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The Hajj each year brings untold suffering for the poor Muslim families in the poor Muslim states. My country, Bangladesh, home to 170 million, was once known internationally as the poorest country in the world. It is still a poor country. In recent years, hunger has been reduced from famine-like to "just" a hand to mouth condition in this densely populated tiny land. This minute change came about mainly from the ready-made garments, or textile, sector in which four million girls, aged twelve and up, work exhaustedly ten hours a day. Every single dollar that comes into Bangladesh represents an...

The Ministry of Religious Affairs announced that twelve Tunisian pilgrims passed away close to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, the land of the holy Muslim shrines during the annual Hajj celebration. Every year, some pilgrims die during the pilgrimage to Mecca. While some pass away due to natural reasons, others die during the stoning of the devil ritual in Mina. On that day almost three million people gather and some people at the front of the crowd are crushed to death or mortally wounded by stones that are thrown. The Saudi Press Agency reports: “As a result...

Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid al-Adha to Muslims worldwide and congratulate those performing Hajj. Thousands of Muslim Americans are among those who have joined one of the world’s largest and most diverse gatherings in making the pilgrimage to Mecca and nearby sites. As Muslims celebrate this Eid, they will also commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son by distributing food to those less fortunate around the world. They join the United States and the international community in relief efforts to assist those struggling to survive in the Horn of Africa and those recovering from the...

Peshawar, 7 August 2011, Flight schedule for intending pilgrims would be issued on August 15. An official of ministry of Religious Affairs told Journalists that PIA has issued flight schedule to ministry in July and it would be dispatched to the successful pilgrims by August 15. He said process to hire buildings for intending pilgrim has already been completed. He said intending pilgrims belonging to same districts will be accommodated in one flight and one building. While the PIA will allot them terminals in advance to save the time of the intending pilgrims, he said. He said the ministry will...

(Free translation) Jews being 'kept away' is obviously quite "normal" in the (Apartheid) Arab world The Daily Standard What amazes mostly, is that Saudi Arabian Airlines is (largely) state property. Thus Saudi-Arabia is the owner of the business that handles in a form of Apartheid. ...ways on the merits of the islamic culture and the Middle-East as whole. Apartheid is there, the order of the day...(Original text)Joden weren is kennelijk heel normaal in de Arabische wereld‎ De Dagelijkse Standaard Geplaatst door Willem Jan Hilderink op 24 juni, 2011 - 14:18 Delta zou dan meewerken aan de praktijken van Saudi Arabian...

Obama Issued Proclamations for Ramadan, Eid al Fitr, Eid al Adha, Hajj and Earth Day--But Not Easter Tuesday, April 26, 2011 By Fred Lucas Washington (CNSNews.com) – The White House updated its response to questions Monday to explain why the president did not put out a formal proclamation for Easter--after putting out proclamations for Muslim holidays and Earth Day. Obama attended Shiloh Baptist Church in Washington on Easter Sunday and held a White House prayer breakfast last Tuesday, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney pointed out. On Friday, the President Barack Obama issued a proclamation on Earth Day. However, two...

Peshawar 4 April 2011, government will increase the strength of Khudam Ul Hujaj from year 2011. The action has been taken because some of Khudam Ul Hujaj misplace after Hajj Operation in Saudi Arabia. According to sources of ministry of Hajj government of Pakistan talk with the Saudi government and they agreed the new step of Pakistani government. In 2011 Hajj Operation 46 thousand rupees will reduce the fees of Hajj and the new Hajj Policy will announce in the last week of this month. Sources confirm that from coming year Khudam Ul Hujaj whose visit Saudi Arabia from Pakistan...

At the moment, eggheads don’t only control the US Senate, they also control the Executive Branch of our government. Some of those eggheads employed by the US Dept. of Justice have pushed a controversial door wide open with a lawsuit on behalf of a Muslim teacher. By the way, this isn’t the first time DOJ has gone out of its way for a faith whose tenets of government run contrary to Western standards. The Washington Post said the Chicago teacher, 29 year old Safoorah Khan, wanted to make the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca known as Hajj. Muslims view making the...

(MEMRI)- Following are excerpts from an interview with Walid Muhammad Hajj a Sudanese released from Guantanamo Prison, which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on December 12, 2010: Walid Muhammad Hajj: Yes. The most common method to wear down the brothers was witchcraft. Interviewer: How did they do this? Walid Muhammad Hajj: There were, of course, Jews among the [staff of] the Guantanamo Base, and they would set traps for the guys. Interviewer: Give me an example of witchcraft. Walid Muhammad Hajj: Witchcraft was used on most of the guys. Interviewer: They would cast a spell on them? Walid Muhammad Hajj: Yes,...

