Muslims gather in Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage
(NewsNation) — More than 1.5 million Muslims from around the world gathered in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the Hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage to Islam's holiest city.
The religious trip is a once-in-a-lifetime duty for every Muslim who is financially and physically capable.
This year's pilgrimage attracted 1,673,230 Muslims, the majority of them from outside Saudi Arabia, according to an X post from Saudi Arabia's Hajj Ministry. It's the lowest number of pilgrims in 30 years, excluding during the COVID pandemic.
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Muslims gather in Saudi Arabia to take part in religious rituals and acts of worship to fulfil one of the Five Pillars of Islam, a religious obligation. It's a chance to seek God's forgiveness and repent for one's sins.
Mount Arafat, a rocky hill southeast of Mecca, is of great significance in Islam. Arafat is where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have given his last sermon on his final Hajj.
A visit to Arafat marks the spiritual climax of the pilgrimage when Muslims pray, fast and ask God to forgive their sins.
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Muslim pilgrims perform 'tawaf,' which entails circling the Kaaba, a cube-shaped structure in Mecca, counterclockwise seven times. The Kaaba is the focal point toward which Muslims face during their daily prayers from anywhere in the world.
Pilgrims also retrace the path of Hagar, the wife of Prophet Ibrahim, Abraham to Jews and Christians, who Muslims believe ran between two hills seven times searching for water for her son.
Muhammad was a religious and political leader born in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, in the sixth century who Muslims believe was the last of the prophets. His teachings, along with the Quran, form the basis of Islamic religious belief.
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The core Islamic practice of praying five times a day, known as salah in Arabic, serves as a reminder of one's relationship with God and a way to purify the soul.
According to Pew Research Center, there are around 2.5 billion Muslims in the world, making Islam the second-largest religion after Christianity.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Hundreds gather to mourn Didarul Islam, NYPD officer killed in mass shooting
The New York City police officer who was killed in a shooting at a Manhattan skyscraper on Monday, July 28, was honored in a Bronx funeral service on Thursday, July 31. Officer Didarul Islam was working a paid security detail at 345 Park Ave when 27-year-old Shane Tamura of Nevada opened fire in the building's lobby with an AR-style rifle. Tamura killed three others, including Blackstone executive Wesley LePatner, Rudin Management associate Julia Hyman and security officer Aland Etienne, before turning the gun on himself. Islam, who worked for the department for shy of four years, was honored with a funeral and procession attended by hundreds. Officer Didarul Islam was a 'husband, father, and dedicated public servant' Didarul Islam, 36, was an immigrant from Bangladesh who had been with the department for 3-1/2 years, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said. He was a member of the 47th Precinct, which serves the northern Bronx. A statement on the precinct's social media pages said Islam was "a husband, father, and dedicated public servant." New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a social media statement that Islam is survived by two young sons and his wife, who is expecting the couple's third child. "Everyone we spoke with stated he was a person of faith and a person who believed in God and believed in living out a life of a Godly person," Adams said. New York City Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said in a press conference that Islam died "doing the job we asked him to do." "He put himself in harm's way," Tisch said. "He made the ultimate sacrifice, shot in cold blood, wearing a uniform that stood for the promise that he made to this city. He died as he lived, a hero." Gov. Kathy Hochul honored slain officer, NYPD An honor guard wheeled a gurney carrying Islam's body, wrapped in an NYPD flag, to the mosque he attended as part of a dignified transfer, in preparation for the service. Parkchester Jame Masjid mosque, one of the largest mosques in the Bronx that serves a predominantly Bengali community, hosted services on July 31. Pictures of Islam, a truck with a mobile billboard reading "in loving memory of our brother," and a white NYPD hearse were positioned in the streets outside the building as officers and members of the public milled about. Female mourners began entering the mosque around 10 a.m. ET to view and pay respects to Islam. In keeping with Muslim tradition, men were allowed to enter separately at 11 a.m. Gov. Kathy Hochul, speaking to a room packed to the brim with mourners and uniformed officers, invited the Bangladeshi community to lean on their fellow New Yorkers to get through. "There is another family which is one that is often taken for granted by too many outside these rooms. That is the NYPD," Hochul said. "We should not just think of them in times where they lose a brother or sister, they should be in our hearts and minds with a sense of gratitude for individuals like Officer Islam who came to this country to give his family a better life." "On behalf of 20 million New Yorkers, I want to bring the condolences of your entire family, your extended family, who are there for you," she concluded. Islam promoted to detective first grade posthumously "I'm not here as the mayor, I'm here as a parent, as a father," said Adams. "Sons aren't supposed to bury their dads, mothers are supposed to be buried by their daughters and their children, there is nothing more tragic than having a parent bury their child." Adams thanked officers who responded to the building when the shooting was still active and carried Islam out in hopes of getting him medical care. "We must live in the spirit of Officer Islam and what he stood for and what he will always stand for and what he fought for," he said. Tisch, in a wavering voice, spoke about Islam's young sons and unborn child. "A killer on a self-fettered, senseless crusade of violence took the lives of four innocent New Yorkers, he tore a father from his children, a husband from his wife, a son from his family and in that moment, he ripped the world away from everyone who knew and loved NYPD officer," she said. Islam was born in Sylhet, Bangladesh and moved to New York at the age of 20 "for a better life," said Tisch, where he started as a school safety agent in 2019 before moving to the Bronx's 47th Precinct two years later. Islam was in the building that day on an extra shift he had picked up to make some extra money, said Tisch, who noted that he often worked 12-hour shifts in the department and beyond. "His watch may be over, but his impact will never be," she said, before tearfully promoting Islam to first grade detective, posthumously. 