Striking images showed worshipers dressed in white separated from several feet around the Kaaba
New Delhi:
Years before the coronavirus, millions of pilgrims from around the world flocked to Islam’s holiest site to attend the hajj, one of the world‘s largest religious gatherings. However, with a virus-induced ban on large gatherings in place, only a few thousand people attended this year’s reduced hajj pilgrimage rituals.
Striking images showed worshipers dressed in white separated by several feet, circling around the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand Mosque in the Saudi holy city of Mecca. In stark contrast to the massive crowds of previous years crowded around the shrine, photos from this year’s hajj showed pilgrims wearing masks marching at a measured pace, holding umbrellas to shield themselves from the scorching Saudi Arabian sun.
Only 10,000 people already residing in the kingdom are taking part in this year’s pilgrimage, compared to some 2.5 million people from around the world gathered in 2019, the AFP news agency reported.
“Keeping the ritual in the shadow of this pandemic … has required reducing the number of pilgrims, but it has forced various official agencies to redouble their efforts,” King Salman, 84, said in a speech read on public television by Acting Media Minister Majid Al-Qasabi.
Unlike in the past years when they rushed to the Kaaba, this year the pilgrims were not allowed to touch the cubic stone building covered in black cloth and wrapped in Arabic writing in golden silk.
The hajj, which began on Wednesday, is one of the five pillars of Islam and a staple for able-bodied Muslims at least once in their lifetime.
