More results...

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors

One Day on Mount Arafat

More Muslim violence, only this time no infidels were involved.

A stampede during a stoning ritual at the annual Muslim pilgrimage Sunday killed 244 worshippers and injured hundreds more, Saudi Hajj Minister Iyad Madani said.

This occurred during a quaint little ritual.

The stampede occurred during the devil-stoning ritual, the most animated part of the annual pilgrimage.

Many pilgrims frantically throw rocks, shout insults or hurl their shoes at pillars representing the devil ó acts that are supposed to demonstrate their deep disdain.

I guess the devil made them do it?

Of course, this has happened before.

Last year, 14 pilgrims were trampled to death during the ritual and 35 died in a 2001 stampede. In 1998, 180 pilgrims died there.

These fun and games were followed by a sermon by Saudi Arabia’s top cleric Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik, in which he denounced terrorists. Well, sort of.

Sheik Abdul Aziz al-Sheik said in his sermon there were those who claim to be holy warriors, but were shedding Muslim blood and destabilizing the nation.

“Is it holy war to shed Muslim blood? Is it holy war to shed the blood of non-Muslims given sanctuary in Muslim lands? Is it holy war to destroy the possession of Muslims,” he said, adding that their actions gave enemies an excuse to criticize Muslim nations.

Is it holy war to shed the blood of all other non-Muslims? Sounds like it to me.

Then it was back to some more peaceful rituals.

After the sleepless night of prayer following the sermon, pilgrims gathered pebbles to throw at the pillars. Each threw seven times, chanting “bismillah” (“In the name of God”) and “Allahu Akbar” (“God is Great”).

Calling America “the greatest Satan,” Egyptian pilgrim Youssef Omar threw pebbles at one pillar where someone scrawled “USA.”

By the way, this is all occurring on Mount Arafat. What is it about this name and violence?

Update: Diana Appelbaum has this to say about the stone throwing.

As recently as the first half of the twentieth century, it was common for Muslim boys to throw stones at Jews and Christians passing in the street. The practice enjoyed the tacit approval of adult Muslims who would never have stooped to throw a stone themselves. It was condoned because it served the purpose of keeping dhimmi in their subservient place and of reminding everyone that Christians and Jews lived in Muslim lands on sufferance, without even such basic human rights as the right of self-defense…

Muslims throwing stones are not, in their own minds, an embodiment of the weak rising up against the powerful. Stones in Islam are the instrument by which the righteous punish the sinful, the faithful enact victory over the devil, and Muslims declare their superiority over the infidel. Every stone thrown at an Israeli or American soldier carries a message, and the message is that Muslims are and ought to be superior to Christians and Jews.

About the author

Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
Picture of David Lange

David Lange

A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media
Scroll to Top