The White House Office of the Press Secretary For Immediate Release November 15, 2010 Statement by the President on Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha Michelle and I extend our greetings for a happy Eid-ul-Adha to Muslims worldwide and wish safe travels to those performing Hajj. This year, nearly three million pilgrims from more than 160 countries - including the United States - have gathered in Mecca and neighboring sites to perform the Hajj rituals and stand together in prayer. On Eid, Muslims around the world will commemorate Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son, and distribute food to those less fortunate - a...

Baghdad leaders reveal that coup plot duped MI6 Julie Flint explains how rumours of Saddam's overthrow caused British intelligence to miss vital information about Iraq's weapons programme British intelligence took its eyes off Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes because it had been duped into believing a military coup would leave Sunni Muslims in power in Iraq. Sources in the country say what they missed was a push to convert chemical and biological organisms into dry agents that could be hidden until pressure on the regime was lifted. 'From the second half of 2000, the focus of the British was not on...

Travel broadens the mind—or a part of one's anatomy—it has been said. And as the poem by Joyce Grenfell puts it, I also enjoy travelling in my head, which is to say, by reading travel literature. The wonderful books by Patrick Leigh Fermor, for instance. More recently, I have been reading something quite different in that category. This is The Travels of Ibn Jubayr, in the translation by Roland Broadhurst. Abu 'Husayn Muhammed ibn Ahmad Ibn Jubayr was secretary to the Moorish Governor of Granada in the year 1182. His employer forced him to drink, against his Moslem conscience, seven...

Date: January 8, 2010 ISCC affiliated Imams Issue Important Fatwa Attack on Canada and the United States is Attack on Muslims Over 10 million Muslims Live in North America Calgary) Twenty Imams affiliated with the Islamic Supreme Council of Canada have issued a Fatwa today declaring the attacks on Canada and the United States by any extremist will be the attack on 10 million Muslims living in North America. This is the first Fatwa by the Muslim clergy declaring attacks on Canada and the United States as attack on Muslims. Following is the text of the Fatwa. FATWA (religious edict)...

...Alamoudi, who was given power of attorney by several Gitmo detainees, even persuaded the Pentagon to let an al-Qaida-tied Saudi charity fly planeloads of Muslim-American soldiers to Mecca...

In a major security breach, an Indian national working as a cleaner at Medina airport in Saudi Arabia managed to travel on an Air India flight, carrying 273 Haj pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to India, hiding in the toilet of the aircraft. Habib Hussain, 26, from Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, told the police that the contractor who employed him there had taken away his passport and harassed him. Finding no other way out to return home, he sneaked into the Air India flight to Jaipur. Habib's presence came to light about half an hour after the flight took off...

As we all know, Obama's grandmother was supposedly a Christian woman, or so he told us during the US elections. Obama also claimed he is a Christian, but for now we can probably confirm that Obama's grandmother is not a Christian, unless she went to Mecca during Hajj for other reasons, which we also doubt. On November 25, Obama's grandmother arrived in Saudi Arabia for none other than Hajj, the muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, which all Muslims are required to make if they can in their lifetime. Sarah Obama arrived in Saudi Arabia for Hajj on the 25th of November....

CNN: Jamarat is a re-enactment of an event when Prophet Abraham stoned the devil and rejected his temptations, according to Muslim traditions.

The Associated Press says that at least 100 have been killed by flash flooding in Saudi Arabia Wednesday that affected the annual pilgrimage to Mecca that is ongoing this week. Given these pictures uploaded this morning from AccuWeather.com Photo Gallery user addhna, I would think that death toll would continue to rise in this terrible tragedy; this article says that 350 are still missing.The Associated Press says: "The official says rescue teams were looking for possible survivors from the downpours that caused heavy flooding in the coastal city of Jiddah, the main entry point for the millions of Muslims performing...

It may be a gruelling and at-times dangerous journey for Muslim pilgrims, but Brisbane man Omar Saghir says the Hajj last year was the most amazing experience of his life. Millions of Muslim pilgrims have already risked floods and swine flu this year on the annual journey to the Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina. But the 28-year-old wants to make the pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia again as soon as he can save up the money. "The experience for me, because I'm Australian-born and I've never really been outside of Australia, it was a very, very, very intriguing experience,"...

