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ABU DHABI / WAM
The Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, a symbol of Islam that embodies the message of peace, tolerance and diversity, welcomed 4,480,000 visitors from 249 nationalities in the first half the Year of Tolerance, according to the half-yearly statistics released by the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque Centre (SZGMC). According to the statistics, there were 967,150 worshippers among the visitors.
The report noted that Asia topped the visitors list with over one million, followed by Europe with more than 623,000, North America with 95,000, Africa with more than 53,000, South America with 49,000 plus, and Australia with 25,000 while 2,178 visitors were from Antarctica.
Nationality-wise, the statistics indicated that India led the list of the ten countries with a tally of 392,246, followed by China with 335,530, Russia with 116,467, Germany with 102,285, France with 74,606, the United Kingdom, UK, with 63,676, the United States, US, with 60,209, Pakistan with 57,185, Italy with 44,787 and the Philippines with 43,229.
According to the figures, March registered the highest footprint, with 511,227 visitors. “From January to June, 82 percent of the mosque visitors were tourists and 18 percent were residents,†the statistical report added.
Women were the most frequent visitors to the mosque, accounting for 53 percent of the total tally. Most visitors came from the age group of 46 years and above, constituting 31 percent of all visitors.
During the Holy Month of Ramadan, more than 890,000 Muslims broke their iftar in the mosque’s air-conditioned tents.
Over the first six months of the year, the SZGMC conducted 1,726 free-guided cultural tours.