According
to the Saudi Press Agency, as recently as 1950 the number of
pilgrims during Hajj was less than 100,000. That number doubled by
1955, and in 1972 it had reached 645,000.
In
1983, the number of pilgrims coming from abroad exceeded one
million for the first time. Due to the rapidly increasing numbers,
in 1988 the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) passed a
resolution to specify a quota of pilgrims for each country
according to its population.
Today,
pilgrims come from all corners of the earth. Many of their
organized groups are met by air-conditioned buses, travel with
experienced guides, and stay in the many 5-star hotels around
Makkah. Even the rites of the pilgrimage are more comfortable, with
courtyards sheltered from the sun, air-conditioned walkways,
escalators to the roof of the mosque, and cool marble floors on
which to pray.
The
Saudi government has spent nearly $25 billion on renovating and
expanding the facilities for pilgrims. The worshipers fill all
three levels of the mosque, including the roof, and still spill
onto the terraces, plazas, and streets in the surrounding area.
One
might wonder if all the modernity has changed the Hajj experience
and made it less spiritual. Of course, those who travel today do
not have the benefit of knowing what things were like before.
Perhaps one type of hardship (traveling by foot in the desert heat)
has been replaced by another (keeping safe and patient in the mass
of people). But to a one, those who have gone for Hajj come back
speechless, unable to find the words to describe their experience.
"You just have to be there to understand" is the common
response to questions. While the facilities and terrain may have
changed in modern times, the rites of pilgrimage and the bonds of
brotherhood among the pilgrims have remained the same throughout
history. Where else on earth can you find millions of people,
different in language, race, color, culture, but united in faith
and purpose, acting with complete goodwill, discipline, generosity,
and brotherhood? That is the unique Hajj experience.
