Hajj pilgrims not hopeful of Obama

MINA, Saudi Arabia — After pelting a symbol of the devil with stones, Muslim pilgrim Hatim Mohammed al-Sakr knelt and prayed that one day soon all sorts of devils will be removed from his homeland, Iraq — among them, that American forces will soon leave.

Al-Sakr said he's hopeful President-elect Barack Obama will carry out that promise.

"We have to wait and see if Obama will do that, but I'm optimistic about it," al-Sakr said Tuesday.

But he and many others among pilgrims conducting the annual hajj pilgrimage this year were skeptical Obama will bring deeper changes to American policies that have angered many across the Islamic world, such as U.S. support for Israel in the conflict with the Palestinians and Arab nations.

Faith, not politics, is naturally at the center of the hajj, a once-in-a-lifetime journey for the faithful who hope to purify their souls of sin with the rites at Islam's holiest sites around the city of Mecca. On Tuesday, for a second day, pilgrims filed past three walls symbolizing Satan, stoning each with seven pebbles in a symbolic ritual of rejecting temptation and evil.

But the hajj is also the biggest gathering of Muslims — nearly 3 million this year, from across the world — so it also becomes for many pilgrims a moment of unity and a chance to assess the problems of the Islamic world and pray for change.

Many Muslims have seen the United States as a cause of many of those problems under the administration of President George W. Bush. They have viewed the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the tensions with Iran and abuses of prisoners in the war on terror as signs of American enmity toward Arabs and Muslims.

They're hopeful for at least some improvement under Obama but doubt the changes will go deep.

"I think he won't follow the policies of neo-conservatives like Bush. I expect him not to follow a confrontational approach like Bush," said Ezlan Benbasar, a pilgrim from Malaysia. "But at the same time, I don't expect deep changes in U.S. policy or changes in favor of Muslims."

Most had little expectation Obama will change what Arabs and Muslims widely see as a bias toward Israel in the Middle East, which they see as blocking progress in the Mideast peace process.

Another Malaysian pilgrim, Mohammed Yousri, was dismayed by the lineup Obama has gathered so far for his foreign policy team, which includes figures such as Hillary Clinton, who was picked for secretary of state and is seen by many here as strongly pro-Israel.

"Obama is circled by many pro-Israel advisers. Reforms under Obama, if any, won't go beyond cosmetic changes," said Yousri. "But I do expect Obama will fulfill his promise of shutting down Guantanamo prison," he added, referring to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Al-Sakr, a literature professor, blamed what he called "the strong influence of Jewish groups in the U.S.," saying, "America's policy of supporting Israel at the cost of sacrificing Muslim interests is not going to change."

After performing the stoning ritual, al-Sakr said his prayers were for Muslim unity and also that Iraq be purged of the devils of sectarian violence and "occupation forces."

The three-day stoning ritual has been one of the most disaster-prone activities of the hajj: In the past, hundreds have been killed in stampedes that occurred as the hundreds of thousands of pilgrims file past the three walls, known as the Jamarat.

To prevent such disasters, Saudi authorities have transformed the Jamarat, building a gigantic concrete four-story structure of platforms, the size of an airport terminal. The walls extend up through all four levels, giving pilgrims more room. Exit and entrance ramps the size of highways loop off it, and police enforce strict one-way traffic, monitoring with helicopters and hundreds of security cameras.

Nearby, a tent city sprawls across the desert valley of Mina, where the pilgrims camp during the ritual.

The hajj, which began Saturday, will close on Wednesday, when pilgrims return to Mecca for a "farewell" circling of the Kaaba — a cube-shaped stone structure draped in black cloth that Muslims around the world face during their five daily prayers.