ONTD_Political's PotD: November 18, 2010.
Hajj, 2010 | [November 14, 2010] marked the start of the Hajj, the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Press Agency said that a record number of Muslims were expected to make the Hajj this year - over 3.4 million anticipated over the five days of the pilgrimage. One of the pillars of Islamic faith, the Hajj must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by any Muslim who has the ability to do so. Pilgrims perform a series of rituals including walking around the Kaaba, standing vigil on Mount Arafat and a ritual Stoning of the Devil. At the end of the Hajj, on November 16th, the three day festival of Eid al-Adha begins around the world.
Eid al-Adha | Eid al-Adha festivities began [two days ago]. Muslims the world over take part in the three-day festival, known as the Feast of the Sacrifice. The feast commemorates the story of Abraham, who Muslims believe was on the verge of sacrificing his son to obey God's command when God interceded by substituting a ram in the child's place.
Indian Muslims perform congregational Eid al-Adha morning prayers at the Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi on November 17, 2010. Eid al-Adha, which commemorates biblical patriarch Ibrahim's (or Abraham's) acceptance of God's command to sacrifice his son Ismail (or Ishmael), falls on the 10th of Dhul al-Hijja on the Islamic calendar. As Ibrahim was allowed to sacrifice a ram instead, Muslim families mark the day by ritually sacrificinga sheep, goats, cows and other livestock, the meat of which is also shared with the needy. (PEDRO UGARTE/ AFP/ Getty Images)
A veiled Indian Muslim woman and her daughter beg for alms after prayers at the Feroz Shah Kotla Mosque for Eid al-Adha in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice by slaughtering sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son.(AP Photo/ Kevin Frayer)
An Indian Muslim girl wears a festive dress as she walks with relatives after prayers at the Feroz Shah Kotla Mosque for Eid al-Adha in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. (AP Photo/ Kevin Frayer)
Indian Muslims hug each other after performing congregational Eid al-Adha morning prayers at the Jama Masjid mosque in New Delhi on November 17, 2010. (PEDRO UGARTE/ AFP/ Getty Images)
Hundreds of Bangladeshi passengers headed to the southern districts to celebrate Eid al-Adha travel in overcrowded ferries through the Buriganga river in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Tuesday, Nov.16, 2010.(AP Photo/ Pavel Rahman)
Bangladeshi Muslims perform congregational Eid al-Adha morning prayers in Dhaka on November 17, 2010. Eid al-Azha or the Festival of Sacrifice is a religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide in commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God. (MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/ AFP/ Getty Images)
An Afghan man carries a child on his back over a hillock on the second day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, in Kabul, Afghanistan, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010.
Afghan woman wait for the start of Eid al-Adha prayers at the Shah-e Do Shamshira mosque in Kabul on November 16, 2010. Afghans started celebrating Eid al-Adha or "Feast of the Sacrifice", which marks the end of the annual hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca.
Indonesian villagers pray during celebrate Eid al-Adha, the 'Festival of Sacrifice' after Mount Merapi erupted on November 17, 2010 near Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The latter of the two annual Eid festivals, Eid al-Adha recognises the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son to God. This year's festival saw many Indonesian's displaced as a result of the recent repeated eruptions of Mount Merapi, which resulted in over 70,000 people being evacuated from their homes around Yogyakarta. (Ulet Ifansasti/ Getty Images)
Indonesian Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayers at Baiturrahman Grand Mosque, Banda Aceh, Indonesia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice by slaughtering sheep and cattle in remembrance of Abraham's near-sacrifice of his son. (AP Photo/ Heri Juanda)
Kashmiri Muslims perform congregational morning Eid al-Adha prayers in Srinagar on November 17, 2010. Indian police fired shots in the air and used teargas to disperse hundreds of protesters in Kashmir on November 17 as prayers marking the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha erupted into protests. (ROUF BHAT/ AFP/ Getty Images)
Nepalese Muslims perform congregational Eid al-Adha morning prayers at the Kashmiri Mosque in Kathmandu on November 17, 2010. Eid al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice) is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God. (PRAKASH MATHEMA/ AFP/ Getty Images)
Malaysian Muslims look at cows before they get slaughtered during Eid al-Adha at a mosque in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. During Eid al-Adha, or feast of sacrifice, cattle and goats are slaughtered and the beef and meat is distributed to the needy to honor the prophet Abraham for preparing to sacrifice his son Ishmael on the order of God, who was testing his faith. (AP Photo/ Lai Seng Sin)
Palestinians on a ride in an amusement park during the Eid al-Adha festival in the West Bank village of Haddad near Jenin, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010. (AP/Mohammed Ballas)
