Haj pilgrims reach Mina for stoning ritual

September 12, 2016

Mina, Sep 12: Muslim pilgrims reached Mina on Monday for the ritual stoning of the devil, the last major rite of the annual Haj and the scene of a devastating stampede last year.

minaa

The bridge is multi-storey to accommodate the huge number of pilgrims - more than 1.8 million this year.

Pilgrims threw pebbles they had gathered in nearby Muzdalifah on Sunday evening at walls representing the devil.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Saudi Arabia, arrived in Mina on Sunday to ensure the pilgrims can "perform their rituals easily, conveniently and safely", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

He was also briefed on preparations for the safe movement of pilgrims between Muzdalifah and Mina.

The stoning ritual is performed three times over the coming days.

The first comes at the start of Eid Al Adha, which is marked by more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Last year's stampede was the worst disaster in the pilgrimage's history.

Several new safety measures have been introduced this year.

Among these is the distribution of bracelets which store pilgrims' personal data. Roads have also been widened in the Jamarat area, newspapers reported.

Aerial photographs on Saudi television showed rivers of pilgrims flowing toward the Jamarat on multiple roads.

A security officer was shown monitoring the crowds on closed-circuit television screens.

Helicopters have been monitoring the flow of pilgrims, while police have been directing them on the ground to make sure there are no bottlenecks.

Pilgrims have told AFP they feel safe and have noticed organisational improvements.

"The Saudis organise everything for us. We are truly at ease here," Youssef Al Mehri, 24, from Oman said with a prayer rug slung over his shoulder.

The pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam, which capable Muslims must perform at least once, marking the spiritual peak of their lives.

The pilgrims come from every corner of the globe. Indonesia - the most populous Muslim nation - has the largest contingent.

Comments

mohammad.n
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Thank u raj. Wish u all the best in your study and search for truth. May Allah give u hidaya.
I had given link for second answer but it wasnt posted. Check this out https://islamqa.info/en/118698
Or \118698: Consensus that the Earth is round\" in google or islamqa.com"

Raj
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Mohammed thank u for one answer. According to all religion. The best religion is islam without a doubt. I started studying islam. After eating halal and non halal meat i cooked them both. Non halal meat is hard not that tasty. Halal meat was juicy soft and delicious

Sai baba. Says sab ka maalik ek hain. But people started worshiping him.

mohammad.n
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Dear Raj, It's not stoning the devil . There is nothing in Islam called stoning the devil. It's called Ramyul Jamarah in Arabic which means throwing the pebbles. This is done to symbolize the three places where Prophet Ibrahim was approached and tempted by Satan to turn away from Allaah's command.
There is no devil there and every Muslim knows that.

Rashid
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Mr. Raj...
By knowing answer to only two questions , do not change your religion...first study know about creator , and think whether you worshipping Him or not ? then try to know which religion presents true qualities of creator , after that you may go for change...
regarding pelting stone , no muslim is worshiping stone as hindu religion..those worship , they never throw stone at them but they pour milk & flower on them with 'aastha'... mena stoning is a symbolic ritual remembering stoning of prophet Abraham (PBUH) to devil , when it prevent Abraham (PBUH) of sacrifice...

Raj
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Mujahid.

Is the devil stone. Man made. Or who made it.

Raj
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Mr mujahid.

Quran 79:30. It says he expanded the earth. No where does it says it is egg shaped. I downloaded quran app in english translation.

No translator says so. Where did u get it.

Mujahid Belur
 - 
Tuesday, 13 Sep 2016

Where is the point ? We are not worshipping that stone, rather its symbolic representation that we follow the commandment of Allah SWT.
Stoning it remembers us the our forefathers, and its strengthen our belief.
Where did you find Islam tels earth is round? U got wrong information.
Quran clearly explain the shape of the earth.

“And the earth, moreover, hath He made egg shaped.”
[Al-Qur’an 79:30]

The Arabic word for egg here is dahaahaa1 which means an ostrich-egg. The shape of an ostrich-egg resembles the geo-spherical shape of the earth. Thus the Qur’an correctly describes the shape of the earth, though the prevalent notion when the Qur’an was revealed was that the earth was flat.

just saying
 - 
Monday, 12 Sep 2016

Universe 12.5 billion years ,earth 4.5 billion years,black stone and stoning the devil 1400yrs.How many more years you guys need to get rid of the devil.Please don't get duped by the mullahs and be brain washed,realize, repent,and wash of your sins,follow a dharma that is a way of life and attain moksha.

Raj
 - 
Monday, 12 Sep 2016

Its just a stone. Where is the devil. Same as we hindu. Worship stone we think god exists in the stone we created. Tum kare to chamatkar. Hum kare thi balatkaar.
And if u show me earth is round in islam.
If i get a these 2 answers iam ready to convert to islam.

