Crippled man crawls daily to the mosque for past 65 years

In a remote tiny village in Saudi Arabia, an old crippled man crawling to the nearby mosque has been the most familiar scene. Some of those who have watched that man have died as he is now nearly 76.

Since he was a little boy, Abdullah Al Asiri has never missed his daily prayers and insists on performing it at the mosque despite his handicap.

Asiri was born handicapped in a family of 10, including his parents, three brothers and four sisters. His brothers, sisters, sisters in law and his many nephews and nieces have been looking after him through his life.

Asiri has crawled to and from the mosque in his southern village of Alaziza five times a day for nearly 65 years, defying the scorching desert summer heat and the pinching cold weather in winter.

His nephew Abdul Aziz said he had shot a film of his uncle to “underscore his perseverance, determination and strength.”

He said the film, published in Sabq Arabic language daily, has so far been viewed by at least 600,000 people.