Religion of Peace: STAMPEDE!!!

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Well, the religion of peace is in the news today. Hundreds of people get stepped on and killed with the dirty shoes of other Moslems. This happened during a stone throwing ritual designed to somehow absolve Moslems of their sins.

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From the AP here: http://www.breitbart.com/news/2006/01/12/D8F3A9982.html

Stampede During Hajj Ritual Kills 345

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims rushing to complete a symbolic stoning ritual during the hajj tripped over luggage Thursday, causing a crush in which at least 345 people were killed despite Saudi attempts to prevent stampedes that have plagued the annual event.

The stampede occurred as tens of thousands of pilgrims headed toward al-Jamarat, a series of three pillars representing the devil that the faithful pelt with stones to purge themselves of sin.

Interior Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Mansour al-Turki said 345 people were killed. More than 1,000 people were injured, said Dr. Abbasi with the Saudi Red Crescent.

Footage from the scene showed lines of bodies laid out on stretchers on the pavement and covered with sheets. Ahmed Mustafa, an Egyptian pilgrim, said he saw bodies taken away in refrigerator trucks.

The site is a notorious bottleneck for the massive crowds that attend the annual hajj pilgrimage and has seen deadly stampedes in the past, including one in 1990 that killed 1,426 people and another in February 2004 that killed 244. Seven of the past 17 yearly pilgrimages have seen deadly incidents at al-Jamarat.

The stoning ritual is one of the last events of the hajj pilgrimage to Islam�s holiest sites, which able-bodied Muslims with the financial means are required by their faith to do at least once.

Many pilgrims had already finished the stoning ritual Thursday and had gone back to Mecca to carry out a farewell circuit around the Kaaba, the black stone cube that Muslims face when they do their daily prayers.

Okay, so let me get this straight: If you are muslim, in order to go to heaven, you have to go to Mecca, stone the evil pillars, and then worship a big black cube? No, I’m not being racist or intolerant, even though we all know how well moslems tolerate infidels like me. I just want to get my facts straight so I can celebrate their diversity. But does anyone else think it is shocking that they ritualize violence such as death by stoning as a means of atonement?