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Ram Puniyani
March 8,2020

They say ‘history repeats itself first as a tragedy and then as a farce’. In case of India, communal violence not only keeps repeating itself, the pattern of the tragedy keeps changing every next time. Some features of the violence are constant, but they are under the wraps mostly. The same can be said about the Delhi violence (February 2020). The interpretations, the causative factors are very discernible, but those who are generally the perpetrators have a knack of shifting the blame on the victim community or those who stand for the victims.

As the carnage began presumably in the aftermath of statement of Kapil Mishra of BJP, which was given in front of a top police official, in which he threatened to get the roads emptied. The roots of violence were sown earlier. The interpretations given by the Hindu Nationalist camp is that the riot is due to the changing demographic profile of the area with Muslims increasing in number in those areas, and coming up of Shaheen Bagh which was presented was like ‘Mini Pakistan’. As per them the policies of BJP in matters of triple talaq, Article 370 and CAA, NPR, NRC has unnerved the ‘radical’ elements and so this violence.

As such before coming to the observations of the activists and scholars of communal violence in India, we can in brief say that violence, in which nearly 46 people have died, include one from police and another from intelligence. Majority victims are Muslims. The violence started right under the nose of the police and the ruling party. From the videos and other eye accounts, police not only looked the other way around, at places it assisted those attacking the innocent victims and burning and looting selective shops. Home minister, Amit Shah, was nowhere on the scene. For first three days the rioters had free run. After the paramilitary force was brought in; the violence simmered and slowly reduced in intensity. The state AAP Government, which in a way is the byproduct of RSS supported Anna Hazare movement, was busy reading Hanuman Chalisa and praying at Rajghat with eyes closed to the mayhem going in parts of Delhi.

Communal violence is the sore point of Indian society. It did begin during colonial period due to British policy of ‘Divide and Rule’. At root cause was the communal view of looking at history and pro active British acts to sow the seeds of Hindu-Muslim divide. At other level the administrative and police the British were fairly neutral. On one hand was the national movement, uniting the people and creating and strengthening the fraternal feeling among all Indians. On the other were Muslim Communalists (Muslim League) and Hindu Communalists (Hindu Mahasabha, RSS) who assisted the British goal of ‘divide and rule’ promoting hatred between the communities. After partition the first major change was the change in attitude of police and administration which started tilting against Muslims. Major studies by Dr. Asghar Ali Engineer, Paul Brass and Omar Khalidi demonstrated that anti Muslim bias is discernible in during and after the riots.

Now the partisan role of police has been visible all through. Sri Krishna Commission report brought forth this fact; as did the research of the Ex DIG of UP police Dr. V.N.Rai. Dr. Rai’s studies also concluded that no communal violence can go on beyond 24 hours unless state administration is complicit in the carnage. In one of the violence, investigation of which was done by concerned Citizen’s team (Dhule, 2013) this author observed that police itself went on to undertake the rampage against Muslims and Muslim properties.

General observation about riots is that violence sounds to be spontaneous, as the Home Minister is pointing out, but as such it is well planned act. Again the violence is orchestrated in such a way that it seems Muslims have begun the riots. Who casts the First stone? To this scholars point out that the carnage is so organized that the encircled community is forced to throw the first stone. At places the pretext is made that ‘they’ (minorities) have thrown the first stone.

The pretexts against minorities are propagated, in Gujarat violence Godhra train burning, in Kandhamal the murder of Swami Laxamannand and now Shaheen bagh! The Hindu Muslim violence began as riots. But it is no more a riot, two sides are not involved. It is plain and simple anti Minority violence, in which some from the majority are also the victims.

This violence is possible as the ‘Hate against this minority’ is now more or less structural. The deeper Hate against Muslims and partly against Christians; has been cultivated since long and Hindu nationalist politics, right from its Shakhas to the social media have been put to use for spreading Hatred. The prevalent deeper hate has been supplanted this time by multiple utterances from BJP leaders, Modi (Can be recognized by clothes), Shah (press EVM machine button so hard that current is felt in Shaheen Bagh), Anurag Thakur (Goli (bullet) Maro) Yogi Aditya Nath (If Boli (Words)Do not work Goli will) and Parvesh Varma (They will be out to rape).

The incidental observation of the whole tragedy is the coming to surface of true colors of AAP, which not only kept mum as the carnage was peaking but also went on to praise the role of police in the whole episode. With Delhi carnage “Goli Maro” seems to be becoming the central slogan of Hindu nationalists. Delhi’s this violence has been the first one in which those getting killed are more due to bullets than by swords or knifes! Leader’s slogans do not go in vain! Courts the protectors of our Constitution seem to be of little help as if one of them like Murlidhar Rao gives the verdict to file against hate mongers, he is immediately transferred.

