Muslims make a pilgrimage to the sacred city at least once in their lifetime if they have the physical and financial means

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia, February 10 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - More than two million Muslim pilgrims began pouring into the plains of Arafat on Monday, February 10, for the climax of the annual hajj, praying for forgiveness and for Iraq to be saved from a threatened U.S. attack, as Iraqi pilgrims vent their anger at the U.S. plans to attack Iraq and at the silence of Arab leaders.

"Most Arab leaders are not doing their job. Many have remained silent" on the ongoing U.S. military buildup in the region, said 60-year-old Said Mahmud.

"At this delicate juncture, they are required to support Iraq by deeds and not by words alone," Mahmoud told Agence France-Presse (AFP) from the Iraqi pilgrims' camp on Mount Arafat.

Some 15,000 Iraqi pilgrims are taking part in the annual hajj this year, some 9,000 of whom traveled to Saudi Arabia by plane.

The Iraqi camp is just several hundred meters (yards) away from a camp housing some 7,000 American Muslims who came for the hajj this season, 3,000 less than last year because of heightened tension in the region.

"Arab leaders must understand that the United States will attack their countries one by one after finishing the job in Iraq," warned Khaled Ahmad, 70.

"Arab and Muslim leaders must be held responsible for this vicious crime," of the potential U.S. strike against Iraq, Ahmad said.

The Iraqi pilgrims said that the main goal of any U.S.-led attack on their country would be to wrest control of the Gulf's abundant oil wealth.

"It's a pre-planned conspiracy against Iraq and Arabs. The Americans want to control the oil in the Gulf region," where more than 70 percent of proven world reserves are located, said Kazem Hussein, a 45-year-old teacher.

"It's a crusader war against Muslims and (U.S. President George W.) Bush has mentioned something like this," he said.

Iraqis also prayed for their country to be spared the ruins of war, saying the people had suffered enormously during numerous wars and biting UN economic sanctions in force since August 1990.

Defiant anti-U.S. slogans with portraits of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein decorate the outer fence of the Iraqi hajj camp on Mount Arafat, separated by a 20-meter (yard) road from the Palestinian camp.

Palestinian and Iraqi pilgrims both said they felt they were victims of a wider U.S.-Israeli conspiracy in the Middle East.

"We wish to see the Iraqis victorious. We hope to see the U.S. army defeated and destroyed because they have no business being here," said Sami Dawood, 40, a Palestinian merchant from the West Bank town of Tulkarem, whose store was demolished only last week by Israeli troops.

The pilgrims arrived from Mina, some seven kilometers (4.5 miles) away from Mecca, by foot, in buses and in small vehicles and pick-ups, to the pilgrimage's most significant site.

"Here I am Allah, answering your call; there is no God but you," the sea of humanity, all dressed in white, chanted as they approached Arafat, where the Prophet Mohammad delivered his last sermon 14 centuries ago.

Standing on Mount Arafat before sunset on Monday is the high point of the hajj, and pilgrims who fail to make it here on time must repeat their pilgrimage in future.

Many pilgrims prayed for peace and for Iraq to be saved and emerge victorious in its confrontation with the United States over its alleged weapons of mass destruction.

"May God protect Iraq and its people. They are my brothers. May God make Iraq victorious against its enemies," 40-year-old Khalil el-Ghandur from Egypt said.

"I pray for peace for all peoples on earth. I don't want war. I don't want to see my country taking part in military actions. Iraqis are my Muslim brothers," said Omer Dogan, 27, from Turkey.

‘Break The Silence’

Others vented their anger on Washington and urged Arab and Muslim countries to break their silence and help defend Iraq, which is finding itself increasingly in the sights of a huge U.S. military buildup in the Gulf.

"America wants to control the Arab world and its wealth. We are all soldiers for Iraq. All Arab countries must unite and do something. We are all Muslim brothers and have the same blood," said Faruq Ahmad, a 50-year-old engineer from Syria.

"Death to America, (U.S. President George W.) Bush and Israel. They are enemies of Islam," screamed Habib Pivali, a 46-year-old nurse from Iran.

"America wants the Arab oil. Washington is certainly the enemy of Muslims," said Yavuz, 30, from Turkey.

Many pilgrims headed straight for the 70-meter (230-foot) high Mount of Mercy (Jabal al-Rahma), where they will pray for mercy in a symbolic re-enactment of Prophet Mohammad's only pilgrimage.

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh appealed in remarks published Monday to pilgrims "not to politicize the pilgrimage and refrain from demonstrations or raising slogans."

Official figures indicate 1.431 million pilgrims have come from outside Saudi Arabia and up to 600,000 from various parts of the kingdom. They have been joined by around 200,000 Mecca residents.

Thousands of police, soldiers and paramilitary troops were stationed along the routes to Arafat as helicopters hovered overhead.

Saudi Arabia “Forgot” To Supply Tents For 40,000 Pilgrims

Meanwhile, Saudi officials apparently “forgot” to supply tents for 40,000 Turkish pilgrims who were supposed to spend the night in the Mina valley outside the holy city of Mecca, Anatolia news agency reported.

An official from the Turkish Union of Travel Agencies, which was organizing the pilgrimage trip of 45,000 Turks, was quoted as saying in Mecca that they were trying to resolve the problem.

"The money for tents to be given to the Turkish pilgrims was paid in advance. But enough tents were provided not for 45,000, but 5,000 people. As an explanation for this situation, Saudi authorities said they had forgotten," Mustafa Canerli told Anatolia.

This year's hajj is being overshadowed by serious security concerns over growing U.S. threats to attack neighboring Iraq and there were some reports that the U.S. urged a  fast end to the pilgrimage for war sake.

The semi-official widely-circulating Egyptian daily Al-Ahram reported on Saturday, February 8, that the Saudi authorities decided to cut short rituals of Hajj (pilgrimage) as “necessary” measure taken in accordance with a fatwa (religious edict) to that effect.

The reported announcement raised questions whether there is an American request for an evacuation of the pilgrims amid great prospects for launching a military offensive against Iraq after Eid Al-Adha (Day of Sacrifice), an Islamic celebration marking the end of Hajj.

Arafat is a small plain, some 250 meters (yards) above sea level, surrounded with high mountains from all directions. Pilgrims stay the day under thousands of tents and in the open.

Many trucks, parked by the side of the road, were distributing food and water free to pilgrims.

At sunset, pilgrims will descend to nearby Muzdalifa, a few kilometers away, where they will stay the night and collect small rocks to stone the devil in Mina on Tuesday which is the first day of Eid al-Adha (the feast of sacrifice).

Muslims make a pilgrimage to the sacred city at least once in their lifetime if they have the physical and financial means. The Hajj is one of the “five pillars” of Islam, and thus an essential part of Muslims’ faith and practice.

The Hajj consists of several ceremonies, meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.