Haj pilgrims take part in first of three-day ‘stoning of the devil’ ritual

Fewer pilgrims than normal flocked to the city of Mina on Tuesday, the first of the three-day stoning of the devil ritual amid the coronavirus.

The annual ritual usually brings millions of worshippers from all over the world shoulder to shoulder.

Clad in white robes denoting a state of purity and face masks, men and women cast their stones in Mina, a neighborhood east of Mecca.

After their third day of stoning, pilgrims will go back to Mecca to pray at the Grand Mosque at the end of the haj.

Only 60,000 Saudi citizens and residents, aged 18 to 65, who have been fully vaccinated or recovered from the virus and do not suffer from chronic diseases, were selected for the rite, a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

The ritual, at which pilgrims must hurl pebbles at a giant wall, has in the past been the scene of several deadly crowd accidents.

In 2015, hundreds died in a crush at an intersection leading up to the site.

In previous years, some 3 million white-clad pilgrims from across the world flocked to Islam’s holiest sites to attend haj.

This year it faces the challenge of keeping haj, a major source of income for the government, safe from COVID-19.