And lastly let’s recall the academic study of Yale University. It concludes; BJP gains in electoral strength after every riot’. In India the grip of communalism is increasing frighteningly. Efforts are needed to combat Hate and Hate mongers.

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 13,2020

Managluru, May 13: Expressing regret over the inconvenience faced by the first batch of passengers from UAE that landed at Mangaluru International Airport last night, Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, deputy chief minister of Karnataka, today assured that all short comings will be addressed.

Addressing Kannadiga delegates from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and other countries through a video conference, Dr Narayan also assured that necessary steps will be taken by the Karnataka government to provide free quarantine facility for those who cannot afford private quarantine in hotels or guest houses. The video conference was organised by coastaldigest.com.

"The incontinence faced by passengers from Dubai at Mangaluru Airport have already been brought to my notice. All these shortcomings will be addressed. We will take appropriate steps to prevent the recurrence of such inconveniences," he said.

He said that the Karnataka government has already amended its standard operating procedure for international passengers to allow pregnant women to entre home quarantine if they test negative for covid-19. 

The problems faced by passengers at Mangaluru Airport last night include lack of staff to handle luggagues, lack of food and water, delay in arranging vehicle to transport passengers to quarantine centres and lack of free quarantine facility for those who cannot afford private quarantine facility. The next batch of repatriates will not face these problems, he said. 

Dr Narayan also promised to exert pressur on the union governmment to operate more flights to repatriate stranded Indians, especially Kannadigas from Saudi Arabia.

Prominent NRI commnity leaders Zakariya Jokatte, Naveen Bandary, Joy Fernandes, Shathosh Shetty Riyadh, Althaf Saqco, Shiekh Expertise and others participated in the video confernce.

Comments

SS
 - 
Thursday, 14 May 2020

I suggest, prefer Keral airports..  especially muslim pasengers

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coastaldigest.com news network
May 22,2020

It has been 33 years since the night of 22 May, 1987 when nearly 50 Muslim men from Hashimpura, a settlement in Meerut were rounded up and packed into the rear of a truck of the Provincial Armed Constabulary (PAC), an armed police of Uttar Pradesh. It was the blessed month of Ramadan and all the Muslims were fasting.

That night 42 of those on board the truck were killed in two massacres in neighbouring Ghaziabad district. One along the Upper Ganga canal near Muradnagar, the other along the Hindon canal in Makanpur, on the border with Delhi.

The cops had returned home after dumping the dead bodies into the canal. A few days later, the dead bodies were found floating in the canal and a case of murder was registered. 

Vir Bahadur Singh was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh and Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister of India when this incident took place. 

Not much has changed for the survivors and the relatives of the victims even today. The wounds are still fresh. Hashimpura remains devoid of basic municipal amenities, the erring silence on the narrow lanes of the locality amid the activities of a daily life speaks of the horror of the fateful day in 1987.

The massacre was the result of one among the many outcomes of the decision taken by the Rajiv Gandhi government to open the locks of Babri Masjid. After a month of rioting, the situation was tense in various parts of Meerut, and a lot spilled over in the nearby areas.

Timeline

May 22, 1987

Nearly 50 Muslims picked up by the PAC personnel from Hashimpura village in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh.
Victims later shot and bodies thrown into a canal. 42 persons declared dead.

1988

UP government orders CB-CID probe in the case.

February 1994

CB-CID submits inquiry report indicting over 60 PAC and police personnel of all ranks.

May 20, 1996

Charge sheet filed against 19 accused before Chief Judicial Magistrate, Ghaziabad by CB-CID of Uttar Pradesh police. 161 people listed as witnesses.

September 2002

Case transferred to Delhi by the Supreme Court on a petition by the families of victims and survivors.

July 2006

Delhi court frames charges of murder, attempt to murder, tampering with evidence and conspiracy under the IPC against 17 accused.

March 8, 2013

Trial court dismisses Subramanian Swamy's plea seeking probe into the alleged role of P Chidambaram, then Minister of State for Home, in the matter.

January 22, 2015

Trial court reserves judgement.

March 21, 2015

Court acquits 16 surviving accused giving them benefit of doubt regarding their identity.

May 18, 2015

Trial court decision challenged in the Delhi HC by the victims' families and eyewitnesses who survived the incident.

May 29, 2015

HC issues notice to the 16 PAC personnel on Uttar Pradesh government's appeal against the trial court verdict.

December 2015

National Human Rights Commission is impleaded in the matter. NHRC also seeks further probe into the massacre.

February 17, 2016

HC tags Swamy's appeal with the other petitions in the matter.

September 6, 2018

Delhi HC reserves verdict in the case.

October 31, 2018

Delhi HC convicts 16 former PAC personnel for life after finding them guilty of the murder of 42 people.

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