Haj a resounding success Last updated: Monday, October 06, 2014 10:25 PM Pilgrims performing Tawaf Al-Wida (farewell circumambulation around the Holy Kaaba) on Monday. — SPA • Operation plan went well: Mishal • It was epidemic-free, claims Fakieh Badea Abu Al-Naja And Hassan Cheruppa Saudi Gazette MINA/MAKKAH — Haj 2014 has been a resounding success in all terms, authorities announced Monday. The announcement came as over two million pilgrims, having reached the spiritual peak of their lives, began leaving Makkah after performing the stoning ritual at the three pillars symbolizing Satan in Mina. Some pilgrims are staying back in the Tent City to complete the stoning ritual on Tuesday, the third day of Tashreeq, following the example of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Although the Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam, comes to a close officially on Tuesday, pilgrims are allowed to leave a day earlier. Makkah Emir and Chairman of the Central Haj Committee Prince Mishal Bin Abdullah said the Haj operation plan has been successful with performance of rituals by pilgrims in much ease and comfort. He thanked all the concerned agencies who exerted all possible efforts to enable the pilgrims to perform their rituals perfectly. Maj. Gen. Mansour Al-Turki, spokesman of the Ministry of Interior, announced that all the goals of the operation plans for the Haj season were accomplished. “By Monday afternoon, a total of 1.4 million pilgrims were on their way to Makkah after performing the stoning ritual, praise be to God. There was an unprecedented increase in the number of pilgrims who used the ground and fourth levels of the Jamarat but the crowd management mechanism worked well and that enabled pilgrims to perform their rituals safely and comfortably,” he said at a press conference in Mina on Monday afternoon Adel Fakieh, acting health minister, said Haj this year has been completely epidemic-free while authorities engaged thousands of health workers to make sure pilgrims were protected from two deadly viruses, Ebola and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (Mers-CoV). As pilgrims performed the final rituals of the Haj and began returning home, Fakieh said: “I am pleased to announce the Haj was free of all epidemic diseases.” Those pilgrims who left Makkah Monday performed Tawaf Al-Wida (farewell circumambulation around the Holy Kaaba), which is the last ritual of the pilgrimage, before their departure. This year’s largely incident-free Haj drew 1.4 pilgrims from 163 nations, in addition to over 600,000 domestic pilgrims, mainly Makkah residents. The Haj drew a cross-section of humanity, from presidents to commoners, including a wounded Syrian rebel war veteran. “I wish I could always stay here and not return home,” said Umm Mohammed, 58, an Indonesian pilgrim. Pilgrims started the stoning ritual in a very smooth and peaceful way. They stoned seven pebbles each first at Jamarat Al-Sughra, then at Jamarat Al-Wusta, and finally at Jamarat Al-Aqba. It is to emulate the stoning of Satan at three spots by Prophet Ibrahim (pbuh) where the devil is said to have appeared trying to dissuade him from obeying Allah’s order to sacrifice his son, Ismail (pbuh). Pilgrims started flocking to the Jamarat after Dhuhr and performed the ritual. Pilgrims were seen moving in an orderly and much organized way to all five levels of Jamarats from various corners of the Tent City. Huge presence of security forces and Civil Defense personnel was seen at various points at the mammoth state-of-the-art Jamarat complex as well as on the passages leading to the Jamarats. They manned all through the 11 entry and 12 exit points from Jamarat. Several units of the forces were on duty to undertake a huge task of crowd management in a smooth way. More than 70,000 security force personnel were assigned to assist the pilgrims, commander of the hi-tech Command and Control Center for Haj Security, Maj. Gen. Abdullah al-Zahrani, told reporters in Mina. The center features a network of screens linked to thousands of surveillance cameras across the holy site. “There were no security gaps during Haj,” said Zahrani, who added that more than 380,000 people without permits were not allowed to enter the Holy Sites. Authorities deployed thousands of health workers to protect pilgrims from Ebola and MERS. They did not allow pilgrims to come from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, the West African states hardest hit by Ebola. There were also improved crowd-control measures, and an unprecedented crackdown on pilgrims without the required permits. Among its preventive measures, the health ministry set up a “command and control” center to direct the Haj health operation, and required every pilgrim to complete a health screening questionnaire. Passengers were monitored by thermal cameras that detect high body temperature, and 15 isolation rooms were set up to hold any suspicious cases at the airport in Jeddah. Fakieh said 170 people were considered as possibly having MERS but all proved to be negative. Maj. Gen. Al-Turki said that those who were arrested for violation of Haj regulations will be handed over to the concerned administrative committees under the Passports Directorate General to take penal action, including fine or imprisonment or both against them. The vehicles used for transportation of pilgrims without a Haj permit will be impounded, he said. Hatem Qadi, spokesman of the Ministry of Haj, said that Minister of Haj Bandar Al-Hajjar alerted the tawafa organizations that it is ideal for them to allow 50 percent of their pilgrims to stay back in Mina on Monday so as to avoid overcrowding at the Grand Mosque. He said that all the arrangements are well in place for the movement of pilgrims to Madinah. The first groups of pilgrims have arrived in Madinah Monday evening. Saudi Arabia is the country hardest hit by MERS, which has killed 322 people in the Kingdom since it first appeared in September 2012. The Health Ministry on Sunday reported two more MERS deaths, one in Riyadh and another in Taif, 50 80 km east of Makkah. Ebola has killed more than 3,000 people in West Africa. Saudi Arabia did not allow pilgrims to come from Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, which have been hardest hit by the illness. A rockslide in Mina on Sunday left 14 pilgrims with “medium and minor” injuries, SPA reported, but no major trouble was reported during the rituals.
Posted on: Tue, 07 Oct 2014 15:10:51 +0000
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