Stoning of the Devil

Muslim pilgrims arrive to perform the symbolic 'stoning of the devil' ritual as part of the hajj pilgrimage in Mina, near Saudi Arabia's holy city of Mecca, on June 16, 2024

Pilgrims on Sunday performed the last major ritual of the hajj, the "stoning of the devil", in western Saudi Arabia as Muslims around the globe celebrated the Eid al-Adha holiday.

Saudi Arabia has said that security forces had cleared hundreds of thousands of unregistered pilgrims from Mecca ahead of the Hajj which begins this week.

Crowd management is a major concern during the annual pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam which drew more than 1.8 million Muslims last year, according to official figures.

Muslim pilgrims cast pebbles in the "stoning of the devil" ritual marking the start of the Eid al-Adha holiday on July 9, as this year's expanded hajj pilgrimage was winding down.

From first light, small groups of worshippers made their way across the valley of Mina, near Mecca in western Saudi Arabia, to throw stones at three concrete walls representing Satan.

Huge crowds of Muslim pilgrims prayed on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat on July 8, the high point of the biggest hajj pilgrimage since the pandemic forced drastic cuts in numbers for two years in a row.

More than two million Muslims on Aug. 11 threw stones at a symbolic representation of the devil as part of the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.           

You must have heard about the latest disaster in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, on Sept. 24. More than 700 pilgrims died in a stampede on the way to the ritual of "stoning the devil." And this was only a repetition of similar disasters that happened again in Mecca, and again during the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage that millions of Muslims come from all around the world to do.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an has spoken out to defend Saudi Arabia in the wake of the Hajj tragedy that left more than 750 pilgrims dead.

"It is not right to have the approach of putting the blame on Saudi Arabia," he told reporters in Istanbul on Sept. 25.

Saudi Arabian King Salman bin Abdulaziz has ordered review of the safety measures during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca after the deadly stampede on Thursday which claimed the lives of at least 717 people.

Another 863 people were injured in the incident which occurred in the neighbourhood of Mina as the last major ritual of the Hajj was taking place.

Iran's supreme leader said Saudi Arabia is responsible for the Sept.24 stampede during the annual hajj in which 131 Iranians were among more than 700 Muslim pilgrims killed.

The death toll from the stampede, which occurred earlier on Thursday during the annual Hajj pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca, has risen to at least 453 people.

Another 719 people have been injured in the incident, which took place in the neighbourhood of Mina as two million pilgrims were taking part in the last major ritual of the Hajj - the Stoning of the Devil.