Sheikhs urge pilgrims to stay home to avoid flu

CAIRO (Marwa Awad)

Despite the risk of swine flu, known to spread in overcrowded places, Muslim pilgrims seem undeterred in their resolve to perform umrah, a non-obligatory pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place throughout the five months before Ramadan, with travel agencies reporting an increase in religious tourism from last year.

"We are seeing about 10 to 15 percent increase in the number of umrah visas from across the Muslim world at this time of year," Abdullah al-Moussly, a Saudi Arabian expert on pilgrimage tourism told Al Arabiya, adding that the main increase came from Egypt, Turkey and Jordan.

Haysaam Shehatah, a 38-year-old-father of three, brushed off flu fears as paranoia and told Al Arabiya he would perform umrah or hajj, the annual pilgrimage to Mecca Muslims are required to perform at least once in a lifetime, no matter what.

"Of course I am going to go. If I die there then that would be a blessing if I come back safe and sound then I have fulfilled my religious duties," he said.

Omayma al Husayni, spokeswoman for minister of tourism

Egypt's independent opposition paper al-Masry al-Youm reported Sunday that there had been a 60 percent decrease in umrah travels from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, attributing the decline to peoples' fear of possible infection as pilgrims from around the world congregate in enclosed spaces.

But Egypt’s ministry of tourism refuted the report despite a public announcement last week by the minister of health asking pilgrims to refrain from traveling to Saudi Arabia for three weeks.

"These reports are rumors," Omayma al-Husayni, spokeswoman for the minister of tourism, told Al Arabiya. "We have not registered a decrease in the number of umrah visas from Egypt."

According to official figures, the ministry of tourism in Egypt reported a 36 percent increase in umrah travel compared to last year.

Ola Bayumi, Tre Jolie Travels

But some Cairo travel agencies reported cancellations this week due to the warnings of health state officials.

"Just this morning we got our 10th cancellation and this has caused us to cancel the umrah package for next week because people have dropped out," Ola Bayumi from Tre Jolie Voyage told Al Arabiya.

But, Abdel-Moneim Nabhaan, head of Syrian travel agency al-Nabhaan for Hajj and Umrah, said there is a high turnout of Syrian pilgrims for umrah this year just as in the years prior "People are still purchasing umrah visas and we have not sensed any fears among Syrian Muslims of going to Mecca at this time of year," Nabhaan told Al Arabiya.

Dubai travel agencies also reported a steady flow of umrah goers. Al Deir travel agency for Hajj and Amrah said its annual figure of 500 umrah visas remained strong and reported no cancellations.

Taking precautions

Communicable diseases and pilgrimage are historical companions, and several devastating outbreaks of disease, such as cholera, have occurred in Islam’s most holy city of Mecca throughout history.

In the 19th century measures such as vaccination, medical screening and quarantining were put in place to protect pilgrims and stop the spread of disease.

Swine flu, for which no vaccination has been found yet, poses a challenge to umrah goers but is also treatable with several readily available drugs such as Tamiflu, which the World Health Organization has stockpiled in Dubai and Egypt. Some Saudi scholars supported the idea of banning pilgrims from countries with cases of swine flu from entering the kingdom as precautionary measures.

Tareq Madani, health consultant to ministry of health in Saudi Arabia, told Al Arabiya Saudi Arabia had put in place several precautions.

The country that is home to Islam's two holiest sites has stepped up precautionary screenings of travelers bound to Mecca in recent weeks. Thermal imaging cameras were installed in the kingdom’s four airports to screen passengers arriving from affected areas and the Saudi Haj Ministry has set up a committee to monitor umrah pilgrims and medical reports to quell possible spread of infection.

Sheikhs urge umrah delay

Mohammed Al al Julfah, Saudi sheikh

Shariah law, or Islamic law, permits cancelling hajj and umrah on public health grounds and officials have a duty to do so if they fear a severe outbreak, according to Saudi-based Dr. Mohammed Al al-Julfah.

"Shariah puts the benefit the believer first, so if harm is to ensue because of a plague that spreads in the heat and in closed areas, then it is permissible to postpone holy rituals," al-Julfah told Al Arabiya.

Al-Julfah also cited a saying of the Prophet Muhammad: “If you hear of plague in a land do not enter it and if it occurs in a land where you are, do not leave the place” as justification for preventing some pilgrims from entering the country.

In the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Abdel Aziz Haddad, a senior Muslim cleric, urged Muslims Monday not to travel to Mecca for the time being and to pray in the open air to reduce risk of swine flu, local press reported.

Abdel Aziz Haddad, Dubai sheikh

Haddad told Al Arabiya he had called on Muslims to delay umrah "for the next two or three weeks until the situation stabilizes," adding that the same principle of avoiding close quarters applied to churches, cinemas and restaurants.

Haddad commended the Egyptian health minister's call to delay umrah, saying that it fell within the line of religious precaution as well as public health.

"What Hatem el-Gabali said falls in line of shariah and common sense," Haddad said.

Similarly, Sheikh Ali Abu el Hasan assistant secretary general of the Center for Islamic Research at Egypt’s al-Azhar mosque noted that umrah was nonobligatory and should be postponed if it could lead to potential harm. Unlike other sheikhs, Abu el-Hasan went as far as urging the cancellation of hajj as well if the Swine flu continues to pose threat.