Hajj and the British Muslims - A Historical Perspective

Hajj and the British Muslim Community

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Hajj is an obligatory duty in a lifetime for every capable, both physically and financially to perform Hajj in a lifetime. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. As it is an obligatory duty, it is essential that every Muslim who is planning to go for Hajj is to make himself abreast about different aspects of Hajj. It is necessary to know about the social, economical, moral, educational and religious aspects of Hajj.

British Muslim Community
25,000 British Muslims go for Hajj every year and many thousands do Umrah and there was a need for British Muslims facilities not only consular advice but more important health advice and other kind of advice. These intending pilgrims have to understand the challenges and the rules and requirements during the Hajj. There are health and safety issues; booking traveling and accommodation issues and more importantly to make them aware about the tour operators and travel agencies.

Hajj Awareness
Feeling the pain of some losses of British Muslim lives during the tragedy which occurred during Hajj in 1989 and realising the importance of proper preparation for Hajj, the Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO) passed a resolution as early as 1990 calling upon the British Foreign Office to consider the establishment of an official Hajj Mission in coordination with the UMO. Some organisations, later on, were also started thinking about the desperate need to make an appropriate arrangement to promote Health & Safety Awareness of the British Pilgrims.

Thus, two organisations came up, one Association of British Hujjaj (ABH), a charity organisation, and another initially Hajj Advisory Committee, composed of major Muslim organisations, later became British Hajj Delegation. Let us begin with the Association of British Hujjaj.

Association of British Hujjaj (ABH)
In order to prevent any future loss of human life amongst British Hajj pilgrims, the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH) the only National Hajj specific voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom, National charity, was formed in 1998 by professionals, senior doctors, religious scholars, and people from all walks of life to research and develop a positive plan to address these issues.

The aim of the Association of British Hujjaj is to provide up to date training and practical advice to pilgrims to perform a safe Hajj by distinguishing health and safety risks and devising strategies to curtail them and to create and update information regarding health and safety matters amongst the community, especially amongst those from relatively lesser educational background.

Hajj Awareness Week
The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) U.K. has taken another initiative to launch first ever National Hajj Umrah (Health and Safety) Awareness Week in December 2004. It was launched by Lord Ahmed of Rotherham (Patron of ABH) at the House of Lords, London. Every year the ABH launches Hajj Awareness Week throughout the United Kingdom to make aware those persons who want to perform Hajj well ahead of the Hajj season immediately after the month of Ramadan.

The purpose of this national event was to raise awareness of the Health & Safety issues amongst the 25,000 prospective British Hajj & Umrah pilgrims who will start travelling from UK to join over 2 million other pilgrims in Makkah to perform Hajj. Every year after the month of Ramadan, the Association of British Hujjaj held a National Hajj (Health & Safety) Awareness Week at the House of Lords.

THE Association of British Hujjaj also carried out Meningitis Awareness Campaign every year. To make Meningitis Awareness Campaign a success, several events were organised, including the extremely successful re-launch of the meningitis campaign at the occasion of its annual conference in Birmingham, before the Hajj in January 2002.

Friends of the Association of British Hujjaj Award
This year, 2011, as usual, the National Hajj and Umrah (Health & Safety) Awareness Week was launched on 14 September, at the House of Lords by the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH). For the first time in 12 years the Association of British Hujjaj has decided to present its special Award for the community services and for the noble cause of Hajj. While announcing the Award, Dr. Syed Raza Hussain, senior doctor from the Association of British Hujjaj, UK, said, “ABH is totally dedicated and committed to provide up to date knowledge and information to British Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.”

Dr. Hussain said, “Today’s selected “Friends of the Association of British Hujjaj, UK” are both well-respected in the community for their integrity, sincerity, loyalty, reliability and upright dedication to their community voluntary services and the noble cause of the ABH.” Today’s chosen two Friends of ABH are Mr. Sarbuland and Dr. Mozammel Haque,” declared Dr. Hussain.

Lord Ahmed, the Patron of the ABH (UK), presented the Award to Dr. Mozammel Haque, Media Advisor of the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, on behalf the Association of British Hujjaj (ABH), UK, at the House of Lords, in recognition of his community services and the noble cause of Hujjaj.

British Hajj Delegation: Background
Another organisation which is devoted to the service of British Hujjaj is the British Hajj Delegation. Let us go back to the background history of the formation of British Hajj Delegation. It may be mentioned that as early as September, 1990, the Twentieth Annual Conference of the Union of Muslim Organizations, UK & Eire (UMO), under the leadership of Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, held in London, called upon the UMO to “continue its negotiations with the British Government to establish an official Hajj Mission to assist the increasing number of British Muslims who are performing Hajj every year.” Next year, again in September, 1991, at its Twenty-First Annual Conference held at the Cavendish Conference Centre, London under the chairmanship of Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, UMO General Secretary, passed resolution to the effect that this conference “called upon the British Foreign Office to reconsider its position with regard to the establishment of an official Hajj Mission in coordination with the UMO.”

The Association of British Hujjaj (ABH) approached the Foreign Office, and the first meeting between the ABH and Foreign Office Minister Baroness Symons was held on 15th July 1999, in the House of Lords. The Minister agreed to facilitate Hajj arrangements to provide healthcare, welfare and support services, such as bereavement, lost pilgrims, loss of luggage, passport, flight tickets and money etc. for British Hujjaj at Makkah in Saudi Arabia.

Dr. Pasha had been continuing calling upon the government till Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham was appointed a Peer in the House of Lords when Lord Ahmed, as he has been in the House of Lords, asked the British government to form a delegation that can lead the Muslim members of the British community to Hajj. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office at that time under the leadership of Baroness Symons first established this service for the British Hujjaj. As a result, the British government was the first European or rather first Western government that actually appointed the British Hajj Delegation in 1999.

After a series of meetings at the Foreign Office, the first ever British Hajj Delegation, headed by Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, went to Saudi Arabia to help British Pilgrims at Makkah during the Hajj period in 2000. This delegation set up a camp in Makkah during Hajj 2000 to provide full range of free medical, safety and consular facilities to the British Hajj pilgrims. This delegation has dedicated services to the British Hajj pilgrims on annual basis each year since 2000.

Hajj Advisory Committee
After returning back from Hajj, Lord Ahmed resigned. And just one and a half month before the Hajj of 2001, Baroness Scotland sent the British Hajj Delegation led by Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn in 2001. There was no official launching of the Delegation as there was not enough time to do that.

In 2002, a Hajj Advisory Committee was formed. This Committee consisted of representatives of different shades of the Muslim community and representatives of the major Muslim organisations, such as Union of Muslim Organisations (UMO), Islamic Cultural Centre (ICC), Muslim Council of Britain (MCB), Al-Khoei Foundation and others. At that time, the office of the British Hajj Delegation was at the Islamic Cultural Centre, London. Even the British Hajj Delegation used to launch from the Islamic Cultural Centre, London. Foreign Secretary Jack Straw launched the British Hajj Delegation from the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, and addressed by Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan, Director General of the Centre and Lord Patel the leader of the delegation.

British Hajj Delegation
From the very beginning, the British Hajj Delegation was sent to Saudi Arabia by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in partnership with the British Muslim Community. From 2002 to 2006, every year, the British Hajj Delegation was launched by the British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw from the Islamic Cultural Centre, Regents Park Mosque, London and it was attended by Lord Patel and Dr. Ahmed al-Dubayan, Director General of the Centre. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in partnership with the British Muslim community was sending British Hajj Delegation to Makkah to provide help and support to the thousands of British pilgrims.

In 2006, Margaret Beckett, the then Foreign Secretary, launched the British Hajj Delegation from the Islamic Cultural Centre and Dr. al-Dubayan and Lord Patel addressed the launching event. The British Hajj Delegation represented an exemplary cooperation between the British Government, the Saudi Government, and the British Muslim Community. When David Miliband, MP, became Foreign Secretary he moved the office of the delegation and launched the British Hajj Delegation from the House of Parliament in 2007 and it was addressed by Lord Patel only. In 2008, the British Hajj Delegation was launched again by Foreign Secretary David Miliband from the Lancaster House and addressed by Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Kingdom and Lord Patel. And in 2009, it was again launched by David Miliband and addressed by Ambassador Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf and Lord Patel; but this time from the Blue Room of the Foreign Secretary’s Residence.

Thus British Hajj Delegation was started in 1999 and Lord Ahmed led the first British Hajj Delegation to Saudi Arabia in 2000 and from 2001 to 2009, Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn led the British Hajj Delegation. The British Hajj Delegation, since it has started, has directly supported over 23,000 British Pilgrims over the last 13 years.

