Hajj Begins Amid Worries About Health and Regional Turmoil
An estimated 1.5 to 2 million Muslims are on the annual pilgrimage to Mecca known as the Hajj. That’s far fewer than last year, as Saudi authorities seek to keep the ritual isolated both from tensions in other Middle Eastern countries and from a health threat that has killed more than 50 people in the kingdom. VOA religion correspondent Jerome Socolovsky has more.