在伊拉克什葉派聖城納杰夫，回教徒不再需要深探靈魂深處，去證明真主對自己的眷顧，用「錢」比較實際。

在旅遊工業的包裝之下，所謂的宗教之旅也成了熱門項目，宗教的神秘色彩，再加上所謂的聖地，又通常具有烽火的歷史背景，使得想避開商業消費的消費者，轉而選擇這種套裝行程。

而宗教之旅，也開始在過去慘遭伊拉克強人海珊蹂躪的城市，慢慢地萌芽，這畢竟是一種開創商機的事業，什葉派聖城納杰夫正是這樣的地方。在海珊垮台後，一批又一批的朝聖者，其中絕大部分是伊朗的什葉教徒，都湧進納杰夫，隨之而來的現金，刺激了當地的消費發展。

這股現象也反映出，什葉教派在伊拉克的政治影響力，正日漸茁壯，有道是：「有錢的說話比較大聲。」用錢，購買信仰；用錢，維持信念。朝聖之旅讓納杰夫這類的聖城，享受不少消費者帶來的財富。當地民眾甚至大聲喊著：「感謝真主！有錢真好。」

In the Iraqi city holiest to Shi'ite Muslims, you no longer need to look deep into your soul for proof that God likes you.

It's right there in the cash register.

"The market and everything in it, it's all from Ali. It's a gift from God," said 66-year-old Hajj Ali, who sells rings and cloth outside the shrine of Ali, the first of the Imams revered by Iraq's Shi'ites and Shi'ite pilgrims from abroad.

Religious tourism is generating wealth that -- along with the new political clout of Iraq's Shi'ite majority -- has put a swagger in the step of a city beaten into submission by Saddam Hussein following an abortive uprising after the 1991 Gulf War.

With Saddam's fall, the flow of pilgrims, mostly Iranian Shi'ites, and their cash to Najaf has spurred a commercial boom.

The pick-up in business also mirrors the growing political influence of the Shi'ites in Iraq, where their most revered cleric is putting pressure on the United States to hold elections, likely to favor them, before handing over sovereignty.

For the merchants who house the faithful and ply them with trinkets, the money is a sign that history may be shifting in favor of people long on the receiving end of political power wielded by Iraqi rulers from Islam's Sunni sect.

"We see Iranians, Pakistanis and Muslims from all over the world, coming for visits and buying things to take with them as gifts," explained Emad Hussein Alwan, manager of Najaf's Nabaa hotel, which, like most in the city, is packed with pilgrims.

"Hopefully this is going to keep developing and building this city, which was not exactly privileged under the regime."

"There is no comparison with profits before, because tourism was a monopoly of companies that were effectively the intelligence services," Alwan said, estimating that the hotel's staff and 160 guests are more than twice prewar levels.

"The visitor was bound to a program: Buy this here, eat that there, sit here, sleep there, now get out. Now it's free, 'Azad,' like the Iranians say. And profits, thank God, are very good."

Construction sites, many of them hotels in the making, line a thoroughfare leading to Ali's shrine and the market that surrounds it, where the political ambition and commercial bustle that mark the city meet.

Near the office of Najaf's most influential cleric -- Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, a recluse who made his demand for elections known through visitors to his house -- banners tell Iraqi Shi'ites: "Your voice is your right. Any government that is not chosen will be refused."

Below, vendors who provide everything from satellite phone calls home to religious texts or bananas to eat en route to other pilgrimage sites like Kerbala and Samarra seek out the foreign visitors who are their livelihood.

A cluster of boys selling radio-controlled toy cars forms around a tall, fair-skinned pilgrim who pauses after a prayer in the street. He says he is an Afghan Shi'ite, a group persecuted by that country's ousted Taliban rulers who professed a puritanical brand of Sunni Islam.

"I am here to pray," said Mohammad Ali Siddighi, crafting a sentence carefully in English for which he apologizes. "I am here to be a Muslim."

Mortaza, a 41-year-old Iranian on a three-week pilgrimage, paused at the stalls of cloth vendors, some who speak his language fluently and others who know just enough Persian -- "good," "very good," "nice" -- to make their pitches.

