subject: Muslim Haj: Improvements [print this page] Muslim Haj: Improvements Muslim Haj: Improvements
The following is a suggestion by me. Mohamed Ameen to be
considered by various concerned Muslim thinkers, intellectuals,
scholars, and Government officials in trying to improve the facilities
for the pilgrims and reducing unnecessary inconveniences, insults,
injuries and deaths to the pilgrims. Please come forward with
comments, counter suggestions and further deliberations on this
matter.
The following are my observation and some possible remedial measures.
1. At Masjidul Nabawi:
After every Solat is over, pilgrims both men and women rush out at the
same time. There is extremely poor crowd control and the number of
policemen/women at the gates and on the roads around the Masjid is
minimal. It is a sad sight that women are caught in the middle of
walking men and the women find it extremely difficult to walk.
2. Price Control
Even in large countries ( India, for example) there is a Govt
authority for controlling the retail prices. In very many countries it
is a law that retail prices to be indicated on every package,
container, tin, bottle, bag but in Saudi Arabia, except in
Supermarkets and large Department Stores, shops do not indicate the
prices. Approximately a million pilgrims,( who do not speak Arabic, do
not know how to bargain/buy ) in very many instances end up paying
higher prices by simply picking up what they want and tendering the
amount demanded by the seller.
The Saudi Govt can easily stop this exploitation and overcharging by
issuing an order to all business establishments that on every item
displayed in the shop, the retail price tag/label is obligatory. This
should include jewellers, hotels, retail shops, restaurants and other
service industries.
Hotels should indicate the room rent in every room
and at the reception counters. I saw this practice in Jeddah hotels, I
do not see why not in the Hotels of Mecca and Medina. The present
system seems to deliberately favour the shop-keepers, transport
companies, hotels and other service providers to exploit the poor
pilgrims and make big and quick profits during the Haj season. Taxis
in Saudi Arabia are not fitted with tariff metres for instance. This
is extremely sad.
3.Language Problem:
Notices at Masjids, Mina, Arafa and other public places should give
the English, Urdu, Persian, Malay and Turkish version to enable large
percentage of the pilgrims understand the information and inform
others. Versatile computers can be installed at various points which
can give instant translation from Arabic into other languages both in
writing and in audio. This will help the more educated to guide the
less-educated. Large location maps must be printed and distributed.
For instance it took me about an hour to find out the office where I
should pay the cost of my sacrificial animal. Well it was very close
to the Haram Sharif, but how would I find out where it was.
The people employed at the airport, Masjids etc should be trained to
speak various languages or employ a few thousand expatriates who can
speak different languages. Saudi Schools should introduce the teaching
of many languages to about 10% of its population.
4. Sanitation: Wash-Rooms and Toilets:
The above facilities are excellent at Haram sharif and Masjidul
Nabawi. Pilgrims in tens of thousands travel by road from Mecca to Medina and
back to Mecca. The bus trip takes from 8 to 12 hours. And on the way,
the buses stop for light refreshments, prayers and for the pilgrims to
answer the call of nature.
Wallahi, billahi the toilet facilities along that 200 mile stretch of
road are horrendous beyond anybody's imagination. How on earth the
Saudi Pilgrim Management expect the men and women who are in Ihram to
go to the edge of the road to ease themselves without proper water
facilities and toilet facilities? And where and how would they wash if
their Ihram gets Najiz? The plight of diabetes patients during such
trips is pathetic because they do urinate more often.
The Saudi Govt should give top priority in building proper modern toilets along the entire route from Mecca to Medina.
Considering the income the pilgrims generate to Saudi Arabia, the
Govt. can do wonders to improve the situation. The sanitary situation
is equally terrible at Muztalifa. The Hajj Management should line up
hundreds of mobile water tanks at Muztalifa and portable toilets all
along the route. These facilities are totally inadequate at present.
5. Several thousand pilgrims pray on the roads and pavements around
the Haram Sharif but people do spit, throw food remains and make the
place dirty. For better cleanliness every now and then, parts of the
roads should be closed for pedestrians and thoroughly washed. This
would bring more Barakah from Allah SWT. After all cleanliness is half
of Iman. It rained in Medina when I was there and the rain water mixed
in sewage made the roads where people pray very dirty.
6. Foot wears
It is very bad that people carry their foot wears inside the Masjids:
naturally quite often the Najis dirt stick to the soles of the foot
wears and these particles drop on the prayer carpet.
I can understand if the pilgrims keep the foot wears inside a plastic
bag before carrying them into the Masjids. But 99% of them carry them
in their hands assuming that there is no najis.