The 87-year-old Kenyan grandmother of President Obama – once described by the Associated Press as a "Christian" – is making the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina, the Hajj, according to news reports. The annual Islamic tradition was noted by the president, who issued a special statement today as Sarah Obama was reported to be a guest of the Saudi Arabian king. "Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid al-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid al-Adha...

Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world’s major religions. During Hajj, the world’s largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life – including thousands of American Muslims – will stand in prayer on Mount Arafat. The following day, Muslims around the world will celebrate Eid-ul-Adha and distribute food to the less...

President Obama continued his outreach to the world's Muslims today, sending greetings to pilgrims to Mecca. .... "Michelle and I would like to send our best wishes to all those performing Hajj this year, and to Muslims in America and around the world who are celebrating Eid-ul-Adha. The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world’s major religions," Obama said in a statement. "During Hajj, the world’s largest and most diverse gathering, three million Muslims from all walks of life – including thousands of American Muslims – will stand...

1 hr 36 mins ago "The rituals of Hajj and Eid-ul-Adha both serve as reminders of the shared Abrahamic roots of three of the world's major religions," read a White House statement. "On behalf of the American people, we would like to extend our greetings during this Hajj season -- Eid Mubarak," Obama said, using a traditional Muslim greeting.

Why the deception? And who was behind it? AP? The Obama camp? Someone else? What was its purpose? AP, March 5, 2008: "In the world of today, children have different religions from their parents," she said. She, too, is a Christian. --- Is she really? "Saudi Arabia: Obama's grandmother in Mecca for 'Hajj' ceremony," from AKI, November 25 (thanks to C. Cantoni): Mecca, 25 Nov. (AKI) - The grandmother of US president Barack Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia for the 'Hajj' or Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a Saudi daily said on Wednesday. Sarah...

Mecca, 25 Nov. (AKI) - The grandmother of US president Barack Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia for the 'Hajj' or Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a Saudi daily said on Wednesday. Sarah Obama, 87, is being accompanied by a nephew and Obama's cousin, Omran. On Wednesday Sarah Obama was in the valley of Mina with an African delegation, according to the Saudi daily Okaz. Obama, the mother of the American president's father, lives in a village in Kenya and is one of the many guests of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud....

Mecca, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- The Hajj, an obligatory pilgrimage for Muslims, began this year on Wednesday with two twists: thinner crowds and heavy rain. A rare rainstorm inundated pilgrims in the city of Mina, flooding tents and making conditions miserable for the 2.5 million pilgrims performing the ancient rituals, according to Isha Sesay, CNN's correspondent there. The tents, where pilgrims plan to spend the night in prayer and contemplation, were leaking and flooding, giving rise to fears of disease, Sesay reported.

President’s Muslim Roots Family Makes Thanksgiving Pilgrimage thelastcrusade.org The grandmother of President Barack Obama has arrived in Saudi Arabia for the 'Hajj' or Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, a Saudi daily confirmed on Wednesday. Sarah Obama, 87, is being accompanied by a nephew and Obama's cousin, Omran.On Wednesday Sarah Obama was in the valley of Mina with an African delegation, according to the Saudi daily Okaz. Sarah Obama, the mother of the American president's father, lives in a village in Kenya and is one of the many guests of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah bin...

There's no word on whether or not the man who picked up the tab for her trip, aka the Donald Trump of Abu Dhabi, was with her entourage.

Where can you spend almost $US150,000 per square metre on a piece of land? Not the Champs-Elysees in Paris, or Broadway or New York. But Mecca! This film shows the transformation of the holiest place in the Islamic world into a real estate business for religious tourism … More than 3-million Muslims from around the world now attend the world’s largest pilgrimage, the Hajj. Following the pilgrims’ journey, this film features a rare interview with the Bin Laden Group behind much of the monumental development of Mecca, potentially Saudi Arabia’s new ‘gold’.

Revenge of the Pigs Fears for the Hajj Raised thelastcrusade.org. Pigs may get their revenge against Islam.They have been classified as filth (najasa) by shariah (Muslim) law.A Muslim must purify himself of anything made impure by contact with a pig.Swine are considered as vile and disgusting as “non-Muslims at war with Muslims, apostates from Islam, convicted married adulterers, and biting dogs.”Yet more Muslims are likely to die of swine flu this year than the adherrents of any other religion.The mass Islamic infection of the H1N1 virus is expected to occur during the five day hajj that will take place...

