MoP at the Hajj

Every year more than 4 million pilgrims from all over the world are travelling to Saudi Arabia to do the fifth Pillar of the Islam, a religious duty that need to be carried out at least once in their lifetime by each abled-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.

The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year. This year the dates were 17-29 October 2012.

During Hajj thousands of Scouts of the Saudi Arabian Scouts Association are assisting pilgrims from the moment they enter the country until they leave again as well as assisting with logistics etc in Mecca.

During the 2012 Hajj 4030 Scouts registered as Messengers of Peace and over 100 videos with recorded stories where uploaded on YouTube. Thousands of brochures were handed out to interested pilgrims who wanted to know more about the Messengers of Peace Initiative.

Check out scoutmessengers.org to learn more about the programme and to see some of the videos made during the Hajj.

The Hajj is associated with the life of Islamic prophet Muhammad from the 7th century, but the ritual of pilgrimage to Mecca is considered by Muslims to stretch back thousands of years to the time of Abraham (Ibrahim). Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals: Each person walks counter-clockwise seven times around the Kaaba, the cube-shaped building which acts as the Muslim direction of prayer, runs back and forth between the hills of Al-Safa and Al-Marwah, drinks from the Zamzam Well, goes to the plains of Mount Arafat to stand in vigil, and throws stones in a ritual and celebrate the three day global festival of Eid al-Adha.