The British Hajj Delegation, like the Association of British Hujjaj, used to launch every year its delegation before the Hajj. .The British Hajj Delegation used to go to Saudi Arabia every year; hold medical clinics, free medical treatment and offer consular advice in Makkah. There was a partnership among the British Government, the Saudi Government and the British Muslim Community. The Delegation used to comprise of 9 doctors, 3 consular officials and Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn, the leader of the Delegation.

Recollecting those days, Baroness Lady Symons of Vernham said at the House of Lords on 9 April, 2003, “Since 2000, we have supported and funded Hajj delegations. I remember well the valuable help that the noble Lord, Lord Ahmed, gave me in trying to set up that initiative. It involves a partnership between government and the Muslim community and has also been led by the noble Lord, Lord Patel of Blackburn. This year's delegation, which included eight medical staff, helped about 10 per cent of 15,000 British pilgrims. The noble Lord can take much credit for having been part of the trigger that got that going. We have also been running successful Islamic awareness training courses for our staff.”

British Hajj Consular Delegation 2011
In 2010, the British Hajj Delegation was launched from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) by the Baroness Sayeeda Warsi, Minister without Portfolio. “Lord Patel has done tremendous amount of work and Lord Ahmed who set up the delegation also did tremendous amount of work,” said Baroness Warsi, at the launching of the British Hajj Delegation on 27th of October 2010 from the Durbar Court, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) London.

This year, 2011, the British Hajj Consular Delegation was launched from the Durbar Court of the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the presence of Baroness Warsi, Jeremy Browne, Foreign Office Minister and Ambassador Prince Mohammad bin Nawaf on Monday, the 10th of October, 2011. The launching event was attended by Ambassadors, diplomatic representatives of different Muslim Embassies in London, Community leaders and media personnel. This year Ms. Nagina Akhtar, an experienced Consular Officer from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be leading the British Hajj Consular Delegation.

While launching this year British Hajj Consular Delegation, Minister Browne, thanked the Saudi Government for their “excellent services to all pilgrims”. Mr. Browne said, “The government of Saudi Arabia provides excellent services to all pilgrims. We are very grateful for their close cooperation with the British Embassy and the Consulate Directorate here in London.”

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has distributed a leaflet entitled “HAJJIS” which instructs and informs British Muslims what they have to do. The aim of the FCO Hajjis leaflet is to assist British Hajjis in preparing for the Hajj and to explain what services the British Hajj Delegation can offer British pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Mosque seminars and training programme
Generally, Mosques play an important role everywhere irrespective of Muslim majority and Muslim minority countries to inform pilgrims, train them, giving them a brief introduction and training how to perform Hajj and what are its different rites.

With special reference to United Kingdom, besides the above two organisations, many Mosques hold seminars and training programme throughout the different regions of the United Kingdom, particularly in Midland, in Yorkshire and Scotland to make people become more aware and mentally prepared.

British Hajj Consular Delegation 2011 Launch

Launch of British Hajj Consular Delegation 2011
At the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)

Dr. Mozammel Haque

The British Hajj Consular Delegation 2011 was launched at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) in the presence of Baroness Warsi, Cabinet Minister without Portfolio, Jeremy Browne, M.P. Foreign Office Minister and His Excellency Prince Mohammad bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia in the United Kingdom and Ireland on Monday, the 10th of October, 2011. The launching event was attended by Ambassadors, diplomatic representatives of different Muslim Embassies in London, Community leaders and journalists.

Saudi Arabia provides excellent services
Jeremy Browne, Foreign Office Minister
While launching this year British Hajj Consular Delegation, Foreign Office Minister, Jeremy Browne, M.P. thanked the Saudi Government for their “excellent services to all pilgrims”. Mr. Browne said, “The government of Saudi Arabia provides excellent services to all pilgrims. We are very grateful for their close cooperation with the British Embassy and the Consulate Directorate here in London.”

He also assured to make the pilgrimage “enjoyable and trouble-free experience as much as possible”. Foreign Office Minister also introduced Ms Nagina Akhtar who is going to be the delegation leader this year and she is a very experienced consular officer, said Browne and added, “I am told she will be the first woman to perform this duty on our behalf.”

Referring to last year activities of the Delegation, Mr. Browne said, “Last year Consular delegation provided a wide range of support; provide emergency travel documents; to replace stolen or lost passports; support the hospitalised pilgrims, provide consular assistance in the event of death and advice to the British pilgrims who were victims of tour operators.”

As a Minister responsible for the UK Consular, Mr. Browne mentioned, “I have taken a special interest in the preparation of this year Hajj Delegation along with Baroness Warsi.”

Hajj was a huge amount of investment
Baroness Sayeeda Warsi
In her Opening Remarks, Baroness Warsi, Cabinet Minister without Portfolio, mentioned, “I have the privilege of doing Hajj last year as the guest of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It provided me with the first hand experience how challenging, how rewarding, how amazing, how moving, how completely life-changing experience of Hajj is. Some 20,000 pilgrims from Britain have the privilege of performing Hajj every year.”

Baroness Warsi also mentioned about people that she was travelling who had performed Hajj and her own experience of performing Umrah in the last. She said, “Hajj was a huge amount of investment that is going on to make the experience of Hajj and Umrah easier on so many different levels, whether that is infrastructure, healthcare in which you are moving around in a very small place in a very limited time which is Hajj becomes.”

“Of course, by nature Hajj is a demanding and our consular services are there hopefully to provide a support,” Baroness Warsi said and she also added, “Nagina Akhina will be leading the Delegation along with consular offices in Riyadh and Jeddah. Our Consular General in Jeddah, Mr. Shaukat, may be many of you will be familiar with, will be there.”

Saudi Ambassador Prince Mohammad bin Nawaf
While thanking Baroness Warsi and Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne for their kind words, Saudi Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Prince Mohammad bin Nawaf bin Abdul Aziz, also thanked the Foreign & Commonwealth Office. “I would also like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to the Gulf Team and the Hajj Desk at Her Majesty’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office for the invaluable support they extend, annually, to British Hajj Delegation. Such support has proven to be instrumental in the success of the many delegations throughout the years. Needless to say, the support offered by the British Government to the Hajj Delegation is an embodiment of the care and attention it gives to British Muslims as an integral part of this country’s demographic combination – a care and attention that unquestionably strengthens all British Muslims’ sense of belonging to their national homeland and reinforces their commitment and dedication to the well-being and development of their communities and the country as a whole,” said Prince Mohammed.

Hajj as the most beautiful and moving
Prince Mohammed mentioned, “In a world full of religious rituals, one must certainly list the Hajj as the most beautiful and moving, and it can be regarded so not only because it is the largest on earth, but for three further reasons; which I shall summarize as the purpose, the people, and the passion.”

Purpose of Hajj: to fulfil the obligation of the fifth pillar
Explaining and elaborating the three reasons, Prince Mohammed said, “First, the purpose: What is the purpose of the Hajj? It is, first and foremost, to fulfil the obligation of the fifth pillar which is that every Muslim of able body and means must do the Hajj. But, of course, in performing such an obligation the pilgrim carries out other profound and important tasks. He demonstrates his solidarity with the Muslim people. He exhibits his devotion to the birthplace and the life of the Prophet, peace be upon him. And, most of all, he actively proves what he verbally expresses during the first Tawaf: Bism Allah, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar wa lil Lahi Alhamd – In the name of God, God is Great, God is Great, God is Great and praise be to God.”

The People: They travel from Diaspora to divinity
Mentioning about the second reason, Prince Mohammed said, “The second reason that the Hajj is so unique and spiritually stirring is the people that perform it. For we must not forget that the individuals who call themselves Muslims, and who perform the Hajj, live within diverse cultures and cross numerous borders to carry out their Islamic duty. They are Malaysians, Canadians, Chinese, Kenyans, Azerbaijanis, Germans, and more. Yet for each, the reality remains the same - they travel from different lands to one land – from places where their religion can make them feel foreign at times to a place that has always been the home of their religion - in short, they travel from Diaspora to divinity.”

The Passion: passions of devotion, of commitment,
“Finally, the Hajj is an incredible experience due to the passions that are exhibited by the pilgrims – the passions of devotion, of commitment, of service; of community, of humility, and of the desire to live by the purest and most peaceful principles. For with its simple, unified and soul-touching rituals, the Hajj stands as a true reflection that is at the heart of Islam. For all are equal in the Hajj, all are motivated by the same force, and all go to serve the same God, blessed be Allah, humbly and obediently. It is rare in today’s world to find such deep and tireless devotion, especially to the performing of an act that is at its heart done to serve nothing more than the passionate cause of peace, love and unity,” said Prince Mohammed.

The Saudi Ambassador mentioned, the Hajj is an amazing journey, a profound religious ritual, and a testament to the power of Islam. I have no doubt that many of our British Muslim brothers and sisters have experienced the truth of this claim first hand, and I further trust that the members of this year’s Hajj Delegation will discover it as well as they undertake their blessed journey, he said.

