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Almost a quarter of a million Indonesians are now in Saudi Arabia as they prepare to carry out the hajj rites that start on Friday, peak on Saturday and end on Sunday.

Indonesian Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali, who is in Mecca to oversee his office’s management of the country’s pilgrims, said 222,560 registered Indonesian pilgrims had arrived there ahead of the Thursday deadline set by Saudi authorities for accepting pilgrims.

Indonesians make up the largest share of the 1.7-million-strong foreign contingent gathered at Islam’s holiest site, with up to 800,000 pilgrims expected to come from inside Saudi Arabia.

Suryadharma said that of the Indonesian pilgrims, the biggest batch, around 41,000 people, came from Surabaya. He also said that 96 prospective pilgrims had died in the run-up to the hajj, either at embarkation dormitories in Indonesia or after arrival in Saudi Arabia.

The minister said that his main concern was the health of pilgrims, given that 55 percent of the Indonesians there this year are aged 51 or older.

“We need to stress that the pilgrims must take good care of themselves because of the arduous nature of the hajj, and to ensure that they can make it through until wuquf on the plain of Arafat,” he said.

In wuquf, considered the highlight of the pilgrimage, pilgrims spend the second afternoon of the hajj on the plain, either praying or introspecting, although no specific rituals are prescribed.

Not taking part in the wuquf, which this year falls on Saturday, renders a pilgrim’s hajj invalid.

Suryadharma said that if any pilgrims fell ill before then and were unable to walk to Arafat, an Indonesian medical team would evaluate their condition and take them there on stretchers if they were deemed fit enough.

On Friday, the pilgrims will start their hajj with the tawaf, a ritual in which they circle the Kaaba in Mecca seven times. They then perform the sa’i, which requires them to run or walk seven times between the hills of Safa and Marwah.

The whole ritual ends on Sunday, which is Idul Adha, the Day of Sacrifice, when Muslims the world over sacrifice animals and donate the meat to the needy.

Suryadharma said that it was important to manage the hajj properly and take note of any problems because of the prospect that future batches of pilgrims will be progressively older and less physically fit.

He said that with a waiting list in Indonesia stretching 11 years, and most prospective pilgrims already retired or approaching retirement age, by the time they go on the hajj most are significantly older than 60.

The Saudi authorities, meanwhile, have mobilized 100,000 security and civil defense personnel to ensure a smooth pilgrimage and avoid the deadly incidents that have marred the extremely crowded rites in the past.

“We will mobilize all our means to prevent any harm against any pilgrim or any group of pilgrims,” Saudi Interior Minister Nayef bin Abdul Aziz, who recently became the crown prince of the Gulf kingdom, said on Tuesday.

He made the remark during an inspection tour of hajj preparations as anti-riot and anti-terrorism police paraded in front of the kingdom’s security czar and helicopters hovered overhead.

Antara & AFP