10,000 Russians pilgrims expected to join hajj

MOSCOW, Jan 10 (AFP) - About 10,000 Russians are expected to perform the annual hajj (pilgrimage) to the holy Saudi city of Mecca, scheduled to take place in the last two weeks of January, the foreign ministry said Monday.
"The headquarters of the Russian mission has launched operations in Mecca," foreign ministry spokesman Alexander Yakovenko said in a statement.
About 3,000 are expected to travel by air to Saudi Arabia and another 7,000 will be traveling by bus via Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan, Yakovenko said.
All Muslims are required to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, one of the five pillars of Islam, at least once in their lifetime, if they have the means to do so.
Russia is home to about 20 million Muslims out of an overall population of 144 million, most concentrated in the southern Caucasus republics.

01/10/2005 14:22 GMT - AFP