Prince Mohammed said, “Of course, as a Muslim and as a Saudi, I feel exceedingly proud to be representing the nation that - as always - will have the honour and privilege of hosting this dedicated Delegation of Muslims – and millions more like them – who will be coming from all over the world this year to perform Hajj. In the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we believe that God Almighty has blessed our nation with the honour and responsibility of being the Custodians and servitors of Islam’s most sacred mosques in Makkah and Madinah. This is a blessing that we thank God for, and a responsibility that we take very seriously.”

Speaking about those who are in the Saudi Embassy in London, the Saudi Ambassador said, “We are honoured to be a part of the efforts exerted by our country to live up to its esteemed responsibility. It is no small task, as many of you know, to play host to millions of pilgrims, for it poses huge on-going administrative, organisational, logistical and safety challenges.”

“Fortunately, our leader, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, his Crown Prince and the Second Vice Premier, personally lead all sectors of the Saudi government in putting forth sizeable efforts to face these challenges effectively and efficiently. This requires the allocation and proficient management of huge human, financial and cultural resources, but it is an effort that the Kingdom is only too honoured to be allowed to make in the name of Islam,” said Prince Mohammed.

Improving the services and expansion of Haramain
Referring to the improving the services and the expansion of the Haramain, the Saudi Ambassador said, “Throughout the past years, the British Hajj Delegation and the many other visitors to the Holy Places in Makkah and Madinah have seen a large-scale projects that have been launched and completed to continue improving the services provided to them. This year, however, the visitors to the Holy Places will notice an exceptionally impressive addition to these efforts. Under the direction of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques; King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz - who has already carried out the expansion of Al-Masaa and the construction of the massive Al-Jamaraat Bridge Complex – the foundation was laid just in the last few weeks for even more large scale projects in Makkah and Madinah, including the biggest expansion in history of the Holy Mosque in Makkah. This expansion will increase the capacity of the Holy Mosque in Makkah.”

Prince Mohammed also said, “This expansion will increase the capacity of the Holy Mosque by more than 150%; from six hundred thousand to over one and a half million worshippers will now be able to be contained within its walls. All of these massive construction projects are aimed at making Hajj and Umrah easier, safer and more comfortable for our honoured guests.”

Out of approximately 2 million Muslims in the United Kingdom about 25,000 British citizens are expected to perform Hajj this year. The Saudi Ambassador assured them “the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia will spare no effort to ensure that their pilgrimage to the Holy Places begins and concludes safely and peacefully and that it is as fulfilling as befits such an important experience. Further, we in the Saudi Embassy hold it as our highest obligation to be at the service of these pilgrims should they require our assistance in any way”, said the Saudi Ambassador. .

Saudi Ambassador wishes blissful visit to the
Holy Places, an ideal Hajj and a safe return to their homes
The Saudi Ambassador concluded his speech by wishing the British Hajj Delegation, and all British Muslims who are performing Hajj this year, “a blissful visit to the Holy Places, an ideal Hajj and a safe return to their homes and loved ones.”

Foreign Office advises British nationals to prepare
Before travelling to the Hajj
Britons travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj should prepare carefully and follow travel safety advice. Around 20,000 are expected to make the journey from 4-9 November.

The Foreign Office is urging Hajj pilgrims to get comprehensive travel insurance and essential vaccinations before embarking on their journey: The Foreign Office said:
- it is compulsory for travellers to the Hajj to have a Meningococcal Meningitis vaccination certificate in order to obtain a Hajj visa
- we strongly recommend that you have a seasonal influenza vaccination prior to embarking on your trip
-you should take out fully comprehensive travel insurance in advance
-check the Foreign Office travel advice for the latest on the situation in Saudi Arabia.

The Foreign Office will provide the full range of consular services and will be sending a delegation of consular staff. The majority of cases that the delegation handled last year were replacing travel documents. Pilgrims should ensure they look after personal belongings and should take particular care with travel documents, tickets and other valuables.

The delegation will be located at the Elaf Al Khalil Hotel, Makkah. You can find contact details and information on what the delegation can and can’t do in our travel advice for Hajj pilgrims.

Nagina Akhtar leading the British Hajj Delegation
Nagina Akhtar, an experienced Consular Officer from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) will be leading this year British Hajj Consular Delegation.

British Hajj Delegation: Background
Looking back at the formation of British Hajj Delegation, it may be mentioned that as early as September, 1990, the Twentieth Annual Conference of the Union of Muslim Organizations, UK & Eire (UMO), under the leadership of Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, held in London, called upon the UMO to “continue its negotiations with the British Government to establish an official Hajj Mission to assist the increasing number of British Muslims who are performing Hajj every year.” Next year, again in September, 1991, at its Twenty-First Annual Conference held at the Cavendish Conference Centre, London under the chairmanship of Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, UMO General Secretary, passed resolution to the effect that this conference “called upon the British Foreign Office to reconsider its position with regard to the establishment of an official Hajj Mission in coordination with the UMO.”

Dr. Pasha has been continuing calling upon the government till Lord Nazir Ahmed was appointed a Peer in the House of Lords when Lord Ahmed, as he has been in the House of Lords, asked the British government to form a delegation that can lead the Muslim members of the British community to Hajj. As a result, the British government was the first European or rather first western government that actually appointed Lord Ahmed as head of the British Hajj Delegation in 1999. British Hajj Delegation was started in 1999 and Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham led the first British Hajj Delegation to Saudi Arabia. From next year, 2000 to last year, 2009, Lord Adam Patel of Blackburn led the British Hajj Delegation. The British Hajj Delegation, since it has started, has directly supported over 23,000 British Pilgrims over the last 13 years.

“Lord Patel has done tremendous amount of work and Lord Ahmed who set up the delegation also did tremendous amount of work,” said Baroness Warsi, Minister without Portfolio, at the launching of the British Hajj Delegation on 27th of October 2010 from the Durbar Court, Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO), London.

Launch of Hajj Awareness Week 2011 at House of Lords

Launch of Hajj Awareness Week 2011

at the House of Lords

Dr. Mozammel Haque

The National Hajj and Umrah (Health & Safety) Awareness Week was launched on Wednesday, 14th of September, 2011 at the House of Lords by the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH). The purpose of this launch was to raise awareness of the health & safety issues amongst the 25,000 prospective British pilgrims who will start travelling soon to join over 2 million other pilgrims in Makkah to perform Hajj. Members of the House of Lords, Members of Parliament, Government officials, Diplomats and community dignitaries were present to support this prestigious launch event.

Haramain Expansion
During this Hajj session, people were not only discussing the health and safety issues but also debating about the spirituality of Hajj, raising concerns about the expansion of Haramain and the historic sites and also talking about the skyscrapers hotels and shopping malls.

With the ever increasing number of pilgrims there is no doubt about the need of expansion of the Haramain. This Haramain expansion programme has been going on for centuries. Whenever there is a necessity for the welfare and comfort of the pilgrims, expansion programme was undertaken. During the last ten days of the blessed month of Ramadan, especially on the last Friday of the Holy month of Ramadan and on the Lailatul Qadr (the Night of Power), the Grand Mosque in Makkah al-Mukarramah was filled to the brim with worshippers, as more than four million pilgrims came from all over the world to perform Umrah, attend Taraweeh and Qiyam-ul-Lail prayers, seeking the blessings of Lailat-al-Qadr (the Night of Power). I have already mentioned about this in my previous column.

King Abdullah ordered the new expansion to accommodate the increasing number of pilgrims who come from different parts of the world. Such a measure was essential to meet the requirements of the tremendous increase in the number of worshippers who was expected to exceed more than four million in the last odd nights of Ramadan.

King Abdullah officially launched on 19th of August, 2011, the largest expansion of the Grand Mosque in history, which will increase the Mosque’s capacity to more than 2.5 million worshippers and cost 13 billion pound sterling.

King Abdullah, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, said it is his religious duty to spend “whatever wealth and effort” were necessary to improve facilities for Muslims going on the Islamic pilgrimage.

Writing in The Guardian, London, Ms. Riazat Butt mentioned “some organisations, such as the Islamic Heritage Research Foundation, have repeatedly expressed alarm over the destruction of historic sites to make way for skyscraper hotels and shopping malls.”

Ms. Butt pointed out, “Pilgrims, who fail to secure a spot in the Grand Mosque or in its immediate courtyard, worship in the streets and tunnels leading up to it, especially on a Friday when pilgrims will arrive in the early hours to ensure a place for the afternoon prayers. Currently, the maximum numbers performing the Hajj hover around the 4 million mark, with millions more visiting Makkah throughout the year.”

King Abdullah said, “We are proceeding on the kingdom’s religious responsibility; subsequently, we have laid down the foundation stone for expanding the Grand Mosque [and] inaugurated a number of improvement projects in the Two Holy Mosques. That also is only a duty we owe to Allah.”

