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H1N1 flu epidemic threatens Muslim pilgrimage
The WHO may want organized events that are attended by large numbers of people to be canceled as a precaution against swine flu. The events include international fairs, panel discussions and conferences as well as the Muslim hajj and umrah. The Turkish Ministry of Health has also confirmed that the hajj, which will take place in October this year, and umrah, a form of pilgrimage from Mecca to Medina, may be canceled this year.
"I don't know what this would mean from a theological point of view, but it is possible that the pilgrimage might be canceled this year, or at least some restrictions introduced," Undersecretary of Health Turan Buzgan said yesterday. If the threat of swine flu does not disappear, the Health Ministry will send a file covering the precautionary recommendations and the precaution package prepared by the WHO to the Hajj and Umrah Board of Turkey. If such a step is taken by the Health Ministry, the cancellation of the pilgrimages will come onto the agenda.
 Turan Buzgan |
The Health Ministry has already asked the scientists of the General Directorate of Basic Health Services to prepare a report on the issue. The ministry will inform the Directorate of Religious Affairs after the report is completed. The directorate has already announced that they would abide by the decision of the ministry and that it would give the final decision after discussing the issue with the Supreme Board of Religious Affairs.
“In order for the hajj to be a religious duty, it must be totally safe. The safety of the road and health is also included. If the WHO announces that there is a serious threat of epidemic, the hajj is canceled for the year in question,” said Marmara University's theology department dean Saim Yeprem, who is also the head of the editorial board of the Directorate of Religious Affairs.
Meanwhile, the WHO asked the Saudi Arabian Hajj Ministry whether cancellation of the hajj would cause religious, social and economic damage if the flu cannot be brought under control by the hajj season in October. Saudi officials said they will try to take every possible precaution for the hajj so that it is not canceled.
In every hajj period, almost 3 million Muslims converge on Mecca. Thousands of people perform tawaf (circumambulation) at the Kaaba at the same time. It is feared that if precautions are not taken against swine flu, the disease can contaminate millions of people at the same time during the hajj.
Currently, people who travel to Saudi Arabia in order to perform umrah are informed in detail about swine flu. Apart from vaccination, precautions to prevent the disease are also told to prospective pilgrims and health teams accompanying pilgrims are strengthened.
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