tl;dr:

Enormous crowds of worshippers thronged Mecca, Islam’s holiest city, on Friday for the biggest hajj pilgrimage in years, with more than two million expected to brave the scorching Saudi Arabian heat. The hajj is among the five pillars of Islam and must be undertaken by all Muslims with the means at least once in their lives. The hajj rituals begin late Sunday at the Grand Mosque in Mecca. The hajj and year-round umrah rituals generate an estimated $12 billion annually. Umer Karim, a doctoral researcher focusing on Saudi foreign policy at Britain’s University of Birmingham, said hosting the hajj is a matter of prestige and a source of political legitimacy for Saudi rulers, the custodians of the holy sites.

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