As I mentioned in previous paragraphs, last Ramadan, King Abdullah inaugurated the historic 13 billion Pound Sterling Haramain expansion project which covers 400,000 square metres and will accommodate an additional 1.2 million worshippers at a time.

Without Haramain expansion, pilgrims will not only suffer uneasiness and discomfort but large number of intending worshippers will be deprived of performing their fifth pillar of Islam due to restricted capacity of Makkah. As Ms. Butt rightly observed in The Guardian, “The restricted capacity of Mecca means that the majority of the world’s Muslims will never be able to perform the Hajj.” (The Guardian, London, 28 September, 2011)

Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne, MP
Now, coming back to the launching of the Hajj Awareness Week, The Foreign Office Minister Jeremy Browne MP, in his message at this occasion said, “I wanted to extend my support and endorse the work that the Association of British Hujjaj UK does in helping prepare pilgrims for Hajj. This event provides an excellent opportunity to inform British pilgrims of the health and safety issues and precautionary measures to take, ensuring that what will be the journey of a lifetime is a safe and fulfilling one.” He also outlined his plans to provide necessary comfort to British pilgrims, he stated, “the delegation will be on hand to provide consular assistance to any British pilgrim who requires help. I wish all those undertaking Hajj this year a peaceful, successful and rewarding pilgrimage”.

Lord Ahmed
In his welcoming remarks, Lord Ahmed of Rotherham went on to highlight the importance of this event, saying, “by launching this awareness week will enhance Hajj related health & safety awareness amongst British pilgrims. It is important that pilgrims must be aware of all aspects of Hajj to enable them to perform Hajj in the safest and best possible manner”.

Lord Ahmed also mentioned about the tour operators, majority of them have been providing excellent services; but he cautioned, “be careful of bogus tour operators and travel agents.”

Lord Ahmed said during the tenure of Labour government a doctors’ delegation was sent at the government’s expenses but due to budget cuts the government has not yet announced to send such a delegation this year while the health and safety of Hajjis is the responsibility of the government. He said Hajj delegation would have saved hundreds of thousands of pounds of the NHS while it would have contributed towards communal harmony as well.

Lord Ahmed praised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for providing admirable facilitates for pilgrims. He reminded that health advice issued by the Saudi government for vaccination and other necessary precautions should be strictly followed. This orientation week would ensure necessary information to those departing on this great sacred journey he said and suggested that such programmes should also be introduced in all mosques across the UK.

Lord Phil Hunt
Lord Phil Hunt, Leader of the Labour Group in the House of Lords, praised the hard work and continuous efforts made by the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) U.K. to help and protect the British Hajj pilgrims from hardship, difficulties and he assured his full support towards this noble and humanitarian cause.

“It is amazing to see how much progress has been made over those intervening years as a result of the work of ABH. Thousands of thousands of fellow citizens have got safely and have got encouragement as a result of their experience,” said Lord Hunt and added, “The message for health and safety is as important today as it was in 1999 when we started.”

Lord Hunt also mentioned about tour operators. “I remember two years ago when you held a meeting I was struck by the experience given by the pilgrims about unscrupulousness of some tour operators. It is very unfair to charge all tour operators with harsh because many of them are very good people. But still that remains a major problem.”

Lord Hunt said that the Hajj delegation also sent a positive message to other communities too and it is deplorable that decision has not been taken about it as yet as the Hajjis would be facing problems in its absence.

Members of the House of Parliament, John Hemming, Anas Sarwar, Yasmin Qureshi, also assured their help and support towards the prospective Hajj pilgrims and stressed the importance of the awareness of health & safety and other issues related to performing hajj amongst pilgrims and urged the relevant government departments to provide help and assistance to them.

Announcement of First-ever ABH Special Award
For the first time in 12 years the Association of British Hujjaj has decided to present its special Award for the community services and for the noble cause of Hajj. While announcing the Award, Dr. Syed Raza Hussain, senior doctor from the Association of British Hujjaj, UK, said: ABH is totally dedicated and committed to provide up to date knowledge and information to British Hajj and Umrah pilgrims.

“This cannot be fully achieved without dedicated voluntary help and support by our countrymen up and down the country. We at the ABH most gratefully acknowledge them as “Friend of the Association of British Hujjaj UK”. In recognition of their magnificent services the ABH has decided to present a special award to such friends each year on ongoing basis, Insha Allah.

Dr. Hussain said, “Today’s selected “Friends of the Association of British Hujjaj, UK are both well-respected in the community for their integrity, sincerity, loyalty, reliability and upright dedication to their community voluntary services and the noble cause of the ABH.” Today’s chosen two Friends of ABH are Mr. Sarbuland and Dr. Mozammel Haque, declared Dr. Hussain..

Lord Ahmed, the Patron of the ABH (UK), presented the Award to Dr. Mozammel Haque, Media Advisor of the Islamic Cultural Centre, London, on behalf the Association of British Hujjaj (ABH), UK, at the House of Lords, in recognition of his community services and the noble cause of Hujjaj. While accepting the Award from the ABH, Dr. Haque said, “All praise goes to Allah the Almighty. I am humbled and honoured by this Award. I am a very humble person. I am trying to do whatever is possible for me for the cause of Islam and Muslims. It is my duty to inform and educate Muslims who are going for Hajj. And that is what I am doing.”

MP Anas Sarwar
Anas Sarwar told me in an interview that he had the good fortune to perform Umrah for three times. “British Hajj delegation was a very positive development by the previous governments which gives consular support, moral support, health support and advice to the thousands of British Hajjis that went to Saudi Arabia.”

Referring to the British Hajj Delegation, MP Sarwar repeated his call for the service “the medical support, consular support and advice in difficult times to thousands of pilgrims during Hajj. I think the government should start the service.”

Yasmin Qureshi, MP
Yasmin Qureshi, MP, told me in an interview that she performed Hajj in 1994 when there was stampede and falling on the ground in throwing stones at Jamarat but such incidents have become very rare thanks to measures taken by the Saudi government. “I had not been for Hajj thereafter; but I did say whatever the Saudi government or the Saudi Embassy has been doing, it is not easy to look after three million people for few days, within a few spaces, it is a very challenging task for them to do this. Surprisingly no more incidents have happened. That is indeed a credit of Saudi Government and their hard work,” MP Qureshi told me.

Speaking about British Hajj Delegation, she mentioned when Labour came to power it supported the Hajj Delegation but that has been taken away by the Conservatives now. “I tried to ask them to continue to support Hajj Delegation. I have written about this, I have raised this issue, but what we need now is to campaign more,” said MP Qureshi.

Mr. Nazir Ali
Mr. Nazir Ali of the Trading Standard Service of Tower Hamlet Borough spoke on consumers and traders’ duties and responsibilities. He also mentioned how they advice the British Hajj pilgrims. He advised the British pilgrims especially to visit the following two websites in order to know about their rights and responsibilities:
www.berr.gov.uk ©Crown Copyright. URN 07/1166
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/towerhamlets/haj%20travel%20organsiers%20advice.pdf

Ms. Batool Al-Toma from New Muslim Project spoke on women and Hajj. Ms. Shabana Subhan Begum presented her undergraduate Historical Research Dissertation 2011 on “The Modern Hajj: 1924-2010” conducted at Queen Mary, University of London, presented to Lord Ahmed. Ms. Qaisra M. Khan briefed about an exhibition on Hajj to be held under the auspices of British Museum in January 2012.

Maryam in the Bible and in the Qur'an

Maryam in the Bible and in the Qur’an

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Lord Harries and Lord Ahmed organised a Christian-Muslim celebration meeting in honour of Sayeditana Maryam entitled “Mary in the Bible and in the Qur’an” at the Cholmondeley Room at the House of Lords on Monday, the 28th of March, 2011. This was the first ever real celebration mounted by the All-Party Parliamentary Inter-Faith group. There were two renowned scholars from the Christian and Muslim communities, Archbishop McDonald and Hajj Ahmad Thomson, who gave brief outlines on the theme of Mary. The celebration was attended by parliamentarians, religious leaders from the Christian community, the Muslim Community, the Jewish community, the Hindu community as well as several journalists. There was a short film on Mary from the Christian-Muslim-Jewish Forum after the meeting.

Introductions by Lord Harries

Lord Harries, the chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Inter-faith Group made some introductory remarks and introduced the two speakers. Archbishop McDonald was ordained as a priest in 1974 in the Metropolitan Cathedral of St. Chad in Birmingham; he served for a number of years in Oscar College, first of all, as a Lecturer in Moral Theology and after that as a Rector of that College; he worked as a Parish Priest in Sparkhill, Birmingham and then he was ordained Bishop of Northampton in 2001. After that he was appointed Archbishop of Southwark in 2003. He is responsible for the inter-faith relationship of half of the Roman Catholics in England and Wales and although he has retired as Archbishop of Southwark, he is continuing that work.

