Posted on 09/24/2015 10:40:36 AM PDT by nickcarraway
The deadly stampede at the Haj in Saudi Arabia on Thursday is just the latest tragedy to strike the pilgrimage.
Here is a timeline of significant incidents during the annual event, which draws around two million Muslim faithful from around the world.
SNIP
2006 January 6: 76 people die when a hotel collapses in the city center.
January 12: 364 pilgrims are killed in a stampede during the stoning ritual in Mina. The ritual involves Haj participants throwing pebbles at three headstones, symbolizing their rejection of Satan.
(Excerpt) Read more at arabnews.com ...
I don’t find your comment comprehensible. What did I say that sounds like an imam???????
Well, one man’s tragedy is another man’s blessing, in this case.
“Does something happen at these Haji events which whips people into a frenzy??”
Yes, the whole rigamarole is designed to induce “religious ecstasy”. You don’t just swing by the Kaaba for a visit with a tour guide, like the Vatican. You have to slowly plod along with the throng that circles it, getting closer only inch by inch. All the while you’re suffering the Arabian heat and hearing the constant droning of chanted verses from the Quran.
While that probably sounds like a nightmare to any of us, this is something Muslims look forward to over their whole lifetime. The sensation is designed to be absolutely overwhelming to them, so it isn’t hard for that to go a little too far and trigger hysteria.
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