A Bridge To Safety Unveiled For Hajj Stoning Ritual

Mecca, Saudi Arabia (CNN) — Chanting “Allahu Akbar” — God is Greater than any — more than 2 million pilgrims crossed new pedestrian bridges Saturday to perform one of the last rituals of the Hajj season.

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

The ritual stoning of three pillars, which occurs in the tent city of Mina — about two miles from Mecca, was the scene of stampedes and many deaths in the 1980s and 1990s as pilgrims passed a crowded bottleneck area leading to the small pillars on the ground.

But this year the Saudi government completed a new project that avoids past congestion at the site. The government has erected three massive pillars and completed a $1.2 billion, five-story bridge nearby where pilgrims can toss stones. Authorities and pilgrims say it’s a roomier atmosphere and more efficient way to accommodate the faithful.

“Everything went fine so far,” Col. Khakled Qarar Mohammadi, head of the emergency forces at Jamarat, told CNN.

“It is an immense responsibility that we had to deal with. About 3 million pilgrims move in a small geographic area at the same time wanting to do the same ritual. So we have been preparing for this for years now.”

Irtiza Hasan, a pilgrim from the United States, said all went well at the ceremony.

“The only incident I saw was that there were some handicapped women who were turned away in fears that they get hurt.”
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