Archbishop McDonald spoke on the life of Mary for 10 minutes and then Lord Harries introduced Hajj Ahmad Thomson, who embraced Islam in 1973. In his professional life he is member of Gray’s Inn; he was called to the Bar in 1979 and is a practising barrister working in the field of charity, employment, discrimination and Islamic Law. He was a founding member of the Association of Muslim Lawyers, is secretary of Muslim Lawyers (Europe) and is an author of a good number of books. He has been on pilgrimage to Makkah.

Hajj Ahmad Thomson

Hajj Ahmad Thomson, Barrister, began his talk by reciting a few of the many verses in the Qur’an which deal with Maryam, peace be upon her. Hajj Ahmad mentioned that the Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, who did not go to school and who could not read or write – and confirmed that the Qur’an was revealed to him by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel): “So it is a powerful message. It is always good to hear some of it.” Then Hajj Ahmad recited in Arabic verses 42 to 48 of Surah Ali ‘Imran from the Qur’an and read the English translation of those verses (reading from the Bewley translation) as follows:

“And when the angels said, ‘Maryam, Allah has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you over all other women. Maryam, obey your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow.’ This is news from the Unseen which We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast their reeds to see which of them would be the guardian of Maryam.You were not with them when they quarrelled.

“When the angels said, ‘Maryam, your Lord gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, ‘Isa, son of Maryam, of highest esteem in the dunya and the akhirah, [that is, in this world and in the next world] and one of those brought near. He will speak to people in the cradle, and also when fully grown and will be one of the salihun,’ [that is, of the people who are in the right place at the right time]

“she said, ‘My Lord! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?’ He said, ‘It will be so.’ Allah creates whatever He wills. When He decides on something, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is. He will teach him the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah [the revelation given to Moses] and the Injil [the revelation given to Jesus], as a Messenger to the tribe of Israel …[Surah Al ‘Imran : 3. 42-48]

After reading the translation, Hajj Ahmad continued, “These two examples of the angels addressing Maryam give us a glimpse of two different periods in her life: one when she was a young girl; and one when she was about to become the mother of Jesus, peace be on them.”

Speaking about a clear line of descent right from the Prophet Abraham down to the father of Hannah who was of course the mother of Mary, Hajj Ahmad said that he had not been aware of Maryam’s genealogy “when I was brought up as a Christian – and maybe I did not look hard enough.” Hajj Ahmad added, “Hannah, who was the mother of Mary was actually married to a man called Imran. Imran was descended from the Prophet Sulayman (Soloman), who was descended from the Prophet Dawud (David), who was descended from Judah, one of the sons of Yaqub (Jacob) – another of whose names was Israel – who was descended from Ishaq (Isaac), the son of the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham).”

Purity and Special Station of Maryam

Another aspect which Hajj Ahmad mentioned is the purity and very special station of Maryam: “Hannah made a prayer and she said to God, ‘I dedicate to You whatever is in my womb,’ and she also made another prayer and she said, ‘Don’t let shaytan (Satan) touch whoever is in my womb or any of its offspring.’ And it is said that because of this prayer, when Maryam was born, shaytan could not even touch her – and similarly when Jesus was born, shaytan could not even touch him.” Hajj Ahmad added, “The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him, said that every one of the banu Adam (that is, the people who are descended from Adam) is touched by shaytan when they are born – which is what makes them cry at birth – except for these two, because of the prayer of Hannah. So already even before she was born, there was an indication of the purity and special place that had been assigned for Maryam in the unfolding of the prophetic tradition.”

Hajj Ahmad also referred to the Prophetic geneaology of Zakariya: “The Prophet Zakariya (Zachariah) was also descended from Soloman, through the same lineage as Imran. He was married to Ishbah, which is the Arabic name for Elizabeth – and Hannah and Ishbah were sisters. The son of Zakariya and Elizabeth was Yahya, John the Baptist. So again we see within the prophetic family, we see this very close genetic link, as well as the link as regards the message given to mankind about the nature of God, the nature of existence and the guidance that He sent to mankind through His Messengers.”

Referring to Maryam’s relationship with her Lord, Hajj Ahmad said, “We have descriptions in the Qur’an of Maryam’s childhood in the Temple – and that first passage of the two main passages that I recited, mentions the angels speaking to her when she was still a girl, telling her to be obedient to God and to worship Him – and we also have a description of Zakariya coming into her room and finding her eating food and he asks, ‘Where did you get this food from?’ and she says, ‘It has been provided for me by my Lord.’ This was in fact food from the Garden, food from Heaven, from the Unseen. And again this is an indication of her purity and her special station, that she was given food from the Garden.”

Coming of Jesus – identical

There are many ayahs (verses) throughout the Qur’an which refer to Maryam and there is a chapter in the Qur’an which is entitled Maryam in honour of her. Then Hajj Ahmad referred to the second passage which really refers to the coming of the Angel Gabriel to her: “When Jibril (Gabriel) came to tell her that you are going to be the mother of Jesus, he appeared as a handsome man. And as we all know, this is where, if you look at the Christian tradition and the Muslim tradition, it is almost identical, word for word: ‘You are going to be the mother of Jesus.’ And she says, ‘How can I be, when I have not been touched by any man?’ And she is told, ‘It is by the command of your Lord,’ – and He can do anything, including the creation of the whole of the universe and everything it contains.”

God bestowed the highest station to Maryam

God has bestowed the highest station to Maryam. When speaking of the reference to Maryam in the Qur’an as an example of a believer, Hajj Ahmad said, “And then God gives the example of Maryam – and this is the highest station. We also have a hadith (prophetic saying) from the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, that enough for you – meaning that these are the best examples for you – are Maryam the mother of Jesus, Asiya the wife of Pharoah, Khadija (who was his first wife) and Fatima, who was his daughter from whom all the members of the family of the Prophet Muhammad are subsequently descended during the last 14 centuries up until now, blessings and peace be on all of them. So we have these indications again and again and again, right from before she was born and after, that Mary had a very high station with her Lord. And this was a station which no human being could confer on her – it was a station for which she was created.”

Miraculous figure of Mary

There then followed a lively Questions & Answers session when different questions were asked, especially as to whether Mary was a miraculous figure in her own right. Archbishop McDonald replied, “I think the key point is about two things about Mary – which I think as, if you like, the act of God: one is the virgin birth and the other is the fact that she was without sin from the outset. These two things, we call the virgin birth and the immaculate conception.”

Significance of Mary

On this question, Archbishop McDonald replied, “I think regarding the person of Mary as someone with whom we can engage, it is to engage together with Mary in whatever way our traditions commit us and encourage us – and to allow spontaneous responses and affective responses (and not just intellectual responses) to be shared; that is what I would suggest.”

Hajj Ahmad’s reply was, “I think regarding Mary there is no dispute about who she is and how she lived: she was very pure, she is a very good example and she was the mother of Jesus. This is something about which we have complete and concrete agreement on. Therefore there is no basis for entering an argument on that. I think that as far as women are concerned in this society, they have a good example. You could say that Maryam is someone who has an unfair advantage over any other woman in the world because of what was destined for her – but at the same time the way she lived was exemplary: she worshipped God without any partner and this is a good example; she was modest; and she had all the fine qualities that a woman can have.”

Limits of the two traditions

Another question asked was: “What are the limits in the two traditions, as regards the past?” Archbishop McDonald replied, “As a Christian, I can engage with and seek to identify with Mary in relation to the crucified Lord and in relation to God who created me. I think the most fruitful, most fertile area for common engagement with Mary would be the annunciation – and not for obvious reasons, the crucifixion, because that is specifically the Christian thing. I think it is a great important principle both in ecumenical dialogue and in interfaith dialogue that we begin with what we can confirm together or by what we can celebrate together – and if any further exploration in building towards more difficult things is indicated, then we can pursue it.”

In contrast, Hajj Ahmad said, “As I understand it, your question is actually looking at what happened before, rather than at anything that comes after – and, looking at the Jewish tradition, certainly the coming of Jesus was expected. I think it is probably mentioned in the Torah somewhere that the coming of the Messiah would take place – and when Jesus came, it happened that some people said yes, he is the Messiah and some Jews said no, he is not – and some say even nowadays that they are still waiting for the Messiah. The Christians obviously said yes, he is the Messiah – he came and he has gone. The Muslims say yes, he was the Messiah, he was not crucified, he was taken up into the Unseen – and he will be coming back. This is what the Muslims believe from the Qur’an.”

