MECCA (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia has warned Muslim pilgrims attending next week's haj in Mecca to avoid exploiting Islam's annual gathering for political reasons, reflecting its worry that turmoil in the region may prompt attacks or damaging displays of discord.
Wearing the clothes and speaking the languages of dozens of nations, hundreds of thousands of pilgrims flocked to Mecca's Grand Mosque for Friday prayers in a show of religious harmony in a year when the region's Muslim states are riven by conflict.
