Muslim Pilgrims Elated at Safety as Haj Winds Down
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MECCA, Saudi Arabia  - Muslim pilgrims performed  final rites of the haj on Saturday, with many praising its  safety following fears of stampedes or al Qaeda strikes.
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: Shia fighters left the holiest shrine in Najaf today and began turning in their weapons, after tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrated a peace agreement that ended a bloody rebellion.
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Signs reading âEid Mubarak,â or Happy Eid, hang on the walls of a Crown Point mosque as local Muslims celebrate the closing of their holiest month.
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To the Editor: Each year, approximately 2 million Muslims travel from all over the world to participate in hajj.
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NAJAF, Iraq  - Shi'ite fighters left the holiest  shrine in the Iraqi city of Najaf Friday and began turning in  their weapons, after tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrated a  peace agreement that ended a bloody rebellion.
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MECCA, Saudi Arabia  - Saudi Arabia says it is  ready to host more than two million pilgrims at this year's haj  after tightening security and safety to ensure the annual  Muslim rite passes without incident.
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ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia  - Millions of Muslim pilgrims spent the afternoon on the plain of Arafat east of Mecca on Tuesday at the peak of the annual haj pilgrimage.
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As rains lashed the Saudi desert, tens of thousands of drenched Muslim pilgrims welcomed the deluge Saturday as an act of God while they circled the cubic Kaaba shrine in this holy city's Grand Mosque, the final rite in the annual hajj pilgrimage.
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MECCA, Saudi Arabia  - About 1 million Muslim pilgrims from across the world packed the mosque and streets around the Kaaba shrine in the holy city of Mecca for the last Friday prayers before the annual haj pilgrimage.
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Officials said yesterday the number of Muslim worshipers allowed onto the Temple Mount in Jerusalem during the coming month of Ramadan may have to be limited because of a danger the biblical-era complex might collapse.
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Several thousand pilgrims celebrated Christmas Eve in the traditional birthplace of Jesus on Friday, welcoming the new thaw in Israeli-Palestinian relations and voicing hopes for peace in the Middle East.
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Muslims from around the world descended on Bangladesh on Friday for the annual Bishwa Ijtema (world congregation), the second biggest gathering of Muslims after the Haj, with troops and police maintaining tight security.
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MUZDALIFA, Saudi Arabia  - Millions of Muslim pilgrims moved to Muzdalifa on Tuesday evening after spending the afternoon on the plain of Arafat east of Mecca at the peak of the annual haj pilgrimage.
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Pilgrims streaming into Islam's holy city for the annual hajj prayed for the 157,000 people killed in last month's tsunami that devastated southern Asia, asking God to give survivors the courage to cope.
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Shi'ite fighters left the Imam Ali Mosque in Najaf Friday and began turning in their weapons, after tens of thousands of pilgrims celebrated a peace agreement that ended a bloody rebellion.
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Inhabitants of the Iraqi city of Najaf enjoy their first night of peace in several weeks after a ceasefire deal.
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The Interior Ministry has mobilized more than 50,000 forces to prepare for the annual hajj pilgrimage, officials said Saturday, but they warned that terrorists may still be able to launch attacks.