Pilgrims stone Satan in Hajj ritual

Around two million Muslims massed in the holy Saudi city of Mina on Wednesday for the stoning of the devil, one of the high points, but also one of the most risky, of the annual Hajj.
Amid tight security, with helicopters hovering overhead and a fleet of ambulances standing by, the human tide converged on the area for the stoning of pillars which will continue on Thursday and Friday. The crush as pilgrims seek to ensure their stones hit Satan has led to hundreds of deaths in the past, including 345 during the ritual in January last year. A similar tragedy in 2004 saw 251 people trampled to death.
The Saudi Gazette newspaper said 10,000 troops had been deployed in Mina to beef up security and control pedestrian traffic on Jamarat Bridge, from where many throw their stones. Saudi authorities have built a third level on to the bridge complex to ease the pressure, allowing more than 200,000 faithful an hour to cast pebbles they collected the previous day.
In another change after the deaths of the last Hajj, the three "Jamarat" pillars have been extended, each of them effectively being turned into a large wall. This has made them an easier target and lessened the need for pilgrims-many elderly and feeble-to push to get closer.
"By casting my pebbles I am saying that I will not give in to Satan's worldly temptations," said one middle-aged Arab, who identified himself as Jassem.
After the stoning, the pilgrims celebrate Eid al-Adha, literally the day of sacrifice, when animals, normally sheep but also goat, cows and camels, are sacrificed, in remembrance of Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to God.
The Saudi government prefers Hajjis to buy coupons instead of directly buying and sacrificing a beast, to avoid meat being wasted. Sheep sacrificed through coupon purchase are frozen and then distributed among the needy in the Islamic world.
This year the coupons cost around 105 dollars each. Last year, according to official figures coupons worth more than 74 million dollars were sold.
The Hajj reached its climax on Tuesday when the faithful-men clad in a two-piece seamless white cloth, the women covered except for the hands and face-spent the day praying for forgiveness. "In total, 2,454,325 pilgrims, including 1,707,814 from outside the kingdom, are performing the pilgrimage this year," said the Saudi news agency SPA, quoting official figures.