MINA, 22 December 2007 — Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki yesterday admitted that pilgrims of certain nationalities had put in a request with the Saudi authorities for them to be allowed to carry out the stoning-of-the-devil ritual from the ground floor of the massive Jamrat plaza.
“Yes, that is true,” said Al-Turki. “But we explained to them that we don’t decide who performs this particular ritual from which floor of the complex. All floors are open to pilgrims of all nationalities. They decide, not us.”
According to Al-Turki, the new Jamrat complex is designed in such a way that only certain roads lead to certain floors or ramps. “For example, three central roads in Mina, namely Jawhara Street, Souq Al-Arab Street and New Street, lead to the ground floor of the Jamrat complex. If any pilgrim intends to perform stoning from the ground floor he or she will have to be on one of these three streets,” he explained.
The three streets mentioned above run through the center of the tent city. And these are the ones widely used by pilgrims. “On all three days of the stoning, there is a huge density of people on these streets,” he pointed out.
Al-Turki said in the event of the pilgrim being on any other street, the flow of pilgrims will automatically take him or her straight to other ramps of the complex. “During our preparatory meetings we explained this all to representatives of the various pilgrim establishments and also to members of the international Haj missions,” he said.
According to sources, it was suggested during these meetings that pilgrims who prefer to stone the devil from the ground floor and who do not find themselves in one of those streets should be given access to them through the interconnected lanes. All these interconnected lanes are tightly sealed by security forces because they fear, and rightly so, such a cross movement of pilgrims would lead to chaos.
Al-Turki explained the issue by taking the analogy of an express highway. “The roads leading to Jamrat plaza are like an expressway. If traffic is moving very fast in the first lane, you cannot allow other vehicles to get onto that lane for fear of a crash. Similarly, those in the slow lane would not like to see a fast vehicle cutting through them. That can also lead to a crash. The same principle applies here. We don’t want crossing of lanes by the pilgrims. If they are in one lane or street then they will have no choice but to stick to it. So, if those pilgrims who intend to perform the stoning ritual from ground floor should ensure that they are on the right street right at the beginning.”
Al-Turki, however, suggested that if the density of pilgrims was thin then they would allow the cross movement of pilgrims. “But such possibilities are very rare on the first day of stoning,” he added.
Some of the pilgrims that Arab News spoke to in the last two days said they were instructed by their guides to perform the ritual from the ground floor. “We have no idea about the significance of stoning from the ground floor or the first floor,” said Rehan Shabbir, a pilgrim from India.
“Our scholars told us during Haj orientation seminars that we should perform the ritual only from the ground floor. And so we are trying to follow those guidelines,” he said.
Shabbir’s wife, Nadia Anjum, however, said she preferred stoning from the first floor on the last two days. “Islam is a practical religion. It would not like to put us in trouble. These self-styled guides say all kinds of things. We will go by what is convenient.”
Ashour Fattah, an Iraqi pilgrim who was part of an official delegation, said he felt better on the first floor. “I performed stoning the first day from ground floor. The next two days I went on the first floor. It was tiring but convenient. Haj is all about struggle, both within and without. And pilgrims have to be prepared for difficulties,” he said. “But let me add here that the Saudi government has done a tremendous job in creating such massive infrastructure here.”
