The popular YouTube channel, ‘Haramain info’ was closed by YouTube after an unexpected & harsh copyright warnings / strikes from the “Saudi Broadcasting Authority” (SBA) who own the TV channels for Makkah & Madinah and all TV channels in Saudi Arabia.
Pathetic.saudis need a long hard look at themselves. No1 outside of Saudi even knows quran channel. Saudis need a slap. Opened a nightclub yday n now ban this
Only 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom are allowed to take part due to coronavirus pandemic.
18 Jul 2021
Hajj pilgrims streamed out of the holy city of Mecca and into the Mina valley on Sunday, launching the rituals of the great pilgrimage which Saudi Arabia is holding in a scaled-down form for a second year.
Only 60,000 fully vaccinated citizens and residents of the kingdom are allowed to take part, far from the vast crowds that descend on Mecca in normal times when the ritual drew up to 2.5 million pilgrims.
‘Lucky’ few start downsized Hajj pilgrimage amid restrictionsPilgrims arrive in Mecca for second Hajj during COVID pandemicIn Pictures: Hajj in Mecca during the COVID pandemic
Since Saturday, groups of pilgrims have been performing the “tawaf” at Mecca’s Grand Mosque, circling the Kaaba, a large cubic structure draped in golden-embroidered black cloth towards which Muslims around the world pray.
After that, they have been making their way to Mina, where they will spend the night. Mina sits in a narrow valley surrounded by rocky mountains, some five kilometres (three miles) from the Grand Mosque, and is transformed each year into a vast encampment for pilgrims.
Pilgrims were brought there Sunday on buses which were only half-filled to respect social distancing rules, and authorities provided 3,000 electric cars to transport the elderly and those with limited mobility.
“We have applied social distancing inside the camps where there are four pilgrims in each room. We have put barriers between each bed to apply social distancing,” tour operator Hadi Fouad told AFP.
This year’s pilgrimage is larger than the pared-down version staged in 2020 but is drastically smaller than in normal times, creating resentment among Muslims abroad who are barred once again.
Participants were chosen from more than 558,000 applicants through an online vetting system, with the event confined to fully vaccinated adults aged 18-65 with no chronic illnesses.
‘A privilege’
“I thank God that we received approval to come, even though we did not expect it because of the small number of pilgrims,” said Abdulaziz bin Mahmoud, an 18-year-old Saudi.
Saddaf Ghafour, a 40-year-old Pakistani woman travelling with her friend, was among the women making the pilgrimage without a male “guardian”, which was a requirement until recently.
“It is a privilege to perform Hajj among a very limited number of pilgrims,” she said.
Since the start of the pandemic, the kingdom has reported at least 462,000 cases of the virus with 7,500 deaths.
It has administered some 15.4 million doses of coronavirus vaccines, according to the World Health Organization. The kingdom is home to over 30 million people.
The Hajj, which typically packs large crowds into congested religious sites, is potentially a super-spreader event for the virus.
But the Hajj ministry has said it is working on the “highest levels of health precautions” in light of the pandemic and the emergence of new variants.
The pilgrims move from Muzdalifah back to Mina, starting from midnight on MondayIn Muzdalifah, the pilgrims collect pebbles for the stoning of the devil ritual at the Jamarat area in Mina
July 19, 2021
MUZDALIFAH: After spending around 12 hours on the plains of Arafat on Monday for the most important part of Hajj, 60,000 people went to Muzdalifah in preparation for the final stages of this year’s pilgrimage.
Minutes after sunset on the ninth day of Dhul Hijjah, the pilgrims began moving to the open but rocky plains of Muzdalifah, where they pray Maghrib and Isha.
The caravan of buses, each carrying 20 pilgrims, arrived in Muzdalifah. On each bus there is a guide whose task it is to help pilgrims with all information they need and ensure they are socially distanced.
The buses were accompanied by security patrols, and there was a time interval between buses for a smooth traffic flow.
In Muzdalifah, the pilgrims collect pebbles for the stoning of the devil ritual at the Jamarat area in Mina. The first day in Mina, the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, marks the first day of Eid Al-Adha.
Saudi Health Minister Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah told Al-Ekhbariya TV channel that no coronavirus cases had been detected among the pilgrims during this Hajj.
“There were some minor cases of tiredness due to the physical exertion, but the pilgrims with such simple cases left hospitals shortly after they received the necessary treatment,” he said.
Dr. Abdul-Fattah Mashat, deputy minister of Hajj and Umrah, said that all pilgrims were transported from Mina to Arafat in three hours. More than 1,700 buses brought the pilgrims from Arafat to Muzdalifah, he added.
“Immediately after sundown, the pilgrims started to board the buses that were made ready some three hours earlier.”
The pilgrims move from Muzdalifah back to Mina, starting from midnight on Monday.
“These buses will take them to their camps in Mina, from where they can move to the Jamarat area. There, they will use three floors of the Jamarat construction to do the stoning. We have divided the pilgrims into color-coded groups. Each group will throw (stones at) the pillar from a predefined floor and from a particular place to avoid accumulation of pilgrims.”
Mashat praised the pilgrims for sticking to the regulations and following instructions on mask wearing and social distancing.
Sheikh Bandar Baleela, imam of the midday prayers at Namirah Mosque, focused his Arafah sermon on urging Muslims to do good to all creatures, including animals and inanimate objects.
Dr. Nahla Mohammed Abdullah, an Egyptian anesthetist and intensive care physician at King Abdul Aziz Specialist hospital in Taif. (AN photo)
Baleela added that King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman were keen to make this Hajj season secure and safe.
Shahid Nazir Gill, a Canadian pilgrim living and working in Yanbu, said the hospitality and support on offer was remarkable.
“I would like to express my gratitude to the Saudi government for everything they have done for us. Their efforts, especially during the pandemic, are highly appreciated,” Gill told Arab News.
Rasha Musbah, an Egyptian driving instructor at Princess Nourah bin Abdulrahman University in Riyadh, said she was lucky to join this year’s Hajj.
“The services are amazing,” she told Arab News. “Organization, hygiene and all other services are at high levels. All the people here are helpful, beginning from the security men to cleaning workers.”
She added that pilgrims were abiding by the health measures and expressed hope that the pandemic would soon end.
But there were also mixed feelings about this year’s Hajj.
“When my husband and I first registered, we were not among the first approved group,” Dr. Nahla Mohammed Abdullah, an Egyptian anesthetist and intensive care physician at King Abdul Aziz Specialist hospital in Taif, told Arab News. “We were sad to know that.”
While she received a message two days later confirming that her Hajj request was approved, her husband’s request was unfortunately rejected.
This cannot be undone and I am sure it will be greatly appreciated.
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