Yemeni girls dressed in new clothes and wearing henna paste pose for a picture while seen in an alley of the old city, on the second day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, in Sanaa, Yemen, Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2010.(AP Photo/ Muhammed Muheisen)
Two Yemeni sisters dressed as angels, hold hands while walking in an alley of the old city, on the first day of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, or Feast of the Sacrifice, in Sanaa, Yemen, Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010.(AP Photo/ Muhammed Muheisen)
Pakistani women offer Eid al-Adha prayers at the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore on November 17, 2010. The annual Islamic holiday, which falls from November 17 to 19 in Pakistan, is marked by the ritual sacrifice after morning prayers of sheep, goats, cows and other livestock whose meat is then shared with the poor. (Arif Ali/ AFP/ Getty Images)
Russian Muslims pray outside a mosque in St. Petersburg, Russia, as they celebrate Eid al- Adha, which Muslims in Russia call Kurban-Bairam, on Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2010. Muslims worldwide celebrate Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of the Sacrifice commemorating the biblical story of Abraham.(AP Photo/ Dmitry Lovetsky)
Hajj, 2010
A Muslim pilgrim prays atop Mount Al-Noor during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mecca November 9, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
A Saudi worker stitches Islamic calligraphy in gold thread on a silk drape to cover the Kaaba at the Kiswa factory in Mecca< Saudi Arabia on November 8, 2010. The Kaaba cover is called Kiswa and is changed every year at the culmination of the annual Hajj or pilgrimage. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
An Indian Hajj pilgrim holds prayer beads prior to his departure for Mecca at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India on October 26, 2010. (SAM PANTHAKY/AFP/Getty Images)
Saudi Arabian men ride on the newly-opened Holy Sites metro light rail in Mecca on November 2, 2010. The Chinese-built monorail project, will link Mecca with the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah, and will operate for the first time during the Hajj this month at 35 percent capacity to ferry Saudi nationals who will take part in the upcoming annual Muslim pilgrimage. (AMER HILABI/AFP/Getty Images)
Saudi special forces take part in a military parade, preparing for the Hajj in Mecca on November 10, 2010. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
Saudi workers load carboys of "zamzam" water containers at the Zamazemah United Office in Mecca, on November 7, 2010. According to Islamic belief, zamzam is a miraculously-generated source of water from God, which began thousands of years ago when Abraham's infant son Ishmael was thirsty and crying for water and discovered a well by kicking the ground. Millions of pilgrims visit the well each year while performing the Hajj or Umrah pilgrimages, in order to drink its water. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
Muslim pilgrims pray outside Namira mosque in Arafat near Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A Muslim man visits the Hiraa cave on Noor mountain late on November 13, 2010 during the annual Hajj. According to tradition, Islam's Prophet Mohammed received his first message to preach Islam while praying in the cave. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
A Muslim pilgrim holds his daughter on Mount Arafat on the plains of Arafat, outside the holy city of Mecca on November 15, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
Pilgrims climb up Mount Arafat on the Plain of Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A Muslim pilgrim reads the Koran at Mount Al-Noor during the annual Hajj on November 11, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
Muslims touch and write on the Jabal al-Rahma pillar on Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Monday, Nov. 15, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Muslim pilgrims pray atop Mount Arafat, southeast of Mecca, on November 15, 2010. Pilgrims flooded into the Arafat plain from Mecca and Mina before dawn for a key ritual around the site where prophet Mohammed gave his farewell sermon on this day in the Islamic calendar 1,378 years ago. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
The massive new clock atop the newly-completed Abraj Al-Bait Towers, above tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims walking around the Kaaba, inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
In shadows and sunlight, thousands of Muslim pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia on Friday, Nov. 12, 2010. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba at the center of the Grand mosque in Mecca during the annual Hajj pilgrimage November 11, 2010. (REUTERS/Mohammed Salem)
Muslim pilgrims reach to touch the golden doors of the Kaaba as they perform their walk around the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in Mecca early on the morning of November 9, 2010. (MUSTAFA OZER/AFP/Getty Images)
Source:
- "Eid al-Adha, Feast of the Sacrifice" | The Frame | SacBee.com
- "Hajj 2010" | The Big Picture | Boston Globe