Hajj Ahmad continued, “And the Qur’an says that when Jesus returns, then the People of the Book, the people who received the earlier divine revelations, will then believe in the final revelation of the Qur’an without any disagreement whatsoever – because it will be very clear at that point that he is the Messiah, come back for the second time as far as the Christians and the Muslims are concerned, and arrived for the first time as far as the Jews are concerned. So there is still more confirmation to come in the future – but it does go right back to the time of Moses. That is why the genealogy I was giving earlier in my talk confirms actually how close all the Messengers of God and all the Prophets of God are in the Prophetic tradition – certainly as regards those who were post-Abraham, but also those who were pre-Abraham, because they all came originally from Adam and Eve. So we see that within the Prophetic tradition they were related genetically as well as by their message and function.”

The Roman Catholic duty priest commented, “Surely the main attribute of Mary is that she embodies someone who heard the word of God and kept it – and this is true for both of our traditions – and as a result of which she was able to answer the call of the archangel Gabriel.”

Hajj Ahmad replied, “I think that is a very good point that you have made. If I could, I would just like to add one point to the Bishop’s: as regards that great gathering, that gathering of 5,000 people is concerned, I find it very interesting that in the Gospel of Barnabus, the reason for that gathering is given: it was to give everyone a clear understanding of who Jesus was by letting Jesus prove that he was not God. So he asked a scribe, ‘Doesn’t it say in the Torah that God has no beginning and no end?’ – and the scribe said, ‘Yes, thus it is written.’ Then Jesus said, ‘I have a beginning and an end – so I am not God.’ Then Jesus said, ‘Doesn’t it say that God never sleeps, nor slumbers?’ – and the scribe said, ‘Yes, that’s what it says in the Torah,’ and Jesus said, ‘I have to sleep – so I am not God.’ And then Jesus said, ‘Is it not true that it says in the Torah that God has created everything in the heavens and the earth?’ – and the scribe said, ‘Yes, that is what it says,’ and Jesus said, ‘I could not even create a fly.’ Then the people said, ‘Then who are you?’ and Jesus said, ‘I am a Messenger of God.’”

Lord Harries

After the Q & A session, Lord Harries made the following closing remarks: “I have been involved in inter-faith dialogue for quite a long time and in my experience, there are three main fundamental principles. First of all, it is a way of understanding – of letting people define themselves in their own terms; secondly it is a way of affirmation – trying to identify and find common ground; and thirdly it is a way of sharing. It seems to me that we have certainly done the first two today: people have defined the subject in their own terms. I think this is very important.”

I think one of the ways in which inter-religious relationships are poisoned,” continued Lord Harries, “is because of the caricatures which society inherit – and we have to get beyond that and people have to define themselves in their own terms and secondly to identify a lot of common ground.”

Lord Harries concluded by saying, “And my third point is that whereas some people think wrongly that in order to engage in interfaith dialogue you have to criticise your most cherished convictions and try to find a sort of lowest common denominator of religion, in fact, in a true dialogue you have to share differences as well as what you have in common – and my own experience is that if you can build up relationships which rely on respect and trust, so also you can share differences as well as affirm the common ground.”

Lord Ahmed

After thanking everyone for coming and especially Caroline Jean from the Mary foundation because, “it was her idea that inspired me and prompted us to decide on all this,” Lord Ahmed said, “I think it is important to have this type of event where Maryam, peace be on her, brings everybody together – because we have seen too much of the Christian Minister in Pakistan who was murdered by extremists in Lahore and Terry Jones the so-called Pastor who burnt the Qur’an in the United States last week – that creates the differences and the hatred. It is important that we do bring people together.”

An Interview with Archbishop McDonald

After the conclusion of the celebration, I had the opportunity to talk to Archbishop McDonald and interview him regarding the common ground where both Christian and Muslim traditions can meet. The Archbishop confirmed, “The virginity of Mary is accepted by both traditions.”

As regards the understanding that Jesus spoke to people from the cradle, which is what Muslims believe, the Archbishop said, “We don’t believe this – that is not part of our tradition. This is a point of difference.”

On the point of the annunciation, the Archbishop said that both traditions can meet on this: “The story is told differently, but the key element of the story is held in common. The important thing is to engage first to our lady and then to engage with each of the stories of the annunciation together – and that we can do.”

On the question of the holiness of Mary, which the Muslim tradition accepts, the Christian tradition does not. The Archbishop said, “No, it is different. The main difference is our understanding of Jesus Christ, because we see the holiness of Mary as coming from the redemption of Christ – so we see the source of the holiness differently.”

Hajj Awareness Week 2010 launches at the House of Lords

Hajj Awareness Week 2010
Launches at the House of Lords

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Hajj Awareness Week, like every year, was launched in the House of Lords on the 6th of October, 2010 by the Association of British Hujjaj (ABH). This is a preparation campaign for the British Hujjaj who will be travelling for pilgrimage to Makkah. The ABH is the only national Hajj specific organisation which organises high profile publicity campaigning throughout the year through the printed and electronic media, by special Television programmes on various TV channels, and also held seminars. The ABH will have grand annual seminar in Birmingham.

Hajj
Let us begin with the two terms or words used in the title; Hajj and Awareness. First of all, what is Hajj? It is the fifth pillar of Islam, the peak of the spiritual exercise. It has every aspect in itself, social, moral, physical, hygienic and spiritual. Whosoever wants to perform Hajj should prepare himself with information for Hajj. There are stages through which Allah the Almighty prepares Muslims to reach to that stage of Hajj.

Shahada or belief in the Oneness of God, monotheism is the basic, the foundation of Islam. Once the foundation is laid, the other actions start. After Shahada comes the Salat, the five times prayer. I think you know how the command comes from Allah for the prayer. Prayer is actually a gift from Allah through the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to meet our Creator, to be close to Him. It comes after the meeting of Our Prophet with Allah the Almighty in the night of Miraj. This prayer has all the aspects to prepare Muslims socially, morally, ethically, spiritually to be in front of Allah. The ablution cleans the body and prayer purifies the heart and prepares the worshiper to be in front of Allah the Almighty.

The third stage is Zakat. It is again the act of purification, the purification of wealth by sacrificing some portion of the wealth for the poor people, for the community. Just as the performance of the salat (prayer) is both an individual and a communal obligation, so payment of the zakat instills a sense of communal identity and responsibility.

Zakat purifies the property of the people with means and clears it from the shares which do not belong to it anymore, the shares which must be distributed among the due beneficiaries.

Zakat does not only purify the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed for wealth. In return, it purifies the heart of the recipient from envy and jealousy, from hatred and uneasiness; and it fosters in his heart, instead, good will and warm wishes for the giver. As a result, the society at large will purify and free itself from class warfare and suspicion, from ill feelings and distrust, from corruption and disintegration, and from all such evils.

Again, at this stage Allah the Almighty prepares Muslims to be able to make greater sacrifice to meet Allah. Here again, there are social, ethical, spiritual dimensions involved. Zakat is thus a vivid manifestation of the spiritual and humanitarian spirit of responsive interactions between the individual and society.

After Salah and Zakat comes Sawm, fasting, the next stage to come near to Allah, the self-control, restraining oneself from all evil deeds, thinking, and wrong doings in remembering the presence of Allah the Almighty. All adult Muslims, whose health permits, are to abstain completely from food, drink, and sexual activity. Ramadan is a time for reflection and spiritual discipline, for expressing gratitude for God's guidance and atoning for past sins, for awareness of human frailty and dependence on God, as well as for remembering and responding to the needs of the poor and hungry.

This is not only the physical training but also the ethical, moral and spiritual training before reaching to the highest, the peak of the spiritual exercise. This is the fourth stage which prepares Muslims again socially, ethically, morally and spiritually to meet his Creator.

The fifth pillar of Islam, the peak of the spiritual, social and ethical exercise is the pilgrimage. It is the highest order of sacrifice to come closer to Allah the Almighty spiritually, that’s why, the Hajjis come to the House of Allah with only two pieces of cloth and saying Labbaika Allahumma Laik. Allah I am here, Allah I am here. Every adult Muslim physically and financially able is expected to perform the annual pilgrimage (Hajj) to Makkah at least once in his or her lifetime.

Hajj was made a model of piety, fear of God, purity, simplicity and austerity. The pilgrims were ordered to purify themselves spiritually, to give up worldly things, to avoid all sexual desires, even refrain from intercourse with their wives, and to totally refrain from using bad and abusive language.

Combined with the Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, and looked at as a whole, you will see that Hajj constitutes a preparation for the great task which Islam wants Muslims to do. This is why it has been made compulsory for all who have the money and the physical fitness for the journey to the Ka’ba.