BEIJING — China will give swine flu vaccinations to thousands of Muslims about to make the annual pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia, state media said, as authorities reported the mainland's third death from the illness. Concerns over the hajj, which attracts about 3 million Muslims every year to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, have led several countries to impose travel bans over fears the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu. Arab health ministers in July banned children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from attending this year. All of China's 12,700 Muslims making the pilgrimage...

The global financial crisis has affected the registration of Muslims wishing to travel to Mecca, Saud Arabia, for the annual pilgrimage, the National Hajj Mission has confirmed. According to the Hajj Mission of the Muslim Council of Tanzania (Bakwata), at least 2,500 Muslims would have been allowed to visit the Arabian Gulf nation for the annual pilgrimage this year, but the allocated figure for Tanzania could not be reached due to economic downturn shocks. Speaking to The Citizen over the phone from Zanzibar yesterday, the acting chairman of the Tanzania Hajj Mission, Sheikh Khalid Mohamed, travel agents are worried that...

Swine flu, economic downturn overshadow Ramadan by Paul Handley 1 hr 57 mins ago RIYADH (AFP) – Muslims entered the fasting and feasting month of Ramadan on Saturday with swine flu and the economic downturn adding to the security fears that plague several Islamic countries in dampening the mood. The threat from the A(H1N1) virus prompted a string of governments to bar their citizens from making the pilgrimage to the holy places in Saudi Arabia traditionally made by many Muslims during Ramadan, while financial worries forced many families to cut back on their holiday spending. In the Saudi cities of...

Saudi Arabia may bar Haj pilgrims below six years and above 65 years due to swine flu fears, a media report said Wednesday. Jeddah was yet to convey its decision to the governments across the globe that coordinate the Haj by their Muslim citizens every year, New Age newspaper said. In Bangladesh’s case, the number of pilgrims this year may be slashed by half. “We don’t have any specific information about how many pilgrims will not able to go for Haj if the ban (is) imposed, but the number can come down to half,” said Shahjahan Mia, Bangladesh’s state minister...

The Health Ministry announced Egypt's first swine flu fatality on 19 July. The victim was identified as 28-year-old Samah El-Sayed Salima, recently returned from Saudi Arabia after the omra. Her death came after the Health Ministry had repeatedly advised pilgrims to cancel omra trips. El-Sayed began suffering flu-like symptoms in Mecca. She also had an underlying heart condition. Egypt's first cases of swine flu were confirmed in June among people travelling from the US. Soon cases were being reported among passengers coming from Western countries and from Saudi Arabia after performing omra rituals. The Ministry of Health began to call...

Days after his return from an unannounced pilgrimage to the Islamic holy site of Mecca, U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison talked about it as a transformational personal experience, saying "I didn't want to turn it into a politics thing." Nearly eight months later, the Minneapolis DFLer faces a House Ethics Committee review of his decision to keep the trip's costs under wraps -- even though it was paid for by a local Islamic nonprofit and typically would be reported as a gift to a public official. Asked about the trip Tuesday, Ellison said that he is "not privy to the internal...

(CNN) -- Two Hajj pilgrims from Iran have contracted the H1N1 virus, according to reports from the country's official news agency. December 2008: A Saudi policeman directs pilgrims at Mount Arafat, southeast of holy city of Mecca. Iran's official Fars news agency Wednesday reported that a 57-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man who had recently returned from a pilgrimage tested positive for the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu. This brings Iran's tally to three cases. Every year about two million Muslims go on pilgrimage to Mecca -- the holiest place in Islam. As well as the annual Hajj...

Swine flu fears and the global economic crisis are taking their toll on bookings at hotels in the city of Mecca, two months before the start of a minor pilgrimage that attracts up to two million Muslim pilgrims. Umra can be performed any time of the year but most prefer to do it during the last 10 days of the fasting month of Ramadan, which will be around September 10 to 20 this year. The haj season, which falls in November this year, attracts some three million pilgrims. At Ajyad Hotel, favoured for its proximity to the Grand Mosque and...

I noted earlier tonight that all American taxpayers are paying for the Uighurs' indefinite vacation in Bermuda, but that is very much the exception to the rule. Most of us never find anyone willing to pay for our vacations. If you're a Congressman, though, that rule doesn't necessarily apply.We've written several times about Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison's hajj to Mecca, most recently here. A spokesman for Ellison, the first Muslim Congressman, first claimed that he paid for the pilgrimage himself. Later it was reported that the Muslim American Society paid for the trip, which MAS spokesman Mahdi Bray heatedly denied,...

