Two million Muslims gathered at Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on Saturday ami...
ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia - Two million Muslims gathered at Saudi Arabia’s Mount Arafat on Saturday amid the summer heat and regional tensions for a vigil to atone for their sins and seek God’s forgiveness as part of the annual haj pilgrimage.
Other worshippers who had been praying in the nearby Mina area ascended in buses or on foot from before dawn. Some carried food, carpets for camping and fans to keep cool as temperatures rose toward 40 degrees Celsius . Taxi driver Khaled Maatouq said he was seeking an end to fighting in his native Libya: “I pray that God unites us.”
The pilgrims will spend the day on Mount Arafat. By sunset they will move to the rocky plain of Muzdalifa to gather pebbles to throw at stone columns symbolizing the devil at Jamarat on Sunday, which marks the first day of Eid al-Adha, or the feast of sacrifice.Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, and organizing the pilgrimage.
Tensions are particularly high this year between Saudi Arabia, ruled by Sunni Muslims, and Shi’ite Muslim Iran.
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