satan," Egyptian pilgrim Youssef Omar threw pebbles at one pillar on which someone had scrawled "USA."
The stoning ritual also marked the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice, celebrated at the haj and around the Muslim world with the slaughtering of a camel, cow or sheep. Meat is eaten and distributed to the poor.