More than 700 people were killed in Mina, Saudi Arabia last week after a stampede during the Hajj, a holy pilgrimage. Michael Young speaks to Bristol’s first Muslim councillor, Abdul Malik, who was on his Hajj during the stampede.
The pictures coming out from Saudi Arabia shocked the world. According to local authorities, some 717 people have been killed in a stampede during the Hajj, and another 850 seriously injured.
Stampedes during the holy pilgrimage is not unrare, with millions going every year – three-quarters of whom are foreigners.
Around 20,000 Muslims from Britain go to Mecca for the five-day pilgrimage. Among them this year was former Bristol councillor Abdul Malik, who in 2005, became the first Muslim councillor in the city.