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Stampede kills more than 700 as tragedy strikes hajj again

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"The stampede, one of the worst incidents to hit the hajj in nearly a decade, broke out during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual"

Senseless beyond belief. Whoever is responsible for organizing this needs to be severely punished.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Whoever is responsible for organizing this needs to be severely punished.

Not sure if the writer of the Koran included Hajj safety instructions...

2 ( +5 / -3 )

"The stampede, one of the worst incidents to hit the hajj in nearly a decade, broke out during the symbolic stoning of the devil ritual"

An utterly tragic, mind-bogglingly absurd waste of human lives.

"Celebrations of Eid al-Adha were also marred in neighboring Yemen, where a suicide bomber struck a mosque in the capital Sanaa in an attack targeting Shiite worshippers that killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens during prayers."

An utterly vile, mind-bogglingly vicious slaughter of people.

Why people persist with these ideas is utterly mind-boggling.

9 ( +9 / -0 )

Stampeding during hajj wasnt the first and it wont be the last. Their faith comes first, their lives were the last thing they will concern.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

"The world’s Muslims commemorated Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son by slaughtering cows, sheep and other animals on Thursday."

Sounds like a great idea. I'm sure it's really....um....useful? Effective? Errr...Or something.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Where is the outcry from all of the Animal Rights Groups about the slaughter of all of those animals just for a religious ritual?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

First it was 105 dead, then 200, then 310 and now they are saying 453. Unbelievable.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You have to understand the enormity of the number of people attending the Hajj. Last year over 2 million people attended. I'm not sure there is any way to make that many people in that small of a space safe. While this comparison might not make sense to non-Americans, the US's Super Bowl last year had only 70,000 people there. That's 3.5% of the number of people on Pilgrimage. And it's only 4 hours long.

So basically take 28 Super Bowls, make them 5 or 6 days long, and while I can't find data comparing the size of an NFL stadium to the inner plaza of the Masjid al-Haram mosque, several of the locations along the route are going to be far smaller, and everyone is moving. I just don't think it's possible that this can be done without some people dying. It's not a failure of organization, it's not a failing of Islam, it's just basic logistics.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The things people do for religion....

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I don't understand what happened.

People stampeded over people?

They just started panicking or something?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A tragic loss of lives shortly after the crane caused the deaths of many.

@Farmboy

Maybe some top cleric can change the rules

Like any other document that forms the base of a culture or belief system, there would then have to be amendments to the original document. That would require humans to acknowledge it was a document that could be altered by humans.

Remember, this event has been a huge money maker for its sponsors for centuries, and that it attracted crowds of followers of a different set of beliefs well before the writing of the document that is used by the current believers. Some historians claim that the money made by visiting the site was one of the reasons the leader who is seen as the originator of the current belief system, a man who was well-known as a businessman, had the original document written for him.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

They just started panicking or something?

Maybe the Devil went "Boo!" I imagine he does not appreciate having people stone him.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

FarmboySEP. 25, 2015 - 04:56AM JST Maybe some top cleric can change the rules to require the event to be longer, with only so many people on one day?

Only Shia Islam has a hierarchy with clerics able to impose their rules on people below. That's the Islam in Iran. The Hajj takes place in Saudi Arabia, and Saudi Arabian Islam is dominated by Sunni Islam, where there is no leadership hierarchy. Prominent imams might be able to make suggestions, but there is no obligation to follow them. In my opinion, any solution to this will have to come from the Saudi political class, which means they probably will not be able to get away with changing theology, they'll have to change infrastructure.

bellboa45SEP. 25, 2015 - 06:15AM JST I don't understand what happened. People stampeded over people? They just started panicking or something?

It's not uncommon any time large groups of people get crowded into a small space. It used to happen in British soccer matches, sometimes it happens when people are evacuating a fire, and it often happens on a smaller scale when Americans cram themselves into store entryways for Black Friday sales after Thanksgiving. It may not start as a panic, just people pushing the people in front of them when there's no where for the people in front to go, so they're forced to push the people in front of them, and this goes on until there's someone who can't push so they fall down and get trampled.

Frankly, I'm amazed it doesn't happen on Japanese trains.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

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