Mideast war casts shadow over hajj pilgrimage
More than a million Muslims are gathering in Mecca for the hajj pilgrimage overshadowed by the Middle East war, as animosity smolders across the region despite a fragile ceasefire.
This year’s rites, drawing worshippers from across the Islamic world including Iran, follow waves of Iranian attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia and its Gulf neighbors.
Saudi officials are keen to keep conflict far from the minds of visitors, who have traveled long distances for one of the world’s biggest annual pilgrimages.
But for Fatima, a 36-year-old German housewife traveling with her family, “there was no second thought” about coming to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.