'He was our world,' said Islam's family NYPD officer Kamrul Hasan, Islam's brother-in-law and "best friend," spoke on behalf of Islam's family with a short but poignant message. "He was a proud father, he was an uncle, he was a brother and he was a dependable person," Hasan said. "He was a good leader. Anything anybody needed, anything, he came, he was helping everybody." A loved one also read a statement from Islam's wife. "I stand before you today with a heart full of sorrow, grieving the loss of my beloved husband," the statement said. "He was a devoted son, beloved brother and most loving father. To our family, he was our world." "Though my heart is broken, I find comfort knowing that his sacrifice may have saved others in that lobby, people who were able to go home to their families that day. May Allah grant you the highest place in paradise." "To our elected officials, we thank you for your presence. Now, we ask for your courage. Do not just stand for Officer Islam in his death, stand with his people in life. Protect the vulnerable, denounce hate, work for peace," said mosque Imam Dr. Zakir Ahmed "Let his memory push us all to be better in service and in justice and in how we treat the communities we are sworn to protect," he continued. "As we pray for the deceased, we also mourn for the other three victims whose lives were also taken from us." Rain fell during officer's final farewell Wrapped in the NYPD flag, Islam's casket was then carried from the prayer hall, followed by a procession of his family, hands clasped. His young sons clung to family members as a silent crowd watched the dignified transfer, officers standing at attention lining the pathway with hands raised in a salute. Taps played as rain began to fall and the processional paused in front of the digital billboard on the side of a truck parked on the street, flashing images of Officer Islam, both in uniform and at home, smiling with his children in tow. The coffin was finally loaded into the white hearse, which would bring Islam to his final resting place.
Boston Globe
an hour ago
- Boston Globe
Mourners honor NYPD officer killed in attack at NFL headquarters building
A married father of two with a third child on the way, the 36-year-old was working a New York Police Department-approved private security detail, in uniform, when he and three other people were killed Monday at the Manhattan skyscraper that houses the NFL's headquarters and other corporate offices. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up 'To our family, he was our world. To the city, he was a proud NYPD officer who served with compassion and integrity. He lived to help others,' Islam's widow said in a statement that a relative read on her behalf at the service at the Parkchester Jame Masjid mosque. Advertisement With officers stationed on surrounding rooftops for security, fire trucks used their ladders to hold a huge American flag over a nearby street. A flatbed truck carried a digital billboard showing photos of Islam and a commemorative message from his union. After coming to the United States, Islam began building a career in the nation's largest police force. He described policing as 'a blanket of the community, there to provide comfort and care,' the police commissioner said. Advertisement Islam served as a school safety agent before becoming a patrol officer less than four years ago, and was promoted posthumously Thursday to detective. 'He could have gone into any other occupation he wanted, but he wanted to put on that uniform, and he wanted to protect fellow New Yorkers. And he wanted to let us know that he believed in what this city and what this country stood for,' Mayor Eric Adams, a Democrat, told the gathering. 'That's the greatest symbol of what we know we are as a country.' In Washington, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt began her daily briefing by expressing President Trump's condolences to Islam's family, saying he 'made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of his fellow New Yorkers.' Like others who spoke, Imam Zakir Ahmed highlighted the officer's immigrant background and Muslim faith. But said Islam, 'lived at a time when people like him are too often feared, vilified and made to feel like outsiders.' 'It's time for New York and America to give back — to see us, to hear us, to protect our dignity, the way Officer Islam protected yours,' Ahmed said. The eldest of several siblings, Islam supported his parents in Bangladesh, as well as his wife and two young sons in the Bronx, the imam said. The police commissioner said Islam worked a long day at a parade Sunday, then picked up private security hours Monday at the office building. Deputy Inspector Muhammad Ashraf, the commander of the busy Bronx precinct where Islam worked, said he was a 'humble, steady, and reliable' officer. Advertisement 'He knew what it meant to protect the place that gave him a new beginning, and in return, he gave everything back,' Ashraf said at Thursday's service. After the service, the streets filled with people, mostly men, kneeling in prayer. Some Muslim officers took part, as colleagues stood in formation behind them and looked on. Later, officers saluted as Islam's casket, draped in US and NYPD flags, was brought to a hearse for burial at a cemetery in Totowa, New Jersey. Another victim, real estate firm worker Julia Hyman, 27, was mourned at an emotional service Wednesday at a Manhattan synagogue. Funeral arrangements for the two others killed, security guard Aland Etienne and investment firm executive Wesley LePatner, have not been made public. Police identified the gunman as Shane Tamura, a 27-year-old former high school football player who most recently worked in a Las Vegas casino's surveillance department. Authorities say he believed he had a brain disease linked to contact sports and accused the NFL of hiding the dangers of playing football. Police said Tamura had a history of mental illness, but they haven't elaborated other than to say they found psychiatric medication prescribed to him at his residence in Las Vegas. Officials said he was heading for the NFL's office but took the wrong elevator and went by mistake to another floor. The gunfire seriously injured an NFL employee in the lobby. Islam 'saved lives. He was out front,' Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said at Thursday's service. 'Others may be alive today because he was the barrier.'
