 There is *zero* evidence of grief in this article.
MECCA, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - More than two million Muslim pilgrims have begun streaming out of Mecca towards Mena on the first day of a haj pilgrimage marked by grief over the Asian tsunami disaster and security fears. This year's haj has a particular poignancy for thousands of pilgrims from Asia, where most of the world's one billion Muslims live, after December's devastating tsunami caused by an undersea earthquake off Indonesia. Tragedy has struck the haj before. Saudi Arabia has cranked up its largest security operation ever for the ritual, a once in a lifetime duty for every able-bodied Muslim, fearing attacks or deadly stampedes like one last year that killed 250 people.
Indonesian officials have said they expect the country to reach its 205,000 pilgrim quota despite the killer waves that killed more than 175,000 people. Some prominent clerics in Saudi Arabia, which imposes a hardline brand of Sunni Islam alien to most Muslims, have suggested the disaster was Indonesia's punishment for its Western-style mixed-sex beaches, bars and nightclubs.| Soddies giddily opportunistic; not grieving. |
But most Muslims said the Koran did not support such a view. "Although the Koran does talk about God using natural phenomenon to punish people who have gone astray, it is not for us to say or to know," said Sayeed Mohamed, a preacher from South Africa where Islam is growing fast. | South Africa waxing Talmudic; not particularly grieving. |
Other pilgrims were more concerned with key issues to Muslims, such as Israel's occupation of Jerusalem's holy sites. "We saw the tsunami disaster on teevee, but it's far from us. We care about Palestine," said Nasser Abdullah from Yemen. | Yemen seething at the Zionists; definitely not grieving. |
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