WUNRN
HAJJ 2014 - PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA -
MUSLIM WOMEN
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2014 INCREASE IN HAJJ PILGRIMS - A news report published by Arab News
quoting Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif said a total of 1,389,053
foreign pilgrims have arrived for Haj this year from 163 countries. Among them
757,981 are men and 631,072 women. “There was an increase of 8,545 pilgrims or
0.6 percent compared to 2013,” he said. Of this year’s foreign pilgrims,
1,315,850 came by air, 59,204 by land and 13,999 by sea.
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Every
year, millions of Muslims gather in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the annual
pilgrimage, called Hajj. Arriving from every corner of the globe,
pilgrims of all nationalities, ages, and colors come together for the largest
religious gathering in the world. One of the five "pillars of faith,"
pilgrimage is a duty upon every Muslim adult who is financially and physically
able to make the journey. Every Muslim, male or female, strives to make the
trip at least once in a lifetime.