Hajj climax ends in anti-US protest

CREATING a sea of white robes, nearly three million Muslims converged on a rocky desert hill outside Mecca yesterday to perform the ritual of forgiveness marking the climax of the annual hajj.

Chants of “at thy service, my God, at thy service”, reverberated through the valley as the pilgrims stood to pray for God’s forgiveness in the most spiritual moment of the entire pilgrimage.

However, while most spent the day praying and reading Islam’s holy book, the Quran, thousands — mostly Iranians, Lebanese, Iraqis and Bahrainis — held a rally inside their tents to denounce the United States and Israel.

Called the “disavowal of pagans ceremony”, the Iranian-sponsored, anti-US protest is held annually at the hajj, bringing a whiff of politics into what is otherwise an entirely religious event.

Saudi Arabia warned before the start of the pilgrimage that it would not tolerate any anti-US demonstrations, but the rally was apparently permitted because it stayed inside the tents.

In 1987, the rally led to clashes with Saudi security forces and 402 pilgrims, mostly Iranians, were killed.

But Iranian cleric, Mohammad Tabadkani, said the rally was Islam’s response against the US government’s brutality and oppression.

Many Iranians want opposition to the US war in Iraq and Israeli policies to be heard during the hajj.

“The disavowal of pagans ceremony is based on Quranic verses. The rally here is not against any specific country, but against policies of specific governments that seek to dominate Muslims or treat them unjustly,” Tabadkani said.

Many pilgrims disagree, preferring the pilgrimage to be an entirely spiritual experience between the worshipper and God.

“During the hajj, the priority is to perform the rituals and not politics,” said Ahmed Malek, a pilgrim from Maldives, who did not participate in the rally.

The Saudi grand mufti used the occasion of the day’s ritual to warn Muslims that extremism could lead to terrorism and he urged the faithful to show “the bright face of Islam” and spread teachings calling for “forgiveness, peace and love.”

Al-Sheikh’s sermon also declared that the world economic crisis stemmed from an abandonment of Islamic prohibition of usury.