MAKKAH, January 18 (IslamOnline.net) – Saudi
Arabia has harnessed the Information Technology age for the comfort
of some two million pilgrims to perform Hajj this year.
The Prophet’s Mosque and sacred places in Makkah
Al-Mukarama have been decked with electronic signs to streamline the
movement of the faithful.
The mosque’s 129 gates were also decorated with
traffic-style lights, which turn red when the mosque is full and
green when there is enough space.
Up to 700 TV sets and five huge electronic
screens have been set up in camps in and around Mina to guide the
pilgrims and provide them with minute-by-minute footage of the
Jamrat bridge to head off deadly stampedes.
They further broadcast the holy rituals live for
the white-robed pilgrims in five different languages: Arabic,
English, Urdu, Indian and Bengalese.
Seven escalators and 15 exits have been set up
for the elderly and people with special needs in addition to two
elevators.
Hotline
Hajj authorities have also set up a hotline (800
245 100) to answer questions from the pilgrims in five
languages.
Scholars and imams from the four corners of the
kingdom are working on a two-shift basis to answer perplexed
pilgrims.
The Saudi Armed Forces further launched for the
first time a new medical service called “Ask Your
Physician.”
Mina hospital also appointed doctors speaking
the much-used languages to advise the pilgrims how to avoid
contagious diseases.
The Saudi Red Crescent has also prepared up to
117 portable hospitals across the holy lands and highways with a
capacity of 2,115 people.
The Islamic Guidance in Hajj Authority also
holds a series of lectures in mosques and the pilgrims’
accommodation to raise the awareness of the pilgrims.
The authority has also distributed up to 10
million Hajj brochures, including 1.6 million copies of the Noble
Qur’an and translations of its meanings.
Saudi Arabia announced Friday, January 14, that
`Eid Al-Adha (feast of sacrifice) falls on Thursday, January
20.
The Ministry of Interior has deployed more than
50,000 security men to secure Muslims performing the fifth pillar of
Islam.
Official figures put the total number of
pilgrims performing last year's Hajj at 1,892,710, with 1,419,706
from abroad and 473,004 Saudis and other Muslim residents of the
kingdom.
