AFP |
Thousands of Malaysian children took part in a practice run Thursday of the Muslim hajj pilgrimage, marching around a model of the holy Kaaba, Islam’s most sacred site.
Dressed in white robes, the youngsters circled the black cuboid in the compound of a convention center just outside Kuala Lumpur.
Muslim children in Malaysia participate in a simulation of the Hajj pilgrimage near Kuala Lumpur on July 24. https://t.co/wesLs0iCtZ pic.twitter.com/xLZk9SE22w
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) July 25, 2017
The Kaaba sits inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and Muslims around the world turn towards it to pray. Part of the Hajj involves walking around the Kaaba.
“We are learning how to do the hajj,” six-year-old Aqra Izz told AFP, as nearly 6,000 boys and girls took a break after marching under the tropical sun.
“I want to do this when I get older, like my mother and father.”
These children are the future leaders. We hope that with this program, what they learn will stay with them
The hajj pilgrimage is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims must perform the hajj at least once in their lives, if able, and it marks the spiritual peak of their lives.
Millions of devotees from around the world travel to Saudi Arabia annually for the pilgrimage.
For Thursday’s event, called the “Little Hajj“, buses dropped off the children at the compound as loudspeakers played Muslim-themed songs and prayer chants in Arabic.
Lets learn Hajj together!#littlehajj2019 #littlecaliphs https://t.co/EnaxJ6crvc
— Little Caliphs Official (@LittleCaliphsHQ) July 2, 2019
Guided by female teachers, the children also took part in a practice of a ritual known as “The Stoning of the Devil”, picking up mock stones before throwing them at makeshift pillars.
Organizers said the gathering was aimed at helping Islamic kindergarten students get a better understanding of performing the hajj.
“We do this so the children can understand and easily memorize the various aspects of the pilgrimage,” said Roslan Nordin, chief executive of Little Caliphs International, which organized the event.
Read more: Hajj pilgrims may benefit from a “Virtual Reality App”
“When they go through it, they can comprehend many things that can’t be taught in a classroom, read in books or learned from their parents.”
Roslan said that other Islamic kindergartens around the country have also been teaching children how to perform the hajj.
“These children are the future leaders,” said Sumarti Samsuddin, from an Islamic kindergarten group that took part in Thursday’s event.
“We hope that with this program, what they learn will stay with them,” she said.
Malaysian children parade in white robes for practice haj#Malaysia #Islam #hajj2017 #Hajj #hajj1438 https://t.co/Sx39UB3Bfb
— The Peninsula Qatar (@PeninsulaQatar) July 24, 2017
More than 60 percent of Malaysia’s population of 32 million people is Muslim, although the country also has sizeable Buddhist and Christian minorities.
The country sends some 30,000 pilgrims to perform the hajj every year, and Malaysia’s government is seeking to increase this number.
AFP with additional input by GVS news desk