snoop1130 Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Muslim pilgrims descend on Mecca for haj, Saudis warn against politics By Ahmad Elhamy Muslims pray at the Grand Mosque during the annual Haj pilgrimage in the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia August 6, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of white-clad pilgrims, many gripping umbrellas to ward off Saudi Arabia’s blistering summer sun, descended on Mecca this week ahead of the annual haj. Saudi officials asked Muslims to focus on rituals of worship, warning against politicizing the rite as wars rage on in the region and at a time of heightened tensions between Sunni Muslim Saudi Arabia and Shi’ite Muslim adversary Iran. “Haj...is not a place for political conflicts or to raise sectarian slogans that divide Muslims,” Abdulrahman al-Sudais, imam of the Grand Mosque of Mecca, told reporters. Mecca Governor Prince Khalid al-Faisal asked worshippers earlier this week to “leave all other matters in your countries to discuss when you are back”. Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites and organizing a peaceful haj, which has been marred in the past by deadly stampedes, fires and riots. Authorities said more than 1.8 million pilgrims had so far arrived in the kingdom for the world’s largest annual Muslim gathering, which retraces the route the Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago. Outside the Grand Mosque, the world’s largest, temperatures topped 40 degrees Celsius as industrial fans sprayed water. “All of this is for the sake of the haj,” 43-year-old Fatima Sayed from Giza, Egypt, said of the searing heat. “We applied twice before but God didn’t permit it, and, thank God, it was a very big surprise that He ordained it for me this year.” Every able-bodied Muslim who has the means should perform the haj at least once in their lifetime under a quota system. Saudi Arabia has made use of technology to manage the flow of millions at the same place at the same time. This includes electronic identification bracelets, connected to GPS, that were introduced after a 2015 crush killed hundreds of people. A new highspeed railway linking Mecca and Medina, Islam’s second most sacred site, is being used during the haj season for the first time after its inauguration last September. The pilgrimage is the backbone of a plan to expand tourism under a drive to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. The haj and the umrah, the year-round lesser pilgrimage, generate billions of dollars in revenues from worshippers’ lodging, transport, fees and gifts. Amjad Khan, a pharmacist from Manchester in Britain, said the new measures made the pilgrimage a smoother experience. “Here in the company of our brothers from all over the world, it’s a very good feeling,” Khan, 36, said. -- © Copyright Reuters 2019-08-08 Follow Thaivisa on LINE for breaking Thailand news and visa info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluespunk Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 Hajj Mubarak. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bendejo Posted August 8, 2019 Share Posted August 8, 2019 5 hours ago, snoop1130 said: The pilgrimage is the backbone of a plan to expand tourism under a drive to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil. The haj and the umrah, the year-round lesser pilgrimage, generate billions of dollars in revenues from worshippers’ lodging, transport, fees and gifts. I once met an Indonesian fellow who was raised Muslim and as an adult went apostate (in a low-key way, is now living in a non-Muslim area and married to a European woman). He was of the opinion that this rule that one cannot stop being a Muslim was something pushed on heavily by the Saudis to support the pilgrimage business. Gotta say I never thought of it that way before. I could see where Saudi would even open up Jeddah (city with the international airport for Mecca) to infidel tourists and sell helicopter rides to view the Grand Mosque. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blazes Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 I suppose the forbidden political topics to be suppressed include the murder of the journalist Khashoggi last October in Istanbul? The murder ordered by the cocaine freak Crown Prince MbS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristolboy Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 MbS is bad enough without invoking unfounded allegations of cocaine abuse. 5 hours ago, blazes said: I suppose the forbidden political topics to be suppressed include the murder of the journalist Khashoggi last October in Istanbul? The murder ordered by the cocaine freak Crown Prince MbS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orton Rd Posted August 9, 2019 Share Posted August 9, 2019 Why give this superstitious nonsense of parading round a bit of old meteorite any publicity at all? it's not as if just anyone can go there and have a look for themselves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srikcir Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/8/2019 at 7:58 PM, snoop1130 said: Saudi Arabia has made use of technology But when it comes to political correctness, a bone saw works best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JAG Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/9/2019 at 1:44 PM, Orton Rd said: Why give this superstitious nonsense of parading round a bit of old meteorite any publicity at all? it's not as if just anyone can go there and have a look for themselves. Oy, steady on. I made a point of going and touching the lump of moon rock in the Smithsonian Institute when I was in Washington DC... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Troll post and reply removed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evadgib Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 Food for thought seen a few days ago: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichardColeman Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/8/2019 at 1:58 PM, snoop1130 said: Just looks like a Bradford or Slough housing estate to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overherebc Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 18 minutes ago, RichardColeman said: Just looks like a Bradford or Slough housing estate to me Nah, too many working street lights Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chomper Higgot Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 4 hours ago, evadgib said: Food for thought seen a few days ago: Katie Hopkins hears the term ‘Muslim’ and throws another one of her fits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluespunk Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 7 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said: Katie Hopkins hears the term ‘Muslim’ and throws another one of her fits. That’s the nature of hate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 On 8/9/2019 at 1:31 PM, bristolboy said: MbS is bad enough without invoking unfounded allegations of cocaine abuse. A few years ago I remember a Saudi royal plane being investigated that was loaded with a shit load of pharmaceutical grade amphetamine. https://news.vice.com/en_us/article/9kjq3z/saudi-prince-reportedly-caught-with-two-tons-of-speed-on-private-plane-in-beirut No one in particular was but flagged but it definitely shows an appetite for stimulants for someone there. As far as traveling there for mecca, a smorgasbord of every communicable disease in the world just one breath away, ah, no thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chomper Higgot Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 6 minutes ago, from the home of CC said: As far as traveling there for mecca, a smorgasbord of every communicable disease in the world just one breath away, ah, no thanks. There are some mindsets that just can’t be hidden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 34 minutes ago, Chomper Higgot said: There are some mindsets that just can’t be hidden. https://www.wired.com/2015/09/toppling-cranes-arent-thing-threatening-mecca/ just one of thousands of articles that acknowledge the combination of factors that contribute to epidemics and mass transmission of disease exist in this religious gathering, so much so that experimental centers to monitor outbreaks have been set up (with some limited success) Sorry if you're disappointed.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted August 12, 2019 Share Posted August 12, 2019 1 hour ago, Chomper Higgot said: Katie Hopkins hears the term ‘Muslim’ and throws another one of her fits. who? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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