MAKKAH: More than 2.5 million pilgrims, including 1.7 million from abroad, will assemble in the tent city of Mina today at the start of this year's annual pilgrimage. Thousands of pilgrims left for Mina yesterday afternoon.
The government has provided all facilities in Mina and other holy sites to receive the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims who have come from different parts of the world. About 100,000 security officers have been deployed to ensure their safety.
More than two million faithful, mostly pilgrims, attended the Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in Makkah yesterday. In his Friday sermon, Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, the imam of the mosque, said the Haj reflected the unity and equality among Muslims.
“All Muslims must learn lessons from this great religious event. The Haj should encourage them to work in unison, to be compassionate to one another and strengthen their cooperation. There are no national or racial slogans or party flags. There is only one flag. The flag of Lailaha Illallah Muhammad Rasulullah (‘There is no god but God and Muhammad is his Prophet’),” the imam told the faithful.
Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, director of Haj security at the Interior Ministry, said about 30 percent of pilgrims would leave tonight for Arafat for the standing ritual on Sunday on the Haj climax.
A large number of security officers have been deployed in desert roads leading to Makkah in order to prevent illegal pilgrims who do not posses valid Haj permits from entering the holy city, Maj. Gen. Ali Habab Al-Nafie, commander of the Haj security forces, said yesterday.
“Drivers who smuggle illegal pilgrims to Makkah will be arrested and handed over to concerned authorities to punish them,” Al-Nafie told Arab News. “We have taken this issue seriously and we have already identified the routes that could be used for smuggling pilgrims.”
The general said last year his forces had succeeded in preventing several such cases. “This year we’ll intensify our efforts further to prevent intrusion of illegal pilgrims to Makkah and other holy sites,” he said, adding that vehicles used for smuggling such pilgrims will be impounded.
He said a special force has been deployed to control the movement of pedestrians in the holy sites, especially near Jamrat, in order to prevent overcrowding and stampedes. “It is the duty of this force to prevent squatting of pilgrims on the streets and other public places.” Mina has been divided into three regions and a commander has been appointed for each region
“These commanders will deploy necessary number of security officers in main and subsidiary streets,” he added.
He said the main objective of his force was to ensure peace and security for the guests of God and help them carry out their religious duties. “We have prepared our plan taking into consideration the past mistakes and recommendations by experts.”
He said senior officers of his force had held meetings with officials of the six Tawafa organizations in order to discuss traffic plans for the transportation of their pilgrims between the holy sites. He said the buses of pilgrims who came by land have been diverted to three parking areas outside Makkah.
Maj. Gen. Ali Al-Sahli, assistant commander of the force for security affairs, said a large number of security officers have been deployed in the holy places to prevent crimes before they occur.
“Our officers check suspected vehicles to prevent smuggling of weapons and explosives into the holy sites,” Al-Sahli said. “Criminal investigators will probe into such cases and transfer them to special Haj courts to take action.” As many as 17 judges have been appointed to look into various cases during the Haj.
Speaking about the growing pick-pocketing cases during the Haj, the general said the criminals behind such thefts would be arrested and handed over to judges to take action. “We are collecting information about pickpockets in order to stop their criminal activity,” he said and cautioned pilgrims against such criminals.
Sudanese President Omar Bashir, Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas have arrived to perform Haj this year.
The Ministry of Health has readied more than 14,000 units of blood and its derivatives to meet the requirements of pilgrims. The ministry has made arrangements to supply more than 37,000 meals among patients admitted to its hospitals in the holy sites.
