Hajj pilgrims return to scene of deadly stampede

But a number of safety measures have been taken and pilgrims said they were satisfied with this year’s organisation.

“I was awaiting the worst and in the end everything took place perfectly,” said a French pilgrim who gave his name only as Abdullah, 33.

“The Saudi police managed the situation very well,” he said, after shaving his head to mark the end of the hajj.

Saudi pilgrim Ibrahim Ayed, 40, who took part in the hajj and the stoning ritual for the first time in a decade, agreed.

“There has been a clear improvement,” he said.

The stoning — expected to continue on Tuesday — coincided with Eid al-Adha, Islam’s feast of sacrifice which is celebrated by more than 1.5 billion Muslims worldwide.

Sheep are slaughtered and the meat distributed to needy Muslims, commemorating prophet Abraham’s readiness to sacrifice his son on the orders of God, who in the end sent a lamb in the boy’s place.

Pilgrims have no need to get blood on their hands, though. They can simply purchase computerised coupons to order a sacrifice — without even seeing the beast.

The Jamarat ritual, in Mina at the eastern edge of Mecca, emulates Abraham’s stoning of the devil in resisting the temptation to disobey God’s order

Elevated cameras stationed several metres (yards) apart filmed the pilgrims, most clad in white and moving behind coloured flags identifying their groups.

Muslims from around the world on Monday returned to the scene of last year’s deadly stampede to perform a stoning ritual near Mecca that is the final major rite of the hajj.

Rivers of pilgrims flowed on multiple ramps toward the Jamarat Bridge where the “stoning of the devil” took place under high security and without incident, the interior and hajj ministry spokesmen said.

Last year’s stampede was the worst disaster in hajj history.

Riyadh issued a death toll of 769, although figures compiled from foreign officials in more than 30 countries gave a stampede tally of roughly 2,300.