Hajj 2009, Mecca and Jerusalem, Revenge of the Shunned Pigs……..
“Each year, millions of people travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to participate in the Hajj, a pilgrimage to the holy places of Islam. This year, the week of the Hajj begins on November 25. If you are traveling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj, you can expect large crowds at mass gatherings and places of worship and lodging. This overcrowding may lead to an increased risk of accidental injury and infectious diseases, such as meningococcal disease (meningitis), influenza (including 2009 H1N1 flu), and other diseases spread easily from person to person…….” CDC (USA)
The world’s largest potential cauldron of Swine Flu (H1N1) will be in Hijaz, Saudi Arabia, mainly at Mecca, but also Madinah. Somewhere between 2-3 million pilgrims will descend on Hijaz, although the number could be lower because of fears and restrictions forced by the flu. Many countries have stipulated certain vulnerable age group be banned from the Hajj travel this year.
This is a wise thing, but it naturally upsets the Saudi plutocrats, including some princes, who own all the expensive 5-star and 4-star that stand now where ancient historic monuments used to be at Mecca.
The Holy Shrine itself has been expanded and made fancier, but at the cost of destroying historically significant remnants. About the only original monument left standing at Mecca is the Kaaba and the Black Stone inside it. The rest is more like a pious LV, especially since whatever happens in Mecca does not stay in Mecca. Destruction of the ancient structures and monuments was driven by the confluence of two factors: (1) greed of the plutocrats to build more hotels and (2) the suspicion among the Wahhabi religious ulema and abhorrence of all monuments and memorials.
The Hajj this year almost coincides with the Thanksgiving Holiday, which is NOT a religious American holiday, although many in the Middle East think it is. Maybe it is the obsession with cranberry, yam, and pumpkin. In any case, the Hajj will be a good opportunity to test the virulence and danger of the Swine Flu. Too bad the Jewish faith also does not have a time when multitudes gather like the Hajj around this time (a few rabbis bobbing at the Wall do not count as a multitude even in Biblical terms). Then we could see what happens at both Mecca and Jerusalem, and we may truly call the result “Revenge of the Pigs”, or maybe “The Shunned Pigs Strike Back”.
Cheers
mhg
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