Over 8k Pinoy Muslims flock to Saudi Arabia for annual Hajj pilgrimage

JEDDAH—Over 8,000 Filipino Muslims on Thursday trooped to Saudi Arabia's Mecca, considered as the 5th pillar of Islam and the holiest place in Saudi Arabia, to join the annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Today, Muslims all over the world observe Eid- Al Adha or Feast of Sacrifice—an Islamic festival to commemorate the willingness of Abraham to follow Allah's command to sacrifice his son Ishmael.


^{Pinoy pilgrims pray inside a Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. --Ronaldo Concha}

Some two million Muslims from all over the world are expected gather in Mecca on Thursday to begin their annual Hajj pilgrimage.

Consul General Imelda Panolong of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah said that a total of 8,130 Filipino pilgrims are now in Mecca for the yearly event.

National Commission on Muslim Filipinos Secretary Yasmin Busran-Lao, who is also this year's Amerul Hajj (leader of pilgrims) leads the Filipinos in this years pilgrimage, Panolong said.

Also, she said that this year's number of Filipino pilgrims to Mecca is the biggest ever.

So far, she said, the consulate has not received any report on any problems encountered by the pilgrims, and that a medical team from the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos is taking care of their health needs.

Moreover, Panolong said a representative from the Saudi Ministry of Health had given seminars to Shayks (leader of each group of pilgrims) on what to do in times of accidents and and disease prevention.

Also included in the health seminars is the prevention of the spread of the dreaded Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and other health issues that might affect the pilgrims. — LBG, GMA News