CNEWS MAKKAH: More than two million Muslims from around the world have flocked to the desert of Saudi Arabia to make the annual pilgrimage. Muslims have been making this journey for the past 14 centuries. Every Muslim is required to make the Hajj at least once in their lifetime as long as they are physically and financially able. However, this year, Saudi officials are warning weak and at-risk Muslims not to participate due to the threat of the H1N1 flu. To avoid an outbreak, Saudi Arabia’’s health minister has urged all pilgrims to get the H1N1 vaccine. Screenings are also being conducted at Saudi airports to spot and contain flu cases. Pilgrims there are being given hand sanitizer, face masks and information packets on how to keep from getting the pandemic flu during the Hajj. One of the five pillars of Islam, the Hajj consists of a complex series of rituals based on the life of the Prophet Muhammed. This year’’s pilgrims will spend the next few days reflecting as they travel between the holy city of Mecca, the city of Mina, and Mount Arafat, where the Koran says Muhammed delivered his final sermon more than 13-hundred years ago. The last day includes the symbolic “stoning of the devil” in Mina before pilgrims head back to Mecca to walk around the most sacred site in Islam, an ancient building in the holy city of Mecca known as the Kaaba. The final day of the Hajj is also the Islamic holiday Eid al-Adha, which will fall on Saturday here in the U.S.

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