Mecca
Umrah diary: Prayers, grief and joy in Mecca
By Dilshad Ali — February 21, 2024
(RNS) — I was disappointed to not experience my children’s reaction to seeing the Kaaba for the first time, but made my peace.
The increasingly perilous lot of the pilgrim shows us all the path on climate
By Marqus Cole — September 22, 2023
(RNS) — People of faith can help bend the curve on emissions.
Technology remains at the heart of the hajj
By Andrea Stanton — July 5, 2023
(The Conversation) — The Saudi government is using digital technology to help the hajj run smoothly and safely – the latest updates in a 200-year history of technology and the hajj.
Saudi Arabia’s new Hajj booking process has left many foreign pilgrims frustrated
By Fiona André — June 27, 2023
(RNS) — After postponing their trip for three years, many American Muslims expected a return to normalcy for this year’s Hajj, but a new online platform intended to streamline the process has instead brought complications.
Hajj pilgrims perform final rituals in Mecca before heading to Mina
By Riazat Butt — June 26, 2023
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia has restored full pilgrim capacity for this year’s Hajj, following three years of dramatically reduced numbers due to the pandemic, with more than 2 million Muslims expected to take part
Ambitious Saudi plans to ramp up Hajj could face challenges from climate change
By Riazat Butt — June 23, 2023
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The increased number of pilgrims, with the associated surge in international air travel and infrastructure expansion, also raises sustainability concerns, even as the oil giant pursues the goal of getting half its energy from renewable resources by 2030.
Official says Yemeni pilgrims depart Sanaa on first direct flight to Saudi Arabia since 2016
By Ahmed Al-haj — June 20, 2023
SANAA, Yemen (AP) — The flights between Sanaa and Saudi Arabia are another sign of easing tensions between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which has been attempting to end its involvement in country's conflict.
Saudi police arrest man who helped Israeli sneak into Mecca
By Aya Batrawy and Abdullah Al-shihri — July 25, 2022
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — The public backlash over television reporter Gil Tamary’s visit was immediate on social media, with Muslims and Saudis expressing their anger over his deception and apparent disregard for the sanctity of the site.
From caravans to markets, the hajj pilgrimage has always included a commercial component
By Noorzehra Zaidi — July 12, 2022
(The Conversation) — The start of the hajj is reigniting debates around its commercialization, but pilgrimages are also a time for seeking business opportunities, writes a scholar of Islam.
Saudi Arabia expecting 1 million in largest hajj since virus
By Amr Nabil — July 6, 2022
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s decision to allow some 850,000 Muslims from abroad to make the annual pilgrimage marks a major step toward normalcy after two years of a drastically scaled-down hajj restricted to Saudi residents.
Pilgrimage to Mecca is never easy. Saudi Arabia just made it a lot harder.
By Dilshad Ali — June 17, 2022
(RNS) — Less than a month before the pilgrimage to Mecca was to begin, the Saudis changed the rules.
As COVID-19 shutdown lifts, Mecca’s pilgrims bring Islam’s holiest city back to life
By Rabiya Jaffery — April 19, 2022
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (RNS) — Pandemic closures played havoc with the livelihoods of traders who depended on the pilgrims.
New biography offers novel approach to life of Muhammad
By Joseph Hammond — November 12, 2021
(RNS) — In his new book, 'Muhammad, the World-Changer: An Intimate Portrait,' biographer Mohamad Jebara takes long-established sources and weaves them together for a fresh telling of a familiar story.
Like many hajj traditions in a pandemic year, Zamzam water gets a reboot
By Joseph Hammond — July 21, 2021
(RNS) — In an effort to keep COVID-19 transmission to a minimum, Saudi authorities have deployed 20 robots to serve bottles of Islam's holiest water to often bemused pilgrims.
With pandemic in mind, pared-back hajj in Mecca for 2nd year
By Aya Batrawy and Amr Nabil — July 19, 2021
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Tens of thousands of vaccinated Muslim pilgrims circled Islam's holiest site in Mecca on Sunday.
Page 1 of 3
