January 12th - Hajj Stampede

On this day. in 2006, 362 Muslim pilgrims died during a stampede at the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day of the Hajj. This terrible event was memorialised in a tribute video that featured the theme music from the Benny Hill Show. It was a sad event so the video only received less than one thousand views in a six month period.

 

The Hajj is an annual pilgrimage undertaken by Muslims of all countries and religions. It must be carried out at least once by every Muslim in their lifetime. It is considered optional for Christians and Jews.

 

The pilgrimage is to Mecca and upon arrival the pilgrim must perform a number of rituals. The first ritual is circling the Black Stone in the Sacred Mosque seven times in a counter-clockwise direction. Then they must perform the secret handshake of Antioch and say "wop-doblin" while hopping. Each time they circle the Stone they must kiss it, and by "it" I mean the Stone. If kissing the Stone is impossible due to the crowds the pilgrim can simply point at the stone then burn in Hell.

 

As the Sun rises the next day the pilgrims will head to Arafa for a vigil of contemplation, which is also known as "waiting for public transport." The site at Arafa is believed to be the site of the prophet Muhammad's last sermon. This process of being patient and bored is considered the highlight of the Hajj. At least it would be if not for the obligatory stampede.

 

On the last day of the Hajj pilgrims perform the Stoning of the Devil, also known as the Stoning of Alan. Until 2004 the Devil was represented by a set of pillars and pilgrims would stone the pillars to symbolise their faith in Allah. Due to poor design, and perhaps an underestimation of the average Muslim throwing arm, pilgrims quite often ended up stoning each other. For this reason, the sacred pillars were torn down and replaced with a set of sacred concrete walls. These new walls provided for a greatly reduced number of fervor-related head injuries.

 

Normally a stoning would be a happy occasion, but in 2006 things took a decidedly violent turn, more so. With some two million people throwing rocks at the concrete and lime devil-wall, some pilgrims began to lose their footing and fall. The whole thing went pear-shaped pretty damn quick and a stampede ensued. Many people were injured and some were killed, which is a bonus for them because dying is a great way to get to know God.

 

Another theory is that the stampede started because the pilgrims did not get their usual fix of violence by pelting stones at each other, so they made do with a good old fashioned stampede. Yet another theory is that some pilgrims had heard of the "Calgary Stampede", which is a wonderful festival of rural Canadian life. These pilgrims spread the word about a "stampede" but the effect of Chinese whispers turned a fun carnival atmosphere into a mass killing.