Allah the Almighty prepares human beings from the day one, after the Shahada, the belief in the Oneness of Allah the Almighty (Tawheed), monotheism, to meet him. As I said earlier, in Hajj, there are Prayers, sacrifices and circumambulation (tawaf) of the Ka’ba. The only cry that one could hear was that which arose from the heart of the pilgrim: Labbyk, Allahumma labbayk, labbayk, la sharika laka labbauyk, inna ‘l-hamda wa‘n-ni’mata laka wa ‘l-mulka la sharika lak

Here am I before Thee, O God, doubly at Thy service. Before Thee I am, there is no partner unto Thee, doubly at Thy service here am I. All praise and blessings are Thine, and power. There is no partner unto Thee.

Hajj Awareness
That is what Hajj actually is and the pilgrim must have knowledge and information related to Hajj. Hajj is such a duty that the pilgrims have to know many aspects about this before travelling to Makkah. People were prohibited from starting out on Hajj without taking adequate provisions. Clarification was made that not taking provisions of a journey in this world did not mean, as was popularly believed, that one was thereby taking provisions for the Hereafter: And take provision for yourselves, but the best provision is God-consciousness (al-Baqarah 2: 197).

Nobody can be prepared to undertake this journey until and unless he has love of Allah in his heart as well as fear of Him, and is convinced that Allah wants him to do what he is doing. From the time of deciding and preparing for Hajj to the time of returning home, a tremendous impact is made on the hearts and minds of pilgrims. The process entails sacrifice of time, sacrifice of money, sacrifice of comfort, and sacrifice of many physical desires and pleasures---and all this simply for the sake of Allah, with no worldly or selfish motive.

The first is the physical fitness. It means not only medical but it includes everything; pilgrim must be physically fit to travel to Saudi Arabia and to complete every rite of Hajj, such as Tawaf and Saie, go to Mina and staying there and travelling to Arafat, Muzdalifah and back to Mina. All these pilgrims have to perform within a very short period of five or six days. That’s why you need to be physically fit.

It requires that Pilgrim must consult his GP about his health and take all other medicines that he requires. For this, it is necessary to make the pilgrims aware about their health and safety. For the last twelve years, the ABH has been carrying out this voluntary service of making people aware about the necessity of health and safety.

The second important thing is financial and economic aspects about which the pilgrims must have information. It is already said that those who are financially solvent Hajj is only obligatory for them, not for those who are not financially capable to bear their expenses. So far as the financial aspect is concerned, it is not only the financial solvency, it requires to have information and knowledge of all other relevant aspects and issues related to it, such as tickets, accommodation and also the expenses to be incurred during the period of staying. Nowadays, travel agents or tour operators are offering Hajj package. Pilgrims need to know about the terms and conditions of the Hajj package, the genuineness of the tour operators and all other issues related to it.

The third important thing is the religious aspect, i.e. to know the details bits and pieces about different rites of Hajj from Makkah, Mina, Arafat, Muzdalifah and Mina and other related issues.

Fourthly, pilgrims must be aware about the service and benefits they can get when they are in Saudi Arabia. About this, there is British Hajj Delegation which has been operating since 1998 and for the last twelve years, the British Hajj Delegation in cooperation with the British Consular officials and staff carried out both the medical and consular services. The Foreign & Commonwealth Office has already distributed a leaflet – Hajjis – which informs, instructs and explains pilgrims what they have to do (see below).

Besides these, I think and I have seen many people want to know about the situation in tawaf, saie, tents in Arafat and stoning in Jamarat. Recently, people also wanted to know about the transportation. About this, they must be informed. The facilities provided by the Saudi Authorities in Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafat, I would like to inform and aware the pilgrims in the next issue.

Hajj is an obligatory duty in a lifetime for every capable, both physically and financially to perform Hajj in a lifetime. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. As it is an obligatory duty, it is essential that every Muslim who is planning to go for Hajj is to make himself abreast about different aspects of Hajj. It is necessary to know about the social, economical, moral, educational and religious aspects of Hajj.

That’s why there is a necessity to create awareness among the pilgrims. In both Muslim and Muslim minority countries, there is arrangement to give some training to the pilgrims about Hajj. It is done both at the government level as well as at the non-governmental level, by voluntary organisation or at the travel tours level.

Mosques played an important role everywhere irrespective of Muslim majority and Muslim minority countries to inform pilgrims, train them, giving them a brief introduction and training how to perform Hajj and what are its different rites.

British Hajj Delegation
Recently, the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) has distributed a leaflet entitled “HAJJIS” which instructs and informs British Muslims what they have to do. Let us begin with what it said to British Muslims:

The Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) know how deeply important the Hajj is to all those who attend it. This year thousands of British Nationals will attend the Hajj. The aim of the FCO Hajjis leaflet is to assist British Hajjis in preparing for the Hajj and to explain what services the British Hajj Delegation can offer British pilgrims in Saudi Arabia.

Health
The Saudi Ministry of Health has now established 21 hospitals to provide health care to pilgrims free of charge. Make sure that you have been vaccinated with the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine (ACWY). You will be required to produce a valid vaccination certificate. Consult your GP if you are in any doubt.

The FCO also strongly recommends that travellers to the Hajj have a seasonal influenza vaccination prior to embarking on the trip.

For more information on health advice for travellers, visit http://www.nathnac.org/Hajj and http://www.fitfortravel.scot.nhs.uk/

Arrival and Departure
Travel within Saudi Arabia will be limited to Makkah, Madinah, Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah. If you choose to travel elsewhere your travel agent will need to inform the Tawafa Establishment giving at least 24 hours notice. Pilgrims travel by buses provided by the General Cars Syndicate, using coupons provided by the Tawafa Establishment.

Help and Assistance
This year thousands of British Nationals will attend the Hajj. We hope that, like many thousands of Hajjis, you will have a trouble-free Hajj. However, if something does go wrong, the British Hajj Delegation, working with the British Consulate-General can provide you with a range of consular services. The information on this website can also be found on our Hajj leaflet which can be downloaded in English, Urdu, Bengali and Arabic.

The British Hajj delegation will be located at the Elaf Al Khalil Hotel (see Useful Contact Details below).

The Delegation can:
*provide information on how to transfer money
*arrange for replacement passports
*provide appropriate help if you are a victim of crime or are ill or in hospital
*do all we properly can to contact you within 24 hours of being told that you have been detained
*make special arrangements in case of civil disturbances or natural disasters
*provide contact details for local lawyers and provide a list of medical facilities
*arrange for next of kin to be told of an accident or a death and advise on procedures

The Delegation cannot:
*provide medical care
*become involved in private disagreements e.g. pilgrim and tour operator disputes
*rearrange travel bookings
*pay your hotel, legal, medical or travel bills
*get you out of prison
*give legal advice
*intervene in court cases
*investigate a crime

Travellers Checklist
Check the FCO travel advice to make sure that you are up-to-date with the situation in Saudi Arabia at www.fco.gov/travel or call 0845 850 2829. Check that you have the correct tickets and ticket details. Make sure that you book your tickets through an ATOL registered tour operator to avoid unnecessary difficulties. For more information please visit www.atol.org.uk.

Have contact details for your tour operator in the UK and their representatives in Makkah. Get travel insurance for all aspects of your journey. Shariah compliant insurance policies are available.

Check that you have had the required vaccinations for your pilgrimage and that you have vaccination cards with you.

Ensure that your passport is in good condition and the necessary visas are in place. Make copies of your passport, insurance policy plus emergency numbers and ticket details. Leave these copies, your itinerary and correct contact details with family and friends.

Individuals on medication should make sure that they have adequate quantities to get them through the Hajj period. Existing medication should be clearly labelled for each individual.

Ensure you have good quality footwear as you may have to walk long distances.

Ensure all your luggage is clearly labelled by placing stickers both on the outside and inside of your luggage showing your name, nationality, passport number, air carrier, flight number, hotel name and a contact telephone number.

Make sure you have the contact details of the Hajj Delegation and local consulate.

Please note any kind of photography (still or video) is strictly prohibited inside and around the two Holy Mosques. Anybody violating this will have their equipment and material confiscated.

Useful Contact Information in Saudi Arabia
Elaf Al-Khalil Hotel
Ibrahim Al-Khaleel Street
Al-Misfalah
Behind the Hilton Towers
Tel: 02 573 2555
Fax: 02 573 2666
British Consulate General, Jeddah:
Tel.: 02 622 5550
Fax: 02 622 6249

Launch of Hajj Awareness Week at House of Lords

Launch of National Hajj Awareness
Week at House of Lords

Dr. Mozammel Haque

Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham, Patron of the Association of British Hujjaj (ABH) launched the National Hajj Awareness Week at the House of Lords on Wednesday, the 21 October 2008. While launching the Hajj Awareness Week, Lord Ahmed mentioned some of the achievements of the ABH: 25,000 British Muslims go for Hajj every year and many thousands do Umrah and there was a need for British Muslims facilities not only consular advice but more important health advice and other kind of advice which is now available in Mina, Muzdalifa and Arafat and particularly in Makkah.

