MINA, 2 January 2007 — Millions of pilgrims, some in groups others alone, hurled pebbles at all three Jamrat, the three wide walls representing Satan, yesterday. The ritual was conducted in an organized manner with no untoward incident reported.
Yesterday was the third day of the stoning ritual. Last year an overcrowding tragedy occurred on this day claiming 362 lives.
The peak hours of the stoning were between noon and 5 p.m. Security personnel were seen manning the area near the Jamrat Bridge guiding the pilgrims to move on with megaphones and green signs pointing in the direction of the pedestrian traffic. Pilgrims seen turning around to go back were asked to abide by new regulations.
Civil Defense helicopters hovering overhead were monitoring the tide of pilgrims and maintaining communication with ground.
No incident was reported of pilgrims attempting to disobey the new rules.
“Today was the most crucial day, but, Praise be to God, it passed off peacefully,” said Abdur Rehman Al-Shamry, a security officer manning his post at Jamrat. “People will remember this Haj for a long time.”
The Ministry of Culture and Information made all necessary arrangements for foreign television and other media channels to provide unhindered coverage and reporting from Makkah and the holy sites during this pilgrimage season, according to Deputy Minister for Foreign Media Affairs Saleh Al-Namlah.
“The present Haj season has seen unprecedented coverage by international media channels, including newspapers, radio, television and other news agencies,” he said.
Al-Namlah told Al-Madinah Arabic newspaper that media delegations had enjoyed full freedom in reporting and there was no instance of any media organization being prohibited from covering anything in particular.
“The only thing we wanted from them was total objectivity in their reporting,” the official said. “The Ministry of Culture and Information did not turn down any media channel’s request for covering this year’s Haj,” he added.
Interior Minister Prince Naif, who is also chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, said there were no political incidents, accidents or security flaws so far in the current Haj season.
In a press statement on Sunday evening at Mina, Prince Naif expressed his optimism on the passing of the second day of “Tashreeq” (the third day of Eid) smoothly and peacefully, because of three reasons.
One, he said, was thanks to the decree by Islamic scholars that the stoning at the Jamrat at any time of the day during Haj is valid. Earlier, many pilgrims believed that the stoning had to take place after noon (Dhuhr) prayers. Prince Naif said the second reason the flow was smoother this year was due to the crowd-control procedures implemented by Civil Defense authorities. The third reason: overall increase in security personnel.
In the last of the Haj rituals, pilgrims chanting “God is Great” threw seven small pebbles at each of the three gray stone walls. Relatives threw protective rings around women and the elderly to prevent them from falling or being shoved.
Some of the pilgrims who stayed back in Mina after yesterday’s stoning will repeat the ritual again today as the Haj draws to a close. Watched by guards and policemen, pilgrims were directed to approach the stoning site in orderly waves to avoid disasters. The faithful were relieved at having performed the religious duty in relative comfort. The authorities heaved a sigh of relief since in the past the ritual was marked by tragedies. The stoning of the devil is largely symbolic. However, a lot of pilgrims were seen venting their fury while performing the ritual yesterday.
“It is a remarkable achievement that the whole exercise went off in a much better way than last time. However, it does not mean that we will be complacent tomorrow. We will be in full force again for the last day too,” said Yasser Al-Ghamdi, a security officer.
Returning pilgrims looked extremely pleased. “They achieved the best possible results, but this should not stop them from further streamlining and improving services in the future,” said Assad Alam, an Indian pilgrim from the United States.
Some were hurrying to reach the Haram Mosque in Makkah for the farewell tawaf, or circumambulation of the Kaaba. “Get out of my face, it’s 150 riyals ($40)! Don’t waste my time,” a Saudi moped driver snapped at those who tried to bargain over the five km ride into the city. Pilgrims were jumping onto or into whatever form of transport they could to reach Makkah from the narrow mountain pass of Mina.
The moped owners, able to dodge nimbly through the congested traffic and rotting piles of rubbish lining the streets, were the biggest gainers.
“They make about SR1,000 in two hours, while it would take us at least 6 hours of work to make that kind of money,” said Yousef Al-Atheery, a Saudi driving a large SUV. Most pilgrims were paying SR30 to ride inside large cars, or SR15 to ride on the roof. Local livestock truck drivers joined in, offering pilgrims another cheap alternative.
“The car is far more practical for the elderly,” said Algerian Abdel-Ali Tawati, accompanying his mother in a car carrying 25 people. “It stinks out there, you just can’t walk.”
