World celebrates Eid

More than 2 million mark Eid al -Adha in Saudi Arabia

More than two million Muslims took part in the symbolic stoning of the devil yesterday in Saudi Arabia, the last major ritual of the hajj pilgrimage that heralds the start of the Eid al-Adha feast. Muslims on the annual hajj pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, made their way across the Mina valley of the western Saudi Arabian Mecca province, many carrying pebbles in plastic bottles. Pilgrims clad in white threw seven stones each at a pillar symbolising satan, shouting “Allahu akbar” (“God is greatest”) under the watchful eyes of security forces.

Large fans sprayed water over the crowd as temperatures climbed to 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit). “Thank God it hasn’t been too crowded this year. There hasn’t been a big rush,” said Mohammed Osman, 27, who regularly attends hajj. “We are under God’s protection,” said May Khalifa, a 37-year-old Egyptian Muslim living in Riyadh. “Despite the exhaustion, I’m enjoying my first hajj,” she said, lifting her small bag of stones. The hajj is one of the world’s largest Muslim gatherings and drew this year nearly 2.4 million pilgrims to Saudi holy sites.