Slaughterhouses geared up for animal sacrifice
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MINA: Slaughterhouses in Mina and nearby areas are geared up to receive the huge number of pilgrims who will begin sacrificing animals, a major rite in Haj, beginning on Sunday. The municipality has equipped with the latest technology the five slaughtering units in […]
Islam is the solution, Grand Mufti says in Haj sermon
By ARAB NEWS ARAFAT: More than 2.5 million pilgrims from around the globe prayed for peace and security on the sprawling plains of Arafat on Saturday amid a forceful condemnation by Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti Abdul Aziz Al-Asheikh of those who provoke hostilities between the Ummah and its leaders. The […]
Jerusalem tram offers view of other side of tracks
he Jerusalem Light Railway has provided the ancient city with new travel possibilities since it opened in August, but it is also proving controversial. The borders in Jerusalem are invisible, and to an outsider barely perceptible. If you did not know they were there, you might – on a fleeting […]
Arabnews Editorial: Essence of Haj
Today is the Day of Arafat. More than 2.5 million pilgrims, including 1.8 million who have come from abroad, will gather on the plains of Arafat today for the most important ritual of the Haj — praying, chanting and reciting the Qur’anic verses and supplicating before their Creator. Makkah has […]
Hajj – a personal experience
By the grace of Allah I have been able to perform Hajj 3 times and Umra an additional 2 times. It was always a great experience, so great in fact that it is difficult to describe. But let me try … The last time I went for Hajj was 6 […]
HAJ DIARY: Day One
By SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS Published: Nov 5, 2011 01:08 Updated: Nov 5, 2011 01:08 MINA, Nov. 4, 2011 Haj 2011 has begun on a bright note with hundreds of thousands of pilgrims, including men, women and children, converging on this tent city with prayers and talbiyah on their […]
Foreign pilgrims break all-time record
By ARAB NEWS MINA: Crown Prince Naif, deputy premier and minister of interior who is also chairman of the Supreme Haj Committee, has congratulated Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah on the successful arrival of a record number of pilgrims for this year’s Haj. “This is the first […]
Millions converge on Mina
By SIRAJ WAHAB & SYED FAISAL ALI | ARAB NEWS MINA: The valley of Mina came alive as more than 2.5 million pilgrims from around the world converged on the tent city on their first stop to the plains of Arafat. There was adequate security. Officers were out in full […]
Chants of Labbaik resonate across Makkah
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA & SIRAJ WAHAB | ARAB NEWS MINA: The holy city of Makkah reverberated with chants of “Labbaik Allahumma Labbaik” (O God, here I am answering your call) as nearly three million pilgrims from around the world readied themselves for what is often described as once in […]
Picture of the Day : Tent City of Mina
Millions are at the tent city of Mina where they will spend time before heading to the Arafat plain on Saturday. About one hundred thousand volunteers and officials deployed at different points in the holy sites provided necessary care and support to the guests of God. There were moving scenes […]
‘Palestinians will not accept less than full UN seat’
RAMALLAH (Reuters) – The Palestinians will not accept anything less than full United Nations membership and do not want an upgrade to an observer state in the world body, the foreign minister said on Thursday. Riyad Al Malki’s remarks suggested the Palestinians would not seek such an upgrade once their […]
The formative Swiss years of a Thai king
by Marc-André Miserez, swissinfo.ch Before he became the king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej lived an almost ordinary life as a student on Lake Geneva in western Switzerland. A new book, written in French by Swiss journalist and author Olivier Grivat, looks at the adolescence of a shy young man, who […]
Saudi Arabia completes all preparations for Haj
By P.K. ABDUL GHAFOUR | ARAB NEWS JEDDAH: Many of the 2.5 million pilgrims, who are expected to perform Haj this year, will leave for the Mina valley, located five km east of Makkah, on Thursday evening at the start of the annual pilgrimage. The rest of them will proceed […]
Arabnews Editorial: Bitter betrayal
The infantile response from the US and Israel to the decision by UNESCO to give full membership to Palestine is astounding. The Israelis have frozen the transfer of funds to the Palestinian Authority, worth about $100 million a month, and say they will speed up settlements in the West Bank […]
‘Work on main section suspended due to armed attacks’
By Hana Namrouqa JORDAN TIMES AMMAN – Work on a major part of the Disi Water Conveyance Project remains suspended for over a month now due to security concerns and recurring armed attacks targeting workers, a source involved in the implementation of the project said on Wednesday. Work on the […]
Over 177,000 pilgrims arrive from non-Arab Africa
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: A total of 177,426 pilgrims from 46 non-Arab African countries have so far arrived in Saudi Arabia to perform Haj, the chairman of the board of directors of the Tawafa Establishment for Non-Arab African Pilgrims announced Tuesday. Abdul Wahid Seifuddin said 142,134 […]
US buildup near Iraq lacks prudence: Iran’s foreign minister
By LARA JAKES | AP BAGHDAD: Iran’s top diplomat on Monday bitingly questioned reported US plans to build up American military forces across Middle East countries after withdrawing from Iraq, calling on Washington to be “more prudent and wise” or risk more unrest in the region. Iranian Foreign Minister Ali […]
Arrangements made to take pilgrims in hospitals for Haj
By YOUSUF MUHAMMAD | ARAB NEWS MADINAH: Sick pilgrims who are confined to hospitals in Madinah will be transported to Makkah and the holy sites to perform Haj, head of the follow-up unit at the Haj secretariat in Madinah Abdul Aziz Al-Ayoubi announced Monday. He said a special coordination meeting […]
King Abdullah tells preachers to reach out to other communities
By BADEA ABU AL-NAJA | ARAB NEWS MAKKAH: Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah urged Islamic scholars and preachers on Monday to reach out to non-Muslim communities and said the message of Islam came addressing the whole humanity, not a particular community. “We have to open up to […]