Hajj stampede: At least 717 killed in Saudi Arabia

[DaZahroJaam.]

it's okay, bro.. i can understand. life is tough as it is for recovering alcoholic mullah wannabes. on top of it, being constantly bitch slapped in to reality..that too by a woman...astaghfirullah, who wants that..


i apologized once. it wasn't fun.

[کیش]

Some people fall infront of you, you either walk over them or be taken to the ground yourself. Which do you pick?

I was talking about the pilgrims on the back, who for some reason started the whole thing. Don't they see and know that they are tens of thousands of other people in front of them also on the Hajj journey? Are they ignorant to the possibilities of a stampede causing the potential deaths of thousands in front of them? Islam is about patience and whoever started the whole thing clearly doesn't have any, and has this crime on their shoulder(s). As well as emperor Faisal for closing streets for his royal majesties

[Khostai]

At least 717 people taking part in the Hajj pilgrimage have been killed in a stampede near the Islamic holy city of Mecca, officials in Saudi Arabia say.
Another 863 people were injured in the incident at Mina, which occurred as two million pilgrims were taking part in the Hajj's last major rite.
They converge on Mina to throw stones at pillars representing the devil.
Preparations for the Hajj were marred when a crane collapsed at Mecca's Grand Mosque this month, killing 109 people.
It is the deadliest incident to occur during the Hajj in 25 years.
'Sudden surge'

Pilgrims travel to Mina, a large valley about 5km (3 miles) from Mecca, during the Hajj to throw seven stones at pillars called Jamarat, which represent the devil. The pillars stand at three spots where Satan is believed to have tempted the Prophet Abraham.
Image copyright AP Image caption At least 43 Iranians were reportedly among the dead Image copyright AFP/Getty Images Image caption More than 220 ambulances were called to the site Image copyright AFP Image caption The incident occurred as pilgrims walked towards the Jamarat Bridge, where the pillars are located The Saudi civil defence directorate said in a statement that the stampede occurred at around 06:00 (09:00 GMT) at the junction of Street 204 and Street 223, as pilgrims walked towards the five-storey structure which surrounds the pillars, known as the Jamarat Bridge.
The incident happened when there was a "sudden increase" in the number of pilgrims heading towards the pillars, the statement said.
This "resulted in a stampede among the pilgrims and the collapse of a large number of them", it added.
Security personnel and the Saudi Red Crescent were "immediately" deployed to prevent more people heading towards the area, the directorate said.
The Saudi health minister, Khaled al-Falih, said the crush occurred because pilgrims failed to follow directions.
Hajj: Previous tragedies

2006: 364 pilgrims die in a crush at foot of Jamarat Bridge in Mina
1997: 340 pilgrims are killed when fire fuelled by high winds sweeps through Mina's tent city
1994: 270 pilgrims die in a stampede during the stoning ritual
1990: 1,426 pilgrims, mainly Asian, die in a stampede in an overcrowded tunnel leading to holy sites
1987: 402 people die when security forces break up an anti-US demonstration by Iranian pilgrims
Timeline: Deadliest stampedes
The hundreds of wounded have been taken to four hospitals in the area by the more than 220 rescue vehicles sent to the scene.
Amateur video and photographs posted on social media showed the bodies of dozens of pilgrims on the ground. They were all dressed in the simple white garments worn during the Hajj.
The civil defence directorate said the victims were of "different nationalities", without providing details.
Iran's state news agency, Irna, said at least 43 Iranians were among the dead.
Image copyright AP Image caption Pilgrims converge on Mina to cast stones at three pillars representing the devil BBC Hausa Service correspondent Tchima Illa Issoufou, who was with some of those affected in Mina, said many pilgrims from Niger were also killed.
The UK Foreign Office said it was in contact with the local authorities and was urgently seeking more information about whether British nationals were involved.
Saudi-owned al-Arabiya TV reported that the head of the central Hajj committee, Prince Khaled al-Faisal, had blamed the stampede on "some pilgrims with African nationalities".
But the head of Iran's Hajj organisation, Said Ohadi, told Irna that two paths close to the scene of the incident had been inexplicably closed off by the Saudi authorities, resulting in the build-up in pilgrims.
What happens at the Hajj?

Image copyright AP

• What rituals do pilgrims perform? The pilgrimage takes place in several stages over five days, including circling the Kaaba (a cube-like building in the centre of the mosque) en masse and throwing seven stones at pillars called Jamarat which represent the devil.
• How many people go? Well over a million pilgrims from outside Saudi Arabia, and several hundred thousand from inside the kingdom, converge on the site each year.
• How do the authorities cope? Authorities deployed 100,000 security personnel and 25,000 extra health workers this year, as well as 100,000 air-conditioned tents for temporary accommodation.

Why do millions gather in Mecca every year?
The Saudi authorities have spent billions of dollars on improving transport and other infrastructure in the area in an attempt to try to prevent such incidents.
The Hajj is the fifth and final pillar of Islam. It is the journey that every able-bodied adult Muslim must undertake at least once in their lives if they can afford it.
Are you at Mecca, or do you know someone who is? If it is safe to do so, let us know about your experiences. Email haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk with your stories.
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You really need to learn how to post news articals...Just copy and paste the main text and underneath copy the source, now you have copied the whole page with useless text underneath.

