Mecca
The world’s largest Muslim pilgrimage site? Not Mecca, but the Shiite shrine in Karbala
By Edith Szanto — September 9, 2020
(The Conversation) — At Ashoura, Shiites mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad’s grandson Hussain.
COVID hajj restrictions leave streets of Mecca empty, pilgrimage businesses in trouble
By Rabiya Jaffery — July 31, 2020
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (RNS) — As much as a quarter of the economy around Mecca relies on tourism and pilgrimages. Pandemic restrictions — which cut hajj pilgrims from millions to thousands — mean lost income for local businesses and residents.
Pilgrims arrive in Mecca for downsized hajj amid pandemic
By Aya Batrawy — July 28, 2020
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Muslim pilgrims have started arriving in Mecca for a drastically scaled-down hajj, as Saudi authorities balance the kingdom’s oversight of one of Islam’s key pillars and the safety of visitors.
‘I have to find the Mecca of my heart’: Muslims grieve as hajj is drastically limited
By Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil — June 26, 2020
(RNS) — For many American converts, hajj is more than the fulfillment of a sacred ritual: It’s the first chance to experience a completely Muslim environment.
Saudi Arabia to hold ‘very limited’ hajj due to virus
By Associated Press — June 22, 2020
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — The kingdom said that only people of various nationalities already residing in the country would be allowed to perform the hajj.
Saudi official urges Muslims to delay hajj plans over virus
By Aya Batrawy and Jon Gambrell — April 1, 2020
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A rare quiet has already fallen over the Grand Mosque of Mecca, which normally draws thousands of worshippers throughout the day and night, circling it and praying toward it.
Everything in Mecca gets 5 stars online
By Elif Izberk-Bilgin and Tom van Laer — August 7, 2019
(The Conversation) — Mecca’s sites average 4.96 TripAdvisor stars out of 5, while Europe’s 200 best-rated tourist destinations average 3.96 stars.
Khashoggi’s death is just one reason to boycott hajj. Every Muslim has reasons not to.
By Dilshad Ali — November 13, 2018
(RNS) — Some American Muslims are saying it's time to send a message to Saudi Arabia by boycotting the pilgrimage to Mecca. Why it's important to keep hajj a personal, not a political decision.
What is the Hajj?
By Ken Chitwood — August 17, 2018
(The Conversation) — Nearly 2 million Muslim pilgrims are gathering in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime obligation for all Muslims who are able to undertake the five-day pilgrimage.
A down payment on making hajj easier for Muslim women
By Caitlin Yoshiko Kandil — August 11, 2018
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — A new group founded a year ago is helping Muslim women make the pilgrimage to Mecca by providing money, advice and even rewriting the narrative about women and 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.
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.
Mosque under construction in Mali to honor US teen slain during Ramadan
By Lauren Markoe — June 22, 2017
(RNS) It took less than 24 hours to crowdsource the funds to build a mosque that will be called Masjid Nabra, which is already under construction.
Trump trip to Middle East, Vatican offers religious opportunities and pitfalls
By Lauren Markoe — May 18, 2017
(RNS) Whether the president's time abroad will appease faith groups upset by his proposed Muslim travel ban and his waffling over the possibility of moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem — among other thorny issues — remains to be seen.
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.
