Hajj plainly implies to a launch for a region or something. However, in Islam it refers to the once a year pilgrimage whereby Muslims go to Makkah with the purpose of carrying out specific spiritual rituals in accordance with the manner set by the Prophet Muhammad. Hajj and its rituals were foremost set by Allah at the point in time of the Prophet Ibrahim. The prophet was the person recommended by Allah to put up the Kaba, the home of Allah, together with his child Ismail at Makkah. The town of Mecca in Saudi Arabia has at all times been the religious hub of the Islamic belief: the globe’s 1.3 billion Muslims kneel in its bearing throughout prayers. However, in the last part of every year, the Islam sacred town turns out to be even further significant, as a projected 2.5 million pilgrims goes to the place to observe their rituals. I come from Saudi Arabia, and Islam is my faith. I have witnessed the great masses that gather at Mecca for the Hajj ceremony. This paper looks at the tragedy that took place currently killing 717 persons leaving 850 others wounded.
Thesis: There are various versions of the account that explain the cause of the death of the 850 persons. Different papers carried different versions giving details about the story
According to Reuters.com, a minimum of 717 pilgrims from across the globe were murdered in a stampede outside the Muslim sacred town of Mecca. Saudi authorities argued that it is the nastiest tragedy to hit the yearly hajj pilgrimage in the last 25 years. A minimum of 863 additional people were wounded. The Saudi King Salman ordered an assessment of Hajj approach following the tragedy, in which two great crowds of pilgrims advanced jointly at an intersection in Mina on their course to carrying out the stoning of the evil spirit rite at Jamarat. According to Reuters, the Thursday’s tragedy was the most horrible to happen at the pilgrimage ever since that of July 1990 that killed 1,426 pilgrims through suffocation in a burrow next to Mecca. Both occurrences took place during Eid al-Adha; Islam’s key significant banquet and the occasion of the stoning custom. According to Reuters, images printed on the Twitter online spot of Saudi public defense demonstrated pilgrims reclining on stretchers as crisis personnel in extreme-visibility jackets elevated them into an ambulance.
According to Aljazeera, approximately 717 individuals were murdered in a mad dash at the once a year Hajj pilgrimage. The Aljazeera explained that the Saudi Arabia’s public defense directorate claimed that the death toll continued to rise. The Directorate claimed that at least 863 additional people were wounded in the Thursday’s stampede that happened in Mina, an outskirts area of the sacred town of Mecca. The wounded were withdrawn from the site and sent to four diverse sanatoriums in the Mina province, according to a national defense spokesperson. Mina is an area where pilgrims perform a figurative stoning of the evil spirit through throwing stones against three stone fortifications. It as well houses above 160,000 tents where those who attend the observation spend the nighttime in the course of the pilgrimage. Aljazeera’s reporter, Basma Atassi, argued that the occurrence occurred in an avenue between pilgrim campsites. She explained that the stampede did not take place at the place of the stoning of the evil spirit ceremony that was happening but in the camps. According to her, in the course of and following the mad dash the pilgrims persisted to gather in Mina to carry out the evil spirit stoning rite.
According to The New York Times, huge crowds of Muslim followers in streaming decorations in white made their advance amid towns of air-accustomed tents headed for the subsequent stop on their sacred expedition of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. In the course of their advance, something went devastatingly incorrect. The masses were then trapped in constricted avenues which made them touch off a great fright. The masses then charged and crushed leaving the tarmac enclosed with misplaced sandals, rutted wheelchairs and heaps of white-robed copses. According to The New York Times, It was the most lethal catastrophe in the course of the hajj pilgrimage for a quarter –century. The tragedy left 717 pilgrims from across the globe murdered and above 850 wounded. The issue created still another problem for the nation’s new-fangled chief, King Salman, who is now dealing with near to the ground oil costs, a conflict in Yemen and a progressively more violent enmity with Iran.
In conclusion, the three articles give different versions of the cause of the stampede at the Al Hajji annual rite. The three articles give various details that explain the cause of the stamped that led to the death of 717 individuals and left 850 others wounded. The Reuters explains that the stampede was as a result of two crowds that advanced towards each other causing the crush. The Aljazeera explained that the killing was due to a mad rush at the camps at Mina area while The New York Times argued that the deaths were due to the overcrowd that trapped the people at narrow streets causing the stampede. Thus, there are various versions that explain the cause of the death of the 717 persons leaving 850 others wounded.
Works Cited
Aljazeera.com. More than 700 killed in Saudi Hajj stampede. Aljazeera News September 24, 2015.
Ben, Hubbard. Hajj Stampede Near Mecca Leaves Over 700 Dead. The New York Times, September 24, 2015.
Nidal, Al-Mughrabi. More than 700 pilgrims die in crush in worst hajj disaster for 25 years. Reuters September 25, 2015.
