Saudi Officials Seek Clerical Permission For Changes In Hajj To Promote Safety

Saudi Arabian authorities are seeking ways to prevent further deaths and injuries like those caused by a stampede during the recent hajj pilgrimage, according to Wednesday's Washington Examiner. Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz asked Muslim clerics to find religious dispensations that would give pilgrims more time to perform the hajj stoning ritual, currently lasting three days from noon until sunset. A solution that would prevent situations like that which caused 363 deaths this year would be to permit the ritual to be performed throughout the day, instead of just during the 5 1/2 hours between noon and sunset. Some members of the Saudi council of top clerics have approved extending the hours of the stoning ritual, but its head, grand mufti Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik, says that alternative violates Islamic law.