Hajj
Hajj pilgrimage offers US traveler a reset
By Yonat Shimron — September 1, 2017
(RNS) — In public and private messages on Facebook, Salman Azhar described the pilgrimage that he and his wife are set to conclude on Sunday, one that included lessons in self-restraint, humility and love of God.
More than 1.7 million Muslims gather for start of hajj
By Yonat Shimron — August 30, 2017
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The hajj is required of all Muslims once in a lifetime. The physically demanding journey tests pilgrims' patience as they withstand long waits and thick crowds on their path to achieving spiritual purification and repentance.
Hajj pilgrimage entangled in web of Saudi politics
By Yonat Shimron — August 29, 2017
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Saudi Arabia uses its oversight of the hajj to bolster its standing in the Muslim world — and to spite its foes, from Iran and Syria to Qatar.
What is the Shia-Sunni divide?
By Jerome Socolovsky — June 8, 2017
(The Conversation) This historical schism continues to permeate the daily lives of Muslims around the world.
Saudi Arabia strives to prevent repeat of fatal crush at hajj
By guest — September 4, 2016
Custodian of Islam's most revered places, Saudi Arabia stakes its reputation on organizing hajj, one of the Five Pillars of Islam. Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to is obliged to undertake the hajj at least once.
Iran says its pilgrims will not attend hajj in Saudi Arabia
By RNS staff — May 29, 2016
DUBAI (Reuters) Saudi Arabia, which oversees the pilgrimage to Mecca by more than 2 million Muslims from around the world, accused Iran of effectively depriving its citizens from the religious duty.
Hajj row escalates as Iran and Saudi Arabia miss new deal
By RNS staff — May 28, 2016
RIYADH (Reuters) It's the second failure by the rival Middle East powers to strike a deal.
Saudi Arabia stifled true death count in hajj stampede: 2,411
By RNS staff — December 10, 2015
(RNS) The Associated Press counted the deaths in Mina, Saudi Arabia, and found a total that's three times more than Saudi officials have stated.
PHOTOS: The Shiite pilgrimage Arbaeen
By Jerome Socolovsky — December 3, 2015
(RNS) Drawing an estimated 17 million pilgrims, the Shiite ritual known as Arbaeen dwarfs even the hajj. Arbaeen marks the end of the 40-day mourning period after the anniversary of the seventh-century slaying of the Prophet Muhammad's grandson, which engendered the Sunni-Shiite schism.
Saudi suggests pilgrims to blame for hajj deaths; Iran blames ‘incompetent’ Saudi
By Reuters — September 25, 2015
(Reuters) Saudi Arabia's regional rival Iran expressed outrage at the deaths of 131 of its nationals at the world's largest annual gathering of people while politicians in Tehran suggested Riyadh was incapable of managing the event.
Hundreds perish in deadliest hajj stampede in years
By Reuters — September 24, 2015
At least 717 pilgrims were killed Thursday on the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha in a crush at Mina outside the holy city of Mecca.
Gay Muslim films secret pilgrimage in ‘A Sinner in Mecca’
By Rachel Lowry — September 10, 2015
NEW YORK (RNS) Authorities in Mecca prohibit camera use at holy sites. Openly gay men are subject to the death penalty. But none of that deterred Parvez Sharma.
The Occasional Pilgrim: ‘Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler’
By Kimberly Winston — December 16, 2014
(RNS) In "Sacred Journeys with Bruce Feiler," airing on PBS beginning Tuesday (Dec. 16), American pilgrims travel to some of the most sacred sites in the world: Jerusalem, Mecca, the Ganges River, the Shikoku Trail, Osun-Osogbo and Lourdes.
‘Sacred Journeys’ weds new pilgrims to old paths
By Kimberly Winston — December 12, 2014
(RNS) Popular pilgrimage features protagonists who go on long, transformational journeys of both feet and faith. It is that transformational nature that separates pilgrimage from travel -- pilgrimage is a vocation, not a vacation.
US Muslims ask John Kerry for protection on Mecca pilgrimage
By Lauren Markoe — August 27, 2014
(RNS) After last year's attack on U.S. citizens in Mecca, a coalition is petitioning the State Department to better protect pilgrims who undertake the Muslim hajj.
