Umar Abdul Salam is an American national currently working in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrimage in 2001 marks his fourth Hajj. He filed this piece from Mina, Saudi Arabia, for CNN.com on Sunday, March 4.

For American, Hajj is exhilarating, humbling

MINA, Saudi Arabia -- My name is Umar Abdul Salam. I was born and raised in Harlem, New York City. I became a Muslim when I was 19 years old. I find myself living halfway across the world. Saudi Arabia for me is home, sweet home. I am on my way to the Hajj.

All of the markets in Jeddah are alive and packed with shoppers buying new outfits for Eid. The offices and businesses are closed. Everybody has three days off. Celebrations are going on everywhere. On Mecca Highway, a feeling comes over me. There is no name for it. Here I am, making the same journey that millions of Muslims have made for centuries. There are hundreds of buses and cars. Yet the traffic moves smoothly.

As I near Mecca, I make my intention to perform Hajj. Reflecting on my life’s accomplishments, they are nothing next to this one moment. Being blessed to be invited to perform Hajj is the greatest feeling. It humbles me when I look around seeing people from countries where the yearly income is a mere fraction of the average American's. Yet they worked, they saved and are now right next to me.

Knowing that I worked hard to be here is a comforting thought. Yet there were sacrifices that others made that I will never know. Pilgrims from war-torn countries walk humbly by with the smile of satisfaction and peace on their faces. We made it. More than two million of us.

The faces are the same -- satisfied, happy, peaceful and focused. Same, and yet different. Pilgrims performing their required rituals with an energy that revives you. Knowing what lies ahead scares me a little. It's not like a championship basketball game, a deep-sea fishing trip, or overnight camping in bear country. The scary part is whether my Hajj wil be accepted by Allah or not.

This is not my first Hajj. I have been working in the Saudi kingdom for three years. This year I see that the efforts the government has made are paying off. Traffic jams are non-existent. The tents in Mina are clean. All my thoughts in these moments are of becoming a better person, a better father, a better husband and a better friend. I pray for peace in the countries of the pilgrims that I’m walking with.

The atmosphere of peace and caring is overwhelming. Strangers are trying to give pilgrims water and food every step of the way. The world needs a lesson on behavior. Nowhere else on Earth can you watch more two million people from different countries speaking different languages, caring, sharing and helping each other while they happily perform their obligations to their Creator. Only on the Hajj performed in Mecca and Medina can you find 2.5 million people praying to God at the same time in the same manner.

There is no way to explain the feeling of belonging to a community that encourages right for all, and stands against wrong for all. That is real globalization.