Hajj became a death march for 1,300 in extreme heat

[NJCher]

A couple from the US spent $23,000 to go. They died. The tourism company who arranged it was not properly licensed.

Snip

Catastrophic deaths at Hajj are not new. A stampede in 2015 killed more than 2,200 people, and another stampede in 1990 killed over 1,400 people. Four years later a stampede killed 270 people. A tent fire in 1997 killed 347. A protest turned violent in 1998, leading to the deaths of 400 pilgrims. In 2009, 77 pilgrims were killed in floods.

Snip

Religion is so damned deadly.

https://apple.news/AsYFFDcvtT-6MLFsM2rwEbQ

Story is from USA Today.

[rampartc]

1. this reminds me of one reason i'll never go to mecca

my love of clean freah water and air conditioning is delaying my career as a desert mystic?

[jimfields33]

2. They only have to go one time in their lives.

I believe the dates do change. I wonder why they don’t pick a year when the weather is more tolerable.

[hatrack]

3. Yeah, lunar calendar, so the dates move around (like Ramadan) . . .

Wonder if they'll maintain this particular tradition when peak summer temps in Mecca hit 130F? 135F?

[Marthe48]

4. I don't think the weather will improve

and that part of the world it is rigorous. I hear of people dying on their Hajj every single year.

I'd like to see the religious leaders of Islam update the requirements, make a Zoom or other online access, have all of the rituals available for the people who participate. It would be hard to duplicate the unifying sensation of actual participation. The way things are going, the most devout are dying.