Muslim pilgrims prepare for peak of haj east of Mecca

By Jonathan Wright

ARAFAT, Saudi Arabia (Reuters) - Muslim pilgrims poured onto the plain of Arafat east of Mecca on Tuesday as the sun rose over the rocky hills for the day marking the climax of the annual haj pilgrimage.

They came on foot, by bus and in pick-up trucks from Mina and other sites in the direction of Mecca, adding to a throng which will reach more than two million in the afternoon.

Saudi authorities say more than 1.6 million people have entered Saudi Arabia for the event, the largest religious gathering in the world, which poses a huge logistical and security challenge for the Saudi authorities.

The haj has been marred in previous years by fires, hotel collapses, police clashes with protestors trying to politicize the haj and deadly stampedes caused by overcrowding.

The government is also wary of any militant actions. Al Qaeda-linked militants launched a campaign to destabilize the U.S.-allied monarchy in 2003, and Saudi radicals opposed to the royal family seized control of Mecca's Grand Mosque in 1979.

A representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei managed to give a speech to a group of Iranian pilgrims at Arafat on Tuesday denouncing "enemies of the Muslim nation."

Shown on Iranian TV, pilgrims waved signs saying "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" and chanted slogans. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is performing haj this year at the invitation of Saudi Arabia, a close U.S. ally.

Some of the most enthusiastic pilgrims spent the night on Mount Arafat, also known as Jabal al-Rahma or the Mountain of Mercy, nestling in cracks between the boulders. The night air was pleasantly cool, with a breeze from the desert.