If you happen to be in an airport when you read this and pass by the departure gate for Saud Arabia, it is likely that the people waiting are dressed in simple white robes. The simple attire – known as Ihram – is worn by pilgrims headed to Makkah to[…]
VOC are well into the swing of its annual hajj season programming with a core focus this year being directed towards the theme of ‘Islamic heritage’, and highlighting that which makes the month of Thul-Hijjah such a significant one for the broader Muslim community. As such, much of the programming[…]
Three million people from all over the world are expected in Saudi Arabia’s holy cities of Mecca and Medina for the annual Islamic hajj pilgrimage, which starts on Tuesday amid tight security. The Saudi authorities are deploying 100,000 security personnel, including members of the counter-terrorism and the emergency civil defence[…]
Egyptian authorities have opened the Rafah border crossing from one side on Thursday as an exception to receive pilgrims from the families of Palestinian martyrs travelling from the Gaza Strip to Saudi Arabia, MENA reported. About 500 people from the families of Palestinians who lost their lives in the Gaza[…]
The use of cranes in the Grand Mosque expansion project has been suspended till Haj. The decision was taken in view of the Friday’s crane crash that killed 111 people and injured 331. Hisham Al-Faleh, adviser to Makkah Emir Khaled Al-Faisal and chairman of the investigation committee, said all cranes[…]
Clean-up operations are on-going at the Masjid al-Haram in Makkah, following Friday’s tragic accident in which a crane collapsed on a section of the iconic mosque, killing 107 pilgrims. While movement has been restricted, authorities in the Saudi Kingdom have vowed that the haj pilgrimage will go on as per[…]
A South African man who escaped with his life after a crane crashed into Mecca’s Grand Mosque has spoken about how his fellow pilgrims died after they were hit by steel sheets just after prayers on Friday afternoon. Reliving the trauma, Ikraam Karodia told City Press that he and five[…]
There are no reports of any Africans injured or killed by a crane which collapsed onto Mecca’s Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia on Friday killing 107 people, the Muslim Judicial Council said. “According to some of our networks, we have established that at this moment in time there is no[…]
The Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques has said that all expansion projects for this year’s Haj are on schedule. The projects are part of the vision of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and the country’s government to ensure that Makkah and Madinah are world class cities,[…]
The Islamic State group is extending its reach in Saudi Arabia, expanding the scope of its attacks and drawing in new recruits with its radical ideology. Its determination to bring down the U.S.-allied royal family has raised concerns it could threaten the annual Muslim hajj pilgrimage later this month. So[…]
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