"During one visit my mother told me that the Palestinian Authority had released my dad. I knew that he had always wanted to make the Hajj - a pilgrimage to Mecca _ and my mother said he had set out for Saudi Arabia shortly after returning home. Hajj is the fifth pillar of the Islamic religion, and every Muslim who is physically and financially able is required to make the trip at least once during his or her lifetime. More than two million go every year."