Muslim pilgrims converge on Jamarat for ritual stoning of the devil

Muslims from around the world hurled pebbles at a giant wall in a symbolic stoning of the devil on Sunday, the start of the riskiest part of the annual haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia, where hundreds died in a crush four years ago. The kingdom stakes its reputation on its guardianship of Islam's holiest sites, Mecca and Medina, and organizing the world's largest annual Muslim gathering which retraces the route Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago. Nearly 2-1/2 million pilgrims, mostly from abroad, have arrived for the five-day ritual, a religious duty once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

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