[Khostai]

Bu the way most people are even happy to die in Mekka becuase they think they will go to haven if they die there, so the saudis are not the only one to blame here.

[Manzareh]

Bu the way most people are even happy to die in Mekka becuase they think they will go to haven if they die there, so the saudis are not the only one to blame here.

So what are you saying, they purposely die and kill each other in Makkah?

[Khostai]

So what are you saying, they purposely die and kill each other in Makkah?

sadly some people do that, this is not the first time, some people really want to die, muslims are so tired of this world that the bigest goal for them is to die and go to Paradise.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Mecca hajj stampede: Road closures for Saudi Arabia King Salman blamed for Eid-al-Adha catastrophe

Gianluca Mezzofiore By Gianluca Mezzofiore

September 25, 2015 12:39 BST



A Muslim man (C) weeps after getting the news of his family members, who died in Thursday's stampede in Mina, at their residence in Ahmedabad, India

Saudi Arabia has come under pressure to explain why at least one of the roads leading to Jamarat bridge – the site where the symbolic stoning of the devil takes place at Mina – was apparently closed off by local security before the stampede that killed at least 717 people and wounded 850 more at the annual Muslim hajj.

The Saudi civil defence said two groups of thousands of pilgrims walking towards the three Jamarat pillars collided at the junction of Street 204 and Street 223 because of a sudden increase in the number of people. Saudi King Salman ordered a swift investigation, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, into the incident and admitted there was a need "to improve the level of organisation and management of movement" of pilgrims.

“The Saudis say after every disaster 'it is God's will'. It is not God's will – it is man's incompetence”

- Mohammed Jafari, an advisor to Hajj and Umrah Travel

The country's health minister blamed the tragedy on pilgrims failing to follow instructions from authorities. "The accident, as most know, was a stampede caused by overcrowding, and also caused by some of the pilgrims not following the movement instructions of the security and Hajj ministry," Khalid al-Falih said, while the interior ministry said high temperatures and fatigue may also have played a role.

However, the head of Iran's Hajj pilgrimage, Said Ohadi, said two paths had been sealed near the site where the stampede occurred for "unknown reasons" and claimed "this caused the tragic incident", according to AP. Iranian officials said at least 131 Iranian pilgrims were among the dead. Ohadi said the path closures left only three routes to the area where the "stoning the devil" ritual takes place.

The apparent victim-blaming was also stigmatised by Mohammed Jafari, an adviser to Hajj and Umrah Travel, the first hajj travel agency in the UK. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he alleged that the roads were closed in occasion of King Salman's meeting with dignitaries from other Gulf countries in his palace in Mina.

"The Saudis say after every disaster 'it is God's will'. It is not God's will – it is man's incompetence," he said. "Talking to pilgrims on the ground yesterday, the main reason for this accident was that the king, in his palace in Mina, was receiving dignitaries and for this reason they closed two entrances to where the stoning happened ... these were the two roads where people were not able to proceed."


"You have a stream of people going in and if you stop that stream, and the population builds up, eventually there is going to be an accident," he continued. "It is the fault of the Saudi government because any time a prince comes along, they close the roads, they don't think about the disaster waiting to happen."

The Saudi press agency reported on 24 September that the King was received by Bin Naif, the deputy minister, minister of interior and chairman of the Supreme Hajj Committee, and by other ministers and senior civilians and military officials.

A Lebanese newspaper, the Arabic-language daily al-Diyar, conjectured that the one-way traffic directions were changed to allow the large convoy of Prince Mohammad bin Salman al-Saud to pass through and reach Mina palace for a meeting with the King, his father.

According to the report, which is not verified, the deputy crown prince and defence minister arrived escorted by 350 security forces including 200 military and 150 policemen. Saudi officials dismissed the report as "incorrect".

Jafari's remarks were echoed by other eyewitnesses who survived the deadly stampede. Yusuf Ibrahim Yakasai, from the BBC's Hausa Service, cited a witness as saying the Saudi security at the scene blocked one of the roads to the Jamarat. "This happened as thousands of pilgrims from different countries like Iran, Cameroon, Ghana and Niger were going to the Jamarat," he said.

"Therefore, as those who finished stoning the devil were coming back on the same route, they met those heading to the place. There was a kind of collision between the two groups moving in opposite directions on the same road. Those in the middle were the most affected."

Another pilgrim from London who was in Mina on 24 September, Bashaar Jamil, told the Guardian the exit tunnel "was closed by authorities and people were using one tunnel to go in and come out". He recounted how he managed to survive the stampede along with his mother by leaving as quickly as possible before thousands of people got crushed in the tunnel.