在今年的穆斯林麥加朝拜活動中，沙烏地阿拉伯當局說，至少 251人被踩死。每年，全球各地大約2百萬的回教徒會前往麥加朝拜，麥加城是回教先知穆罕默德在1千4百年前做最後一次佈道的地方。

悲劇發生在麥加附近米納鎮的賈馬拉大橋（ Jamarat Bridge），當時正舉行一個宗教儀式，人們朝象徵邪惡的一根石柱投擲石塊。投石咒惡儀式是整個朝聖過程中最危險的活動，每年有不少人因為這個活動而喪命。根據統計，2003年，有14人在同樣的投擲石塊儀式中被踐踏而死；2001年，則有35人在同樣地點死於同樣事件。自1990年開始，已不下千人因此送命。不同以往的是 ，今年投擲的石塊上，多半寫的是「布希」和「美國」。投石咒惡儀式後，緊接著登場的是著名的「宰牲節」（Eid al-Adha festival），回教徒將宰殺牛?釱羊，分送窮人食用。

而對悲劇的發生，沙烏地阿拉伯當局將原因歸咎於那些不按照規定，自己攜帶工具紮營附近的回教徒，以及非法的朝聖客。所謂非法的朝聖客指的是，在回教齋月期間到麥加從事「副朝」的教徒，以及未登記參加今年正式朝聖的沙國居民。

自從爆發有兩百多人在麥加朝聖過程中，遭到活活踩死的事件後，沙烏地阿拉伯最高宗教領袖（ Grand Mufti）阿布杜拉˙阿齊茲˙謝赫日前宣佈，將重建麥加這個回教聖地。

阿布杜拉表示：「議會方面同意，確實需要整頓賈馬拉地區，好好保護朝聖者的安全。」

國王法赫德（ King Fahd）也發佈了一項命令，要求組成一個高層委員會，描繪出麥加城重建的藍圖。在投石咒惡的儀式後，麥加這個千年古蹟更是傷痕累累。

麥加朝聖是回教徒重要義務之一，只要是身體健康、經濟負擔得起的回教徒，一生中至少應前往麥加朝聖一次，而且，還須於日落之前，站在阿拉法特平原上，否則將來還得重來。

Driven by God, but hampered by a massive mortal tide, millions of Muslims cast stones at pillars representing the Devil in the most dangerous ritual of the annual haj pilgrimage.

The three-day ritual, which ended on Tuesday, has been marred by almost yearly stampedes that have claimed more than 1,000 lives since 1990. On Sunday, 251 pilgrims were trampled to death at Mena's treacherous Jamarat Bridge, from which Muslims pelt stones at three pillars.

The Saudi government blamed the tragedy on pilgrims who do not have a haj permit and who camp with their personal belongings along the strategic route.

But the bigger problem appears to be the over-zealous pilgrims who push and shove their way through the throng to stone the pillars after dawn and noon prayers, even though Muslims can perform the ritual at any time.

Most Muslims believe that dying in the haj is akin to martyrdom, which guarantees believers access to paradise, so the pilgrims approach the pillars with no fear for their safety.

The crowds are also hampered by the geography of the site, which is located at a narrow mountain pass near Mecca. The Saudi government has pledged to restructure the site to make it safer.

Stoning the three pillars -- which believers say mark the spot the Devil tempted Abraham, his son Ismail and his mother Hagar -- is an essential part of the haj and must be performed seven times over the last three days of the five-day event.

Men shout "Tareeg, Ya Haj", or "Pilgrims, clear the way", while pushing through the mass of Arabs, Asians, Africans and a few Westerners who journey to Saudi Arabia for the rite.

On each occasion, seven stones are thrown at each of the pillars which stand some 80 metres apart.

Some Muslims do the stoning after midnight, thinking the crowds will be more merciful. But a mini-metropolis of pilgrims has already claimed most of the space, severely limiting access.

Every man, woman and child is squeezed together through the campers and a heavy police presence. Child beggars sit on stairs, shouting: "Give us something for God's sake."

On Tuesday, a bulldozer found its way down to the pillars to clear away the mountain of small stones around them. It dredged up dozens of women's slippers, thrown in anger at the pillars despite warnings by Saudi clerics to use only stones.

