Excerpt #40 from my book, Religion, An Obstacle to Human Progress
Hajj is the annual pilgrimage that, according to Islam, must be performed once in a lifetime by every Muslim able to do so.
Millions of pilgrims go to Mina, Saudi Arabia, from the holy city of Mecca to cast pebbles the size of chickpeas at three columns of stone that symbolize the devil as they chant, “In the name of God, God is great.”
Once they complete the stoning ritual, pilgrims shave or clip their hair then slaughter more than a half million camels, cows, and sheep near Mina, a city that comes to life only during the hajj.
During past hajj pilgrimages, human stampedes have resulted in many pilgrims trampled to death.
UNLEARNING IS THE HARDEST PART.