The incident is the worst tragedy at hajj for 25 years and the deadliest since 1990, when more than 1,400 worshippers died.

http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/mecca-hajj-stampede-road-closures-saudi-arabia-king-salman-blamed-eid-al-adha-catastrophe-1521183

1. Ad-Diyar is a Lebanese newspaper which is apparently pro-Syrian but also partly owned by a Saudi prince. They have been quoted by Iranian propaganda organization, "Press TV" claiming that the tragedy happened as a result of the Saudi royals.


2. However there seem to be other separate independent witnesses on the ground that report the closure of one of the routes. There has been no official explanation for such a closure, so it most likely was as a result of VIP protocol i.e the Saudi royals telling their subjects to close it.


Once again the morons who are the Saudi royal family have shown what a complete disgrace they are.

Though they call themselves "princes" and "Kings", they are in fact 1st or 2nd generation gypsies from the desert with very little brains and common sense.



Saudi bedouin, Saudi Arabia's sudden wealth has caused rapid socio-economic change in what is essentially still mentally and culturally a backwards bedouin society including the so-called "royal" family.

[Bengal_Tiger]

By the way I just want to let people know that though Shamlawar Khurasani is on my ignore, as usual he has displayed his ignorance and essentially accused me of being a Shia. I am not a Shia, and from a Sunni background.

Iran will not be able to go too far in Tajikistan in trying to promote Shiasm.

Tajiks speak the same language (more or less), and can find out more than others the true nature of the Iranian regime and its false claims for Islamic unity, in a country where mosques are destroyed and Sunnis are persecuted.

Link, post 40

Khurasani just assumes because I don't support Salafi extremists in Syria, I am instantly a Shia. I have condemned both militant Wahabism and the hybrid Perso-Safawi regime in Tehran.

Though I don't believe in sectarianism, Bangladeshis as a nation (excluding pro-Iranian Jamaatis) will always back Sunni Saudi Arabia over Iran.

Of course states will seek to promote their beliefs and ideology. Saudis are disliked by other Muslim countries for promoting their school of thought.

However Iran does not just promote its views and culture, it promotes militant groups and also promotes false Iran-centric views of history. Also Saudis aren't hypocritical like the Iranians. They do not pretend to be pro-Shia and act otherwise, whilst the Iranians pretend to believe in Sunni-Shia unity whilst demolishing mosques and destroying Qurans in Iran.

As a Sunni Bangladeshi I dislike Iran (the regime) and Shiasm, simple.

We will always back Saudi Arabia over Iran where they insult the wife of the prophet (solAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam).

Link, post 29

Just because I attacked the Tehran regime doesn't make me a Wahabi (as pro-Iran Shia militants instantly label people) and conversely just because I attack Wahabism doesn't make me a Shia.

As I am generally an objective person, I will not give blind support to anyone e.g. I don't support Russia's pro-Serb policy in the Balkans. Thus anyone who tries to label me with a simplistic title is mistaken.

[Shamlawar Khurasani]

Bengali, you are a lying little raafidhi and you expose your habit constantly by claiming you ignore people and then go on and respond to them.

You are a raafidhi and you are well known as a Shiite propagandist from the time when you use to promote ****tism religion on Mast forums of mastana.net.

[Bengal_Tiger]

Today, 05:53 PM
Remove user from ignore listShamlawar Khurasani
This message is hidden because Shamlawar Khurasani is on your ignore list.

Wahabi fanatic, get lost.

This is a serious issue with the holy places of Islam in question, not a source of entertainment for you to target forum members with moronic and ignorant ad hominem comments.

Grow up idiot.

People have lost their lives, people have lost their loved ones.

[randolph85]

These rich fat gulf Arabs need to understand that money doesn't buy competence. This applies to all facets of their wastefulness such as nepotism, defense spending, and a million other things.

[randolph85]

By the way I just want to let people know that though Shamlawar Khurasani is on my ignore, as usual he has displayed his ignorance and essentially accused me of being a Shia. I am not a Shia, and from a Sunni background.

Sunni background? Does that mean you are Sunni or not?

I am on ignore like 95% of the forum to him except the atheist members here but its more for the rest of us to ponder.

[Karachi]

Bengali tiger is not shia, not sure why people always accuse people of being shia when they say something about wahabis or saudis, as if wahabi/salafis are some saints, they are complete opposite of that, just look at their actions in everything they do.

As for Iranians and shias, they are losers, they can't do anything, they don't have balls to do anything, they are weak and evil liars

Every sect/group in Islam has major problems

[Karachi]

Wahabi fanatic, get lost.

This is a serious issue with the holy places of Islam in question, not a source of entertainment for you to target forum members with moronic and ignorant ad hominem comments.

Grow up idiot.

People have lost their lives, people have lost their loved ones.

I think they need international help on this issue, they can even ask for Americans help, after all they are their best friend. The simple fact is Saudis can't handle the situation there, it's been proven too many times, they are stupid

[Al-Afghani]

Now the government paid clerics have come out to white wash the Saudi regime's failure.

Hajj stampede: Saudi mufti says deaths 'beyond human control'

He told the interior minister, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, that he was not to blame for the tragedy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-34368387