New York Post
an hour ago
- New York Post
Zohran Mamdani's public safety hypocrisy: Letters to the Editor — Aug. 1, 2025
The Issue: After the Park Avenue shooting, Zohran Mamdani backtracks from calls to defund the NYPD. With Zohran Mamdani arriving at slain NYPD Officer Didarul Islam's home after his prior calls to 'defund the police' and his assertion that 'the NYPD is racist, anti-queer & a major threat to public safety,' Islam's family should have spit in his face ('Zohran Thin Blue lyin'?,' July 31). What will sleazeball Mamdani not say to get elected? Can anyone believe anything he says? William T. Fidurski Clark, NJ Mamdani went to the funeral of the hero Muslim cop and praised the police. Did he go to the funeral of the Jewish victim, Julia Hyman? Of course not. He's a total bigot, and his praise of the police rings so hollow. But anything to get votes — right, Zo? Saul J. Mishaan Brooklyn I hope New Yorkers are smart enough to see through Mamdani's lies about defunding the police. We just went through this before with all of former Vice President Kamala Harris' flip-flops, and now we see it happening again. Even Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has gotten into the act. She changed and voted in support of funding for Israel's Iron Dome, which she never did before. Don't politicians know we would respect them more if they stuck to what they truly believed in and stopped changing their views just to win an election? Let's all pray somehow Mamdani doesn't win. Stephen Colasacco The Bronx While situated in a heavily-secured Uganda compound, 'defund the police' advocate Mamdani responded to the Park Avenue shooting with support for the NYPD. Hopefully New York City voters will not be fooled by his fleeting backing for the NYPD, as he has made his viewpoints clear. Mamdani does not advocate for law and order. Eileen Corr Brewster, Mass. Thanks for your excellent editorial ('Zohran's 'Defund' Flip,' July 31). Maya Angelou said it best: 'When someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time.' Charles T. Compton Riverdale Mamdani's sudden change of heart on defunding the police should come as no surprise. Of all the radical changes he promises, his position on crime is what New Yorkers, including some loyal Democrats, find troubling. It was the critical issue that allowed Mayor Adams to overcome a field of socialists in the last mayoral election. The 345 Park Ave. murders provide a timely opportunity for Mamdani to bury his numerous anti-cop posts. His democratic socialist base will be undeterred by his flip-flop, as he still represents a path to progressive policies. With this platform change, he will have removed an obstacle in the minds of more moderate voters — if they or anyone else are naive enough to trust him. Richard J. Carhidi Manhattan Keep up with today's most important news Stay up on the very latest with Evening Update. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Borrowing from my experience in advertising, I have an appropriate nickname for Mamdani: The Smiling Cobra. He's always smiling through his lies! Dermod Sullivan Greenwich, Conn. Zohran Mamdani and others who have advocated for defunding the police have no place in public service. Had there been more police officers in the area around Park Avenue and 52nd Street, the horrific murders of four innocent people could have been prevented. We need more police on the streets of New York, not less. We need a greater police presence in our schools, houses of worship, office buildings, theaters, public parks and on our streets. We need to save our cities and protect our citizens. Betty Schwartz Livingston, NJ As if on cue, a lunatic murdered and injured innocents in Midtown Manhattan on a busy weekday. Fortunately, the NYPD quickly responded and proceeded with securing the area and evacuating those sheltering in offices. We all must really pause and consider how this event would have played out with socialist Mamdani as mayor. Would we really be safe in a city headed by him? I think the answer is clear. Michael Tannenbaum Brooklyn Want to weigh in on today's stories? Send your thoughts (along with your full name and city of residence) to letters@ Letters are subject to editing for clarity, length, accuracy, and style.