The Muslim religious authorities in Egypt have suggested delaying the annual pilgrimage to Mecca because of the spread of swine flu. Egypt's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Ali Jumua, has called for a religious edict to decide how long the pilgrimage rites of the Hajj could be postponed. At least two million people took part in the last Hajj, which falls this year in November.

JERUSALEM – President Barack Obama's paternal grandmother, Sarah Obama, will reportedly perform the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage this year along with her son Syeed Obama. A private Kenyan television channel, quoted extensively by the Kenyan and Pakistani media, reported Sarah Obama and her son will also visit Dubai before going to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj. The pair lives in Kenya. The News, a newspaper in Dubai, confirmed the report. It quoted United Arab Emirates' property tycoon Sulaiman Al Fahim as stating he will personally sponsor Sarah Obama's trip after meeting the elderly Obama in Kenya last week and learning she...

JERUSALEM – President Barack Obama's paternal grandmother, Sarah Obama, will reportedly perform the Muslim Hajj pilgrimage this year along with her son Syeed Obama. A private Kenyan television channel, quoted extensively by the Kenyan and Pakistani media, reported Sarah Obama and her son will also visit Dubai before going to Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj. The pair lives in Kenya.

US President Barack Obama’s paternal grandmother, Sara Obama, will perform haj this year along with her son Syed Obama, a private TV channel reported on Saturday. According to the channel, Sara and Syed will also visit Dubai before going to Saudi Arabia for performing haj

China has signed an agreement with Saudi Arabia to build a new railway system linking the main sites of the annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj. ... Saudi Arabia also plans to build a high-speed rail link to take pilgrims from Mecca to Medina, Islam's two holiest cities, in 30 minutes. ... The new network in Saudi Arabia is expected to be ready within three years, with one section of the line due to be completed in time for the 2010 Hajj, officials said. The contract, worth almost $1.8bn (£1.24bn), was awarded to the China Railway Company and a French firm.

CNN likens inauguration to 'hajj' Crowd cited, 'That is the initial definition of a pilgrimage, show up' A special CNN report has likened attendance at President Obama's inauguration to participation in the hajj, the pilgrimage to Islam's holy city Mecca that Muslims are required to make at least once. The CNN report was criticized by the FreedomsLighthouse.com blog. "Just when you think you have heard everything from the liberal media, they best their own record for ludicrous reporting," said the website report about the CNN video. "Here is a CNN report that actually compares the upcoming presidential inauguration to the...

CNN correspondent Zain Verjee, in a report posted on CNN.com on January 17, likened the expected large crowds for the inauguration of Barack Obama to the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca: “The coming political pilgrimage to Washington is similar to another grand event in both size and preparation -- the Hajj, the most important religious pilgrimage in the Muslim world.” Verjee has personal experience of the Hajj, as she belongs to the Ismaili branch of Shiite Islam. She filed a web log for CNN of her experience on the pilgrimage in 2005. During her report, she emphasized how...

Note: Video included. CNN Report Actually Compares Upcoming Inauguration to Muslim Pilgrimage to Mecca - Video 1/16/09 Just when you think you have heard everything from the liberal media, they best their own record for ludicrous reporting. Here is a CNN report that actually compares the upcoming Presidential Inauguration to the Muslim Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca! I kid you not!

Barack Obama's inauguration promises to be one of the most important civic events in American history. Millions will make their way to the National Mall. More than 10,000 buses will be chartered. At a website called Inauguration or Bust, people anywhere in the country can find locals to travel with. At the site, the contingent from Savannah, Georgia, refers to its trip as a "pilgrimage". That word, most often associated with religious fervor, is appropriate here. The inauguration buzz is reminiscent of the excitement I have encountered in Muslim countries in the days preceding the hajj. The theological comparison isn't...

Just when you think you have heard everything from the liberal media, they best their own record for ludicrous reporting. Here is a CNN report that actually compares the upcoming Presidential Inauguration to the Muslim Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca! I kid you not! The report never mentions Obama by name, but we did not see any comparisons between President Bush's Inauguration and the Hajj to Mecca. For the mainstream media, who take such pride in helping to get Barack Obama elected with their incredibly biased reporting, perhaps the inauguration of Barack Obama is a religious event, as they put their...

There was no fanfare, no press release when Keith Ellison made the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy city of Mecca last week. "We weren't really trying to turn this into a political thing," said the Democratic congressman from Minneapolis. "This is just me trying to be the best person I can be." Downplaying his role as the first member of Congress to make the Hajj, as the pilgrimage is known, Ellison called the experience "transformative." "It really didn't have anything to do with me being a congressman," said Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Bravo...Sierra...