87 Die In Crane Accident At The Grand Mosque, Mecca, Saudi Arabia.

[Gromit]

What was Allah thinking to allow such an occurance?

[EDDIE51]

Someone asked if they were all Muslims who were killed, well non muslims are not even permitted to travel to Mecca, they have to take a bypass around the city. It is known as 'The Christian Bypass' to expats!
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/06/Christian_Bypass.jpg/640px-Christian_Bypass.jpg
There are strict checks made non muslims are jailed and then deported.
The closest a non muslim can get the Mecca is the bus stop just outside the city limit (Yes really !)

[jomifl]

Eddie, how can a muslim prove their religious affiliation? do they have tattoos or is there a secret password?

[sandyRoe]

Reciting the shahada should be proof enough. Something like the Christian credo

[jomifl]

would that have to be in Arabic Sandy or is any language permissable?

[sandyRoe]

But to return to the original question. These people must have impressed him with their piety and faith. He allowed them to visit the Islam holy of holies and then gathered them up in his arms and carried them to Paradise.

[sandyRoe]

Saudi is a rich country. Thy could afford to have translators at hand to ensure that no unbelievers enter the forbidden city.

[sandyRoe]

Richard Burton, the explorer and sensualist not the Welsh actor, disguised himself as an Arab and visited.

[lady-janine]

it is the will of allah alone.

[EDDIE51]

You need a certificate from a the Mosque you attend that you are a faithful Muslim. The Mosque has to be one that is recognised by the Islamic council.
There are far fewer 'Haj' visas available than the demand, so there has to be a type of 'lottery' to be granted one of the visas to go on pilgrimage (Haj)

[jomifl]

it gets sillier by the minute..

[sandyRoe]

Devout pilgrims have been crushed in stampedes on the Haj. A visa, something with a bit more authority than the credential to Santiago, would be no bad thing.

[trt]

When I worked in Abu Dhabi, I asked our Muslim cook, nice bloke, what the people did for the loo if you were amongst the millions in the centre, and he said, just let it go :-).

Nice!, can you imagine the stink at the end of the day?