Posted on 01/26/2003 9:27:15 AM PST by Wolverine
Arab News SAUDI ARABIA'S FIRST ENGLISH LANGUAGE DAILY
Over 300,000 pilgrims already in Kingdom
Published on 23 January 2003
RIYADH, 23 January 2003 — More than 300,000 pilgrims have already arrived in the Kingdom for this year’s Haj, according to latest official figures. A majority of the pilgrims flew in, while the rest arrived by sea and land.
The last day for entry into Saudi Arabia is five days before the Haj climax which is expected to fall this year on Feb. 11, depending on lunar sightings.
Indonesians make up the largest number of the faithful and have a total Haj quota of 200,000 this year, followed by 130,000 Pakistanis, 116,000 Indians, 103,000 Turks, 91,000 Iranians and 88,000 Egyptians.
Saudi Arabia is gearing up for around 2.5 million pilgrims from inside the Kingdom and from abroad. Saudi Arabian Airlines has started a major airlift. Director General Khaled Ben Bakr said the carrier will transport 900,000 pilgrims, a 17 percent increase over last year, from 70 destinations aboard 1,754 flights.
All Muslims are required to make the pilgrimage to Makkah, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime, if they have the means and physical strength to do so. Last year’s Haj attracted more than two million pilgrims.
Deputy Interior Minister Prince Ahmed said Saudi missions abroad issued pilgrimage visas for more than 1.3 million people. Several hundred thousands are expected from within Makkah itself.
Security forces were preparing to set up road blocks around Makkah to prevent unauthorized entry into the holy city.
Prince Ahmed pledged that security forces will be ready to maintain law and order, particularly in the light of the tense situation over Iraq.
Anti-American sentiment is already high among a majority of Muslim nations because of Washington’s plans to attack fellow Muslim Iraq while totally backing Israel against the Palestinians.
About 9,000 of the expected 17,000 pilgrims from Iraq were to arrive by air for the first time this year since 1991 Gulf War. In previous years, only a few hundred Iraqi pilgrims managed to fly in because of UN sanctions.
The remaining Iraqis, and several thousand pilgrims from the central Asian republics, would travel by land through the Arar border post which was officially reopened in October after 12 years of closure.
Last year, authorities deployed tens of thousands of police, army, national guards and special forces in the biggest security exercise during the Haj which came a few months after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
A high-tech control room is connected to more than 2,000 cameras installed in Makkah and the holy sites. Several helicopters assist in monitoring the Haj.
Makkah Governor Prince Abdul Majeed oversaw the ritual washing of the holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque on Saturday ahead of the annual pilgrimage expected to start on Feb. 7. (AFP)
....sure would solve a lot of our problems!!!!!
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