Muslims Offer Hajj Prayers

The hajj pilgrimage began in earnest Friday as Muslims from around the world converged on their holy land.

At the tent city of Mina, many prayed before dawn in cloud-covered valleys near Mecca. It was their last stop before heading to Mount Arafat for a day of prayers and soul searching that is the main ritual of the annual gathering.

Police forces were on alert following the death Thursday of six Saudi security agents in a shootout with terror suspects in the Saudi capital, Riyadh.

The militants exchanged fire with Saudi security forces raiding a house, and five Saudi agents and the father of a suspect were killed, according to the Interior Ministry. A sixth agent died of his wounds Friday, Riyadh governor Prince Salman said. Several others were detained.

But 500 miles to the west, pilgrims said they were too overwhelmed by the spiritual experience to be worried about terrorism.

In Mecca, the Grand Mosque, Islam's holiest site, overflowed with the faithful, who heard a sermon by Sheik Saleh al-Taleb. He later led them in prayer.

More than 460,000 crammed inside and tens of thousands more prayed in the streets, causing shops to close and outdoor vendors to clear the sidewalks of their goods.

"Oh God, give victory to the mujahedeen everywhere, give them victory in Palestine. Oh God, make the Muslims triumphant and destroy their enemies and make this country and other Muslim countries safe. Oh God, inflict your wrath on the criminal Zionists," Sheik al-Taleb said.

Rajab al-Arabi, one of nearly 2 million Muslims in this Arab nation for the hajj, said he had expected a more outspoken sermon.

"In Belgium, we have Egyptian and Moroccan clerics who freely criticize the hardships of Muslims, which includes the injustice that has befallen on Iraq and the occupation it is under," said al-Arabi, a Belgian pilgrim of Tunisian origin.

On Saturday, the pilgrims will move farther south from Mecca toward Mount Arafat, where Islam's 7th century prophet Muhammad delivered his last sermon in A.D. 632, three months before his death.

Algerian economist Seed Jareeri said "it is thrilling to be here and uphold the tradition of the prophet Muhammad."

The ritual at Arafat signals the climax of the annual Muslim pilgrimage.

Stopping on their exhausting journey, some slept on the open road, while others rested in tents or climbed nearby hilltops to pray.

On Thursday, thousands of troops stood watch as the pilgrims — men dressed in identical white garb and women covered except for their hands and faces — circled the Kaaba at the Grand Mosque in the first ritual of the pilgrimage.

Forecasts called for heavy showers that could turn Mina into a muddy mess and cause rock slides from surrounding mountains.

Saudi authorities said they were fully prepared, with more than 2,000 rescue vehicles and 118 boats at their disposal, according to Lt. Gen. Saad al-Tuweijry, head of the Civil Defense.

The hajj sometimes ends tragically for a few pilgrims for reasons other than terrorism. Last year, 14 people died in a stampede during a ritual in which stones are tossed at pillars representing the devil's temptations.

In 2001, 35 people died during the ritual, and in 1998 the same activity claimed 180 lives. In 1997, more than 340 people died in a fire that ripped through pilgrims' tents in Mina.