What is the Hajj? What to Know About the Pilgrimage and Saudi Arabia’s Preparations
www.nytimes.com
Millions will make the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. The kingdom faces scrutiny over safety after more than 1,300 people died last year.

The hajj, one of the largest annual human gatherings in the world, begins on Wednesday in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Amid rising temperatures and logistical challenges, the pilgrimage has increasingly become a test of endurance both for pilgrims and the Saudi government.

Millions of Muslims from around the world travel to the city to take part; Saudi Arabia said 1,475,230 pilgrims from abroad have arrived since Sunday. Last year, the Saudi government said more than 1,300 pilgrims died, many from Egypt. Most of those who perished had been unregistered, Saudi officials said, meaning they had made the trip without the permits that gave them access to heat protections.

  • Saleh@feddit.orgEnglish
    45·
    3 days ago

    Sure, but atheists don’t organize together to persecute theists for their beliefs,

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stalinist_repressions_in_Mongolia

    Estimates differ, but anywhere between 20,000 and 35,000 “enemies of the revolution” were executed, a figure representing three to five percent of Mongolia’s total population at the time.[2] Victims included those accused of espousing Tibetan Buddhism, pan-Mongolist nationalism, and pro-Japanese sentiment. Buddhist clergy, aristocrats, intelligentsia, political dissidents, and ethnic Buryats were particularly impacted.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecution_of_Christians_in_the_Soviet_Union

    Soviet Marxist-Leninist policy consistently advocated the control, suppression, and ultimately, the elimination of religious beliefs, and it actively encouraged the propagation of Marxist-Leninist atheism in the Soviet Union.[2] However, most religions were never officially outlawed.[1]

    The state established atheism as the only scientific truth.[14][15][16][17] Soviet authorities forbade the criticism of atheism and agnosticism until 1936 or of the state’s anti-religious policies; such criticism could lead to forced retirement.[18][19][20]

    • scarabic@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      2 days ago

      You should be able to understand that a totalitarian dictator attacking religion as a competing institution, in order to consolidate his power, says more about totalitarian dictators and absolutely nothing about atheists.

    • BackgrndNoize@lemmy.worldEnglish
      31·
      3 days ago

      Of course more dumb what about isms, you think I can’t Google religious atrocities and find dozens and dozens of more links, and as I already explained to the other guy, if you pay even a fraction of attention to your own links, these are autocratic political organizations persecuting religions so as to eliminate any competition over control of the masses. Notice how in all of these examples it’s political organizations doing these things, where as for religion even the avg Joe turns into an asshole so as to not get ostracized by his little tribe of good for nothings

      • Saleh@feddit.orgEnglish
        11·
        2 days ago

        Did it cross your mind that where persecutions were done “in the name of religion”, religion was instrumentalized by autocratic political organizations for their political goals?

        By the way, did you think that you are not on the track to get people persecuted, when you dehumanize people based on the fact that they are religious? You know, the broad generalizations and consistent insults?

        Thats how genocidial regimes start, when they want to annihilate the people they hate a decade or two down the line.