The word "Bush"" can be seen scratched in English at the base of one pillar. The word "USA", which was daubed more prominently on another pillar, has been removed since Sunday.

Men push through the crowd to get a good shot while women strain at the back to hit the target. Stones also rain down on the pillars from pilgrims on the bridge above. People quickly move away when they have finished, but they are not safe yet.

Despite the pilgrims' efforts to maintain good spirits, tempers often fray.

On one day, a Yemeni man charged into the crowd, pushing a woman in a wheelchair who was gasping for breath. An Egyptian cried: "I didn't think there would be crowds here." Another pilgrim snapped: "Is there anywhere that isn't crowded?"

幾週前，我在問津堂找書的時候，碰到明目書社的買書友楊碧川，他告訴我洪老師想要邀幾個人在年後見個面，吃飯聊聊。我一想，明目書社的老朋友大約有半年以上未見面了吧！聽楊碧川如此一說，我反覺非常期待。往後一、二天我試著打電話給洪老師，但手機一直連絡不上。人到中年，聽到的壞消息太多，找不到洪老師，讓我開始擔憂他發生了什麼事。

隔沒幾天，洪老師終於跟我連絡上，開門見山就是吃飯的事。他唸了五、六個人的名字，說好了就在溫州街口的醉紅小酌，時間就定在週四晚上──我們這一群人以前固定在明目買書的日子。

當天，我從學校閒步穿過堤外便道，一路走到溫州街已超過 6點。到了醉紅小酌時，所有人都已到齊。包括洪老師、張宏輝、鍾漢清、楊碧川、葉老師、廖老闆、舒國治、辜振豐、劉后安及我等十餘位，大家終於在驚奇中碰了面。當天是洪老師請客，上菜以後，幾瓶啤酒及清酒就讓大家開始活絡，大聲喧嘩起來。

這些人碰面，總是離不開買書及政治兩個議題。作家舒國治聽到大家聊到買書的細節問題，就起鬨說應該邀請文教版記者來，因為我們談的買書經驗，是文教記者個人所無法親自體會的。如果他們將這些對話內容寫成文字稿，一定很有價值。

其實，洪老師原就有邀請中國時報的文教記者陳文芬參加，也許她當天太忙不克趕上。但這確實是一次難得的機會，這一些人都是買書的行家，那一家書店開始打折，圖書以那種主題為主，書店的最新狀況如何，都逃不開他們的掌握。當天有幾位聽說師大附近有一家專賣大陸舊書的書店，又開始蠢蠢欲動，準備去探險了。

這一批人，一見面當然也離不開政治的論辯，尤其是選戰的議題一樣在飯局中發燒。幾年前，這一群人清一色是綠色族群，一心想拉國民黨下台。但有了這幾年與民進黨交手的經驗後，有人已經變成反對黨。禁止大陸書進口當然是導火線之一，但執政黨不長進，怕人唱衰及硬坳的性格，也是讓我們這些原來的支持者大呼受不了的主因。當然，我們之中，執政黨的堅實支持者不是沒有，但大部份已經開始鬆動，卻也是不爭的事實。讀書人的要求其實不多，連一點點的思想自由都無法保障，難怪書生都想造反，這恐怕是執政者必須深刻反省的。

當天晚上，明目書社老闆賴顯邦沒有出席，引起一些人的詢問。我們這一幫人以前的飯局，賴老闆向來無役不與。但這次聽說他有事到宜蘭去了，實在令我們有點惘然若失。雖然我們久已不在明目現身，但賴老闆的風格卻讓我們永遠把他當做好朋友。最近他應該也是傷透腦筋，在問津堂及秋水堂的夾殺下，他也已將書價殺到 4.5倍，張宏輝說明目現在每個月營業額必須達到130萬才可以打平，看來這一場仗還有得打。

席中，我深覺這些人的友情難得，於是追問何時及多久可以再如此見面？大家吵了一陣，還是沒有任何答案。倒是飯局結束時，有人慫恿喝一杯咖啡的呼聲，得到最大的贊同，於是大夥漫步走向溫州街知名的咖啡廳──挪威森林，繼續飯局中未完的爭論。