This can be avoided if everyone who enters the Masjid is given a
plastic bag at the entrance to place the foot wears, and then carry
the bags inside the masjids, rather than carrying the bare foot wears
in their hands and placing them in front of them.
7. STONE THROWING AT MINA
Modern technology based on automation is one way by which we can solve
the stone throwing act. Get the surrounding wall enlarged up to a
circumference of 500 meters or so. Then, ban the pilgrims from
carrying any stones. All the stones are to be factory produced at a
standard size and computer operated piston like pulling devices should
be installed on the surrounding walls.
And each pilgrim should be given the exact number of discs to be used and these discs are to be used to pull the device once only at each pillar and the computer
synchronized device will pelt seven stones in succession. This system
will put an end to unnecessary scramble and make stone throwing better
organised and very safe.
8. Jeddah International Airport:
The Hajj terminal at Jeddah is superb. But the Jeddah International
Airport is badly managed. There is simply no organization, no system
and it is terribly crowded. It was difficult to find even standing
room. I landed at the Hajj terminal but departed from the Jeddah
International Airport, hence I was able to observe the facilities at
both the airports.
A very old Turkish lady was lying down socked in her own urine and I
went and asked the airport officials whether there was a lady official
who could help, and to my great shock I was told that no nurses, no
women security officials were on duty to help the sick old Turkish
sister. This is pathetic.
The toilet facilities at the Airport were simply dreadful. There were
far too many toilet doors that could not even be locked, and the
toilet flush dysfunctional.The entire airport is wholly inadequate to
handle tens of thousands of returning passengers.
Masha Allah, Allah swt has endowed Saudi Govt. with massive financial
resources to build one like Singapore or Hongkong Airport or even
bigger than either. Allah SWT gives the people of Saudi Arabia huge
incomes through the pilgrimage alone, so why the small airport at
Jeddah. Even trolleys, for the use of pilgrims, are in short supply
at the airport. Some of us paid five Riyals for a trolley though it
was against the regulation.
A CHALLENGING REJOINDER
The following is a challenging and an inspirational message to the
entire Islamic Ummah.
In Saudi Arabia we find the Ihram cloth imported from China, Taiwan,
Korea, Thailand and a few other non-Muslim countries. I understand
there are Muslim minorities living in those countries, but the items
are not made by those Muslims.
There are very many Muslim countries fully capable of manufacturing
any quantity of white cloth for this purpose ( Ihram). Egypt,
Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India,: these countries can
manufacture the entire need if the rich Arab countries invest their
capital in those countries instead of keeping their reserves in
foreign banks. When that is the case why allow import of IHRAM CLOTH
from Non-Muslim countries. This bewilders me immensely.
Organizations like OIC should seriously discuss this issue and try to
change the attitudes of Muslim Governments.
I dare to say the same thing about the import into Saudi Arabia, of
other prayer materials like caps, turban cloth, prayer mats dumped
into Saudi Arabia, from China and Taiwan. Muslim countries should first
of all, learn to establish import substitute industries.
Is it impossible for Muslim countries to manufacture even these simple
items which are used in the Solat? Who would guarantee the Ihram
cloth's cleanliness and that it is totally free from the use of Najis
mixed water in its manufacturing process when we use the one made by
non-Muslims?
Simple folks like me never understand the prohibition of non-Muslims
entering the precincts of Haram Sharif and Masjidul Nabawi, but when I
saw tons of Ihram cloth made by unbelievers in the Saudi shops, it
struck me like a bolt from the blue.
If the above prohibition by Allah SWT had not been made, most probably
Saudi Govt. would have made use of non-Muslims for the extension and
renovation work at the two holy Masjids spending about 50 billion
Riyals.
Most of this money would also have gone to the Western contractors.
Because of the prohibition, at least the Muslim masons, carpenters and
workers derived some financial benefits from these huge projects.
Wallahi we do not know how many more decades will it take for us to
realise the importance of economic progress and economic independence.
For how long are we going to depend on the Americans, the French, the
British, the Germans, the Italians, the Chinese, the Koreans, the
Japanese to bring in economic changes, industrial and scientific
advancement?
Please consider taking some initiative in ensuring that most of the
financial benefits arising from the billions of money spent by the two
million pilgrims are redistributed among the Islamic Millat of the
world.
It is painful that a big junk goes into the hands of Non-Muslims who
continue to become economically more powerful and the wealth that they
acquired is quite often used in plotting to undermine our Din, our
culture and our cherished Islamic principles. Wassalam.
Wama Taufiqa Illah-billah Nothing from me except the Help of one true Almighty God.
