Minister: 150 Indonesian Hajj Pilgrims Die in Saudi Arabia

Mecca, Oct 29 (ANTARA) - The death toll of Indonesian hajj pilgrims in Saudi Arabia since the first flight batch arrived in the Holy Land on September 21 until Sunday (Oct 28) reached 150, a minister said. Some of them died after performing wukuf on the field of Arafah and stoning three Jumrahs (concrete pillars), Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali told the press here on Sunday. "There is a suggestion that there should be a restriction on the number of elderly pilgrims. But hajj issue is irrational in terms of health or old age," the minister said relating to the case of pilgrims` deaths normally caused by old age. Suryadharma said further that one of his friends performed the hajj pilgrimage at the age of 96 years, and was accompanied by one of his relatives who was 54 years on consideration of old age. But the fact is that the 54-year escort passed away and the 96-year old one is still alive, the minister said, adding that a sickly legislator recovered from his illness after performing the hajj pilgrimage. Previously, a total of 13 Indonesian pilgrims died while performing the wukuf. Doing Wuquf at the Arafah is a must for all Muslims including the ailing ones while performing the annual hajj pilgrimage, because "Wuquf" is considered to be the most important part of the pilgrimage. Therefore, some 250 ailing Indonesian hajj pilgrims were transported from Mecca to the Arafah on Wednesday. On Thursday, around 3 million pilgrims from all over the world gathered at the Arafah to perform the Wuquf. The Arafah is approximately 25 kilometres from Mecca, and most hajj pilgrims head to the Arafah by bus. The rest, however, reach there by foot. The Wuquf begins after the pilgrims say their midday prayers on Thursday and it last until early morning on Friday. After doing Wuquf at the Arafah, the pilgrims will leave for Mina transiting through Muzdalifah, a hilly land where they will pick dozens of pebbles to throw at "Jumrah Aqabah" (one of a series of ritual acts that must be performed in the Hajj). The next day all pilgrims stoned the three Jumrahs (concrete pillars), namely Jumrah Ula, Wustha and the Aqabah. This year, the number of Indonesian hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia reached 211,000, accounting for a big part of the total number of hajj pilgrims to Saudi Arabia from across the world.