Riyadh, July 22: The latest dictat from the Saudi Arabia Government that Haj pilgrims, scheduled for arrival in late November, from countries exposed to swine flu should come vaccinated against the disease -may be an indication that the Saudi Government plans to allow only pilgrims from Middle Eastern countries that have been spared from the disease.
However, the Haj Committee of India and the Muslim Personal Law Board are of the view that it would be too early to come to this conclusion and they hope the matter will be resolved in time, through dialogue. All-India Muslim Personal Law Board member Arif Masood said, “I am not aware of the availability of the related vaccine, but if it is not available then we would request the Indian Government to talk with Saudi Government to resolve the issue. I am sure this issue would be solved through dialogue and no religious crisis would come up.”
Chief executive officer of the Central Haj Committee, Owais Ahmed said, “The issue is not that serious, the Saudi government is taking precautionary measures and they have every right to think of their people. We are having dialogue with them and they have assured that they would take up this extreme step of not allowing the pilgrims without vaccination, only if swine flu is declared as a global epidemic.”
Saudi Arabia’s warning to elderly Muslims, pregnant women and children, against undertaking Haj this year in view of the rapid spread of swine flu worldwide, sent shock waves among the Muslim community. Every year, millions of Muslim converge at Mecca to perform Haj, one of the five pillars of Islam. The Haj is obligatory, in the sense, every Muslim is required to perform the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime, if feasible.
But this time, H1N1 or the swine flu virus, may mar the 2009 Haj season.
Similar concerns were raised a few years ago, when bird flu (H5N1) posed a threat. One Saudi scholar called for Haj to be cancelled if there were a severe outbreak, but others had shot down that proposal. The argument was that Haj had never been cancelled on public health grounds and that to do so would be against Islam. In fact, those who are ill are morally obliged to perform Haj.
Communicable diseases and Haj are historical companions. There are many records of outbreaks of diseases like plague and cholera, killing thousands in Mecca, Medina, and Jeddah over the years. Only towards the end of the 19th Century, were quarantines strictly enforced to stop the spread of diseases. Swine flu, like bird flu before it, may turn out to be a non-issue.
As the swine influenza A(H1N1) virus is a new virus, no swine flu vaccine is yet available to prevent infections. A top official of the World Health Organisation said on July 13, that a fully-licensed swine flu vaccine might not be available until the end of the year.