The purpose of this national event was to raise awareness of the Health & Safety issues amongst the 25000 prospective British Hajj & Umrah pilgrims who will start travelling from next week to join over 2 million other pilgrims in Makkah to perform Hajj. Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Steve McCabe MP, Roger Godsiff MP, Hazza Al Hasher from Saudi Embassy (London) and officials from various Government departments were present to support this event.

The British Pilgrims are at greater risk of accidents and contracting infectious diseases such as meningitis, hepatitis, influenza etc. “It is particularly important that pilgrims must be aware of the precautionary measures towards the recent Swine flu threat and that they must get vaccinated before their departure to Saudi”, said Lord Ahmed of Rotherham.

I had the opportunity to interview Lord Ahmed, the patron of the Association of British Hujjaj. Speaking about the importance of launching this event, Lord Ahmed said, “Every year the ABH launches the Hajj Awareness Week. It is important that we raise awareness because hundreds and thousands Muslims from the United Kingdom go for Hajj and Umrah every year 25, 000 of them for Hajj. We are unique in the sense that Government provides facilities in Makkah, Mina, Muzdalifah and Arafah through the Hajj Delegation which was established ten years ago.”

Lord Ahmed also congratulated the efforts of the Saudi Government saying, “the Saudi Government has been very kind in supporting this effort too.”

Lord Ahmed advised to take Meningitis and Swine Flu jab. “Sometime health and safety issues are not the priority of our community; we want to make sure that people are aware that Meningitis is a killer and people should be protected against the Meningitis jab. Secondly, Swine Flu is also a killer now and the government expects thousands of people are contracting it, so therefore it is important that people have a flu jab against that,.” advised Lord Ahmed.

Lord Ahmed also mentioned about fraud tour operators. “There are great majority of the tour operators they provide an excellent service and they do very hard work; but occasionally we get total fraud like last year in East London a Bengali gentleman who committed a fraud; he called himself a Kibla Hajj Services. That man, rightly so, Thank God, he was sentenced for six years. And I hope that the money he transferred to Bangladesh should be returned. 350 people were stunned with 2500 pounds per head. This is a lot of money and these are poor people and they had lost their passports. They saved the money for their life time. Unfortunately these types of things happened. And that should not be allowed.”

Lord Ahmed advised people to be vigilant and also to obtain a receipt from tour operators. “People need to be vigilant and they should report this matter if this happens to the police and also to the Trading Standard offices. But the most important thing is we know some people do not use credit cards or cheque books. Any money you give you must obtain a receipt from the tour operators.”

Lord Ahmed also mentioned that the people should make sure that these tour operators are ATOL registered, they should have some certification from the BIS and the Aviation Authority. “They should have government approval as well as a company which is responsible for looking after their things,” said Lord Ahmed.

Lord Ahmed also said that cheapest is not necessarily the best. “I think people should look at this year packages which are being offered. Cheapest is not necessarily the best. We know every body should go for cost effective but they should go for quality,” advised Lord Ahmed.

Another aspect which Lord Ahmed emphasized is about the religiosity of Hajj itself. “Hajj does not mean suffering; it does not mean hardship, it means worship. This is not an option, this is not going for holiday, this is part of Islam and people should be looking for the fulfilment of that spirituality,” mentioned Lord Ahmed.

Lord Ahmed would like to see more mosques to hold seminars and training programme so people should be mentally prepared. “We need to make sure that we should have host these events in regions. Next Sunday, in Midland, they are launching this event and then in Yorkshire and Scotland. So people become more aware. We would like more mosques to hold seminars and training programmes so people should be mentally prepared,” said Lord Ahmed.

Officials from Business, Innovation & Skills Department (BIS) and Metropolitan police also highlighted the issue of exploitation of the pilgrims by some tour operators. Members of Parliament Steve McCabe and Roger Godsiff commended the hard work of the ABH, UK towards the welfare and well being of the pilgrims. They strongly urged the British Muslim community that they should be aware of the illegal activities of some unscrupulous and rogue Hajj tour operators who are causing tremendous hardship and difficulties to the British Hajj & Umrah pilgrims and they also expressed their full support to ensure that the Hajj & Umrah travel industry is regulated.

“The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (A.B.H) the National Hajj specific organisation is organising high profile publicity campaign during this week through press and electronic media, and also organising seminars and educational training programs to raise awareness of pre-travel Health & Safety issues amongst prospective Hajj pilgrims to prevent such tragic incidents in future”, said Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of the Association of British Hujjaj.

Recent Expansion of Haramain

This is the season of Hajj. It is necessary to write something about the developments and expansion of the Haramain, The Masjid al-Haram in Makkah and the Masjid al-Nabawi in Madinah al-Munawwarah.

Expansion of Masjid al-Haram
In 1988 King Fahd laid the foundation stone for the third Saudi expansion of the Sacred Masjid al-Haram in Makkah. The prime aim of the multi-million dollar programme was to make the places of Hajj more safely accessible to ever greater numbers. The development incorporated an expansion of the western wing of the existing Masjid al-Haram and a subsequent enlargement of the building to hold more than a million worshippers. The expansion included over 60,000 square metre of prayer area on the enlarged roof, in addition to another almost 86,000 square metre in the surrounding plaza. An elaborate new entrance and 18 smaller entranceways have also been built.

The safety and comfort of the Hajjis has become a major concern for the authorities. The newly laid floor titles are made of specially developed heat-resistant marble and the whole structure is cooled by one of the world’s largest air-conditioning units. To facilitate the movement of the worshippers to the newly developed of area of the Masjid al-Haram during the busiest seasons, additional escalators are incorporated along side a number of fixed stairways in the northern and southern sides of the building.

In November 2004, King Abdullah announced the launching of the giant development projects in Makkah al-Mukarramah at a total cost of more than 35 billion Saudi Riyals. The seven projects include Jabal Omar Development Project, Parallel Road Development Project, Jabal Khandamah Development Project, Shi’b Amir Development Project, Northern Haram (Al-Shamiyah) Development Project and Ajyad Hospital Development Project. In April 2007, the Makkah Development Authority, the Makkah Municipality and the Presidency of the Haramain Affairs announced a further expansion project, to be completed by 2020. The master plan for the development of the city’s central district aims at accommodating three million residents and eight million pilgrims. Further expansion of the Masaa will reduce overcrowding and will be completed before the next Hajj season. Plans are also under way to air-condition the entire built-up area of the Masjid al-Haram.

The 55-year old Ajyad Hospital in Makkah which is located close to the Grand Masjid has been demolished. The 3,000 square meter space where the hospital was located will be added to the Masjid al-Haram’s courtyard, creating prayer space for some 7,000 worshippers. A modern high-tech hospital is being built on a 110,000 square foot plot to the south east of the Masjid to satisfy the needs of pilgrims, Umrah performers and visitors of the Holy Haram.

Expansion of Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah
Work on the Prophet’s Mosque began in 1985 and was completed in 1994. It increased the total area of the Mosque almost five-fold. A unique feature of the expansion project was the development of the 27 main plazas. Each plaza is now capped by a state-of-the-art sliding dome, which can be rapidly opened or closed according to the weather and can be used in unison or separately as required. The project also necessitated the building of six additional minarets, the most powerful visual sign of the Mosque, each 105 metre high construction being crowned with a 4 ton gold-plated crescent.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah laid the foundation stone for a SR. 4.7 billion ($1.25 billion) expansion project at the Prophet’s Mosque in Madinah. The expansion project includes the installation of 182 sunshades in the Mosque’s courtyards which will give shade to more than 200,000 worshippers visiting the Mosque at any time. The development project also includes the expansion of the Mosque’s eastern courtyard by a further 37,000 square metres creating additional prayer space for 70,000 worshippers.

First Hajj flights arrived in Jeddah
More than 3,000 foreign pilgrims on 19 flights arrived at the King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) on Tuesday, 20th of October, the first day for the arrival of Hajj flights in the present Hajj season. Director General of King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) Mazen Khashoggi told reporters that this year’s Hajj would witness a qualitative shift in pilgrim services. Pilgrims are being received at 13 gates. Eight new air bridges will be ready for serving them shortly, the official said.

Regarding the new arrangement for the smooth arrival and departure of pilgrim aircraft, the director said, “The peak season of arrivals and departures of pilgrims this year has been extended to 21 days instead of 10 days as in the past. The number of inbound flights each hour at the beginning of Hajj will be limited to six for arrival and five for departure at the end.”

President Sarkozy’s comments on burqa -
It’s outrageous, offensive and inflammatory

Dr. Mozammel Haque

President Sarkozy made his attack on a small minority of Muslim women in his ‘state of the nation’ speech, the first by a French President to both houses of the French Parliament since 1873, stating that the burqa was not welcome in France: A parliamentary commission has been set up to investigate the use of the burqa in France, home to the largest Muslim community in Western Europe