Hajj pilgrims stone symbol of devil, celebrate feast

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• published: 21 Jul 2015
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SHOTLIST 1. Various of pilgrims walking 2. Wide of pilgrims walking towards Jamarat Bridge 3. Road sign 4. Close of sign reading (English and Arabic) "Jamarat" 5. Various of pilgrims walking 6. Various of pilgrims throwing stones at symbols of the Devil 7. Security officer talking on radio while watching pilgrims 8. Various of pilgrims throwing stones 9. SOUNDBITE: (Arabic) Ali Elteel, pilgrim from Lebanon: "It's a good feeling. For the first time I'm doing Hajj. Maybe I can't come back again, so thank God I have had this chance." 10. SOUNDBITE (English) Naseer Latif, Pilgrim from Pakistan: "I was here about six years ago and I am comparing this with the last time I was here six years ago. It's fantastic. It is very very good." 11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Emad Al Nawsera, Pilgrim from Egypt: "I'm so happy because I have finished my Hajj after big suffering. (He has a bad back) Thanks God. My God gave me chance to finish the big corner of Islam." 12. Various of people with their heads being shaved 13. Wide of parked ambulances 14. Policemen walking 15. Various of pilgrims walking STORYLINE Muslims performing the Hajj pilgrimage threw stones at symbols of the devil on Monday and many shaved their heads to reflect rejection of temptation and a new, purified self. Some three (m) million Muslims are taking part in this year's Hajj. Later on Monday they will enjoy a feast of freshly slaughtered sheep at a huge tent city in Mina, a desert valley east of Islam's holiest city, Mecca. Similar sacrifices, marking the start of the Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, were carried out by Muslims around the world. he holiday commemorates a story celebrated by Muslims, Jews and Christians in which God asked the prophet Abraham to sacrifice his son to prove his faith, but then in the end offered a sheep to kill instead. Muslim tradition says it was at Mina, three miles (five kilometres) from Mecca, that the devil tried to tempt Abraham to disobey God by refusing to sacrifice his son. Hordes of pilgrims dressed in their white robes streamed across Mina valley on Monday toward three walls symbolising the devil known as the Jamarat, chanting "At thy service, my God, at thy service." The massive crowds streamed through a four-storey platform the size of an airport terminal built around the walls, and each pilgrim stoned the largest wall with pebbles collected earlier on the nearby rocky plain of Muzdalifah. They will return on each of the final two days of the five-day pilgrimage, which ends on Wednesday, to stone all three walls. The stoning ritual has caused frequent stampedes that have killed more than a thousand pilgrims in past pilgrimages. More than 1,400 people were killed in 1990 in a stampede in a tunnel leading to the Jamarat. In 2006, over 360 peopledied in a similar incident while they were on a platform performing the stoning ritual. The head of security at the Jamarat, said precautionary measures had been taken to avoid a stampede, including expanding the Jamarat platform from two to the current four stories to provide more room for the pilgrims. Police have also set up one-way routes to and from the Jamarat monitored by cameras to avoid congestion. After the stoning, many of the male pilgrims shaved their heads - the mark of a Muslim who has completed the Hajj. Female pilgrims cut a clip of their hair. Islam requires that all Muslims who are financially and physically able to perform the Hajj at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is supposed to cleanse Muslims of their sin. The hajj begins and ends in the holy city of Mecca, the birthplace of the 7th century Prophet Mohammed and the site of Islam's holiest shrine, the Kaaba. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/bb1e2bf2abc76e0e8f3e83a833d30727 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork