International Journal of Mobile Computing and Multimedia Communications, 4(2), 11-29, April-June 2012 11 Copyright © 2012, IGI Global. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of IGI Global is prohibited. Keywords: Crowded Pervasive Environment, Mobile Tracking, People Tracking, Pervasive Environment, Pilgrimage 1. INTRODUCTION In huge congregations, many people go missing due to getting lost or other causes. In some cases, large gatherings cause people to die because of stampedes, fires, mass fights, etc. Records show that at least 362 pilgrims died in a stampede during the “stoning of the devil” ritual in 2006 Hajj and 250 pilgrims died by the similar cause in 2004 Hajj. A huge accident happened in 1990 when 1400 pilgrims killed during a stampede in a pedestrian tunnel in Mina (Whitaker, 2011). Hajj, an annual Muslim pilgrimage, is one of the pillars of Islam and every able Muslim must at least perform this once in their lifetime. During this pilgrimage, millions of pilgrims from all over the world congregate for religious rituals. Statistically speaking the number of pilgrims that went to Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) to perform Hajj is more than two million people. In a statistic released by the Ministry of Hajj, the number of people who went to the pilgrimage in 2006 was 2,130,594, where 73% of the pilgrims were non-Saudis pilgrims (Ministry-of-Hajj, 2007). The latest statistic reported by the Saudi government is that in November 2010, 2.8 million pilgrims Hajj Crowd Tracking System in a Pervasive Environment Teddy Mantoro, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia Media A. Ayu, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia Murni Mahmud, International Islamic University Malaysia, Malaysia ABSTRACT Hajj is a huge congregation of Muslims from all over the world which happens annually in Makkah, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). It is one of the pillars of Islam and every able Muslim must perform this act at least once in their lifetime. Many challenges are faced by the organizers as well as the pilgrims during this massive religious gathering. Cases of missing Hajj pilgrims are not uncommon and although several tracking and navigation devices have been introduced, there is still a need for a better solution in overcoming the issue. There are several factors that prevent widespread use of the system, such as the operational costs, availability of the connections and the use in uncommon platform. This paper proposes a framework for tracking Hajj pilgrims in a crowded pervasive environment using a system called HajjLocator. A discussion on the prototype of HajjLocator, as a system to track and monitor pilgrims while performing Hajj and to save lives, with an SOS mechanism, is also presented in this paper. DOI: 10.4018/jmcmc.2012040102