 | | FAITH & VALUES |
TODAY o March 10, 2001
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Modern transportation systems, growth of Islam transform hajj
Gayle White & Saeed Ahmed - Staff
Saturday, March 10, 2001
As several dozen metro Atlantans begin making their way back from the hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy
city of Mecca, others at home recall the impression the sacred obligation made on their lives.
"Allah invited all Muslims, whatever race, whatever color, to come to his house," said Najee Balil
Hasan, 63, a producer of Muslim television programming in Atlanta. "That motivated me to save my
nickels and dimes to make hajj."
He visited Mecca, in what is now Saudi Arabia, in 1987. The experience was worth the effort and
expense, he said. "When I saw all the Muslims, the white Muslims and the darkest of the dark, I couldn't
hold back the tears. We were there to worship one God only."
Imam Abdul Kareem Sayyad, spiritual head of Al-Jami Islamic Center downtown, had similar
feelings.
"Hajj meant hope to me," said Sayyad, who made the pilgrimage in 1997. "To see mankind come
together from every corner of the earth, solely for the worship of God, is the greatest thing that ever
happened to me."
Making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime is one of the five pillars, or requirements, of
Islam for anyone who is able --- along with daily prayer; charitable giving; fasting during daylight during
the month of Ramadan; and saying the confession of faith, "There is no God but Allah. Muhammad is
his messenger."
This year's pilgrimage peaked on Sunday with prayers on Mount Arafat, a hill outside the holy city of
Mecca where the Prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon in 632 and where, according to Muslim
tradition, the devil tried to tempt the Prophet Abraham to disobey God by refusing to sacrifice his son.
The account is common to Islam, Judaism and Christianity, although Jews and Christians teach that the
almost-sacrificed son was Isaac; Muslims believe he was Ishmael.
Helicopters, policemen in observation towers and hundreds of cameras monitored the traffic of
pilgrims.
The crowds of today --- estimated at 2 million --- were once unheard of in hajj. The growth and
spread of Islam around the world and the development of modern transportation systems have turned
what once was a months-long journey for a few thousand of the faithful into a massive event, with
sometimes tragic results.
Sayyad remembers his pilgrimage in 1997 as "the year of the great fire," when fires driven by high
winds tore through a sprawling, overcrowded tent city at Mina, trapping and killing more than 340
pilgrims and injuring 1,500.
Naeem Mohaimeen is still trying to erase his memories from a year later.
Mohaimeen, an Atlanta software engineer, was making hajj in 1998. On the last day, he was among
700,000 pilgrims restlessly waiting for hours in the scorching 100-degree heat to "stone the devil" --- a
ritual in which pebbles are thrown at three pillars symbolizing the temptations of Satan.
When police finally let pilgrims through, the crowds surged like a torrent toward the site, setting off a
stampede that killed 180 people.
It was a scene that played out in eerie similarity this week when 35 pilgrims were crushed to death at
the same site under similar conditions. Diplomats and other sources have said at least seven Pakistanis,
four Indonesians, four Egyptians and two Indians were among the 35 dead. Late this week, Saudi Health
Minister Osama bin Abdul-Majid said 179 pilgrims from 35 countries were among the injured and that
all but 25 of them had been released from hospital, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Then, as now, pilgrims blamed the government for not doing enough to keep the crowd safe.
Saudi officials, in turn, blamed the pilgrims for failing to heed police warning.
In the worst tragedy, more than 1,400 were killed in a 1990 stampede in an overcrowded pedestrian
tunnel.
"We always urge the pilgrims to follow the safety guidelines we have put in place to avoid such
tragedies," said a representative for the Saudi Arabian Embassy in Washington.
He said the kingdom takes extra measures to ensure a safe hajj, including spending millions on
fire-resistant tents, building wider roads, and stepping up security and medical support services.
Over the years, the Saudi government has sought to limit the crowds by enforcing a quota that allows
just 0.1 percent of each country's Muslim population to perform hajj.
But the number of people participating in the pilgrimage has multiplied so many times in recent
decades that often facilities are taxed to the limit, said Ehab Jaleel of the Al-Farooq mosque in Midtown.
Hadayai Majeed of Atlanta, organizer of the Baitul Salaam Network, a Muslim women's organization
for domestic violence awareness, has not yet been to Mecca. She plans to go next year, undeterred by
reports of deaths and injuries.
"I know it's a hazard," she said. "I know a lot of the conveniences, things we take for granted, may not
be there."
She's going, she said, because of her religious obligation and because "I'd just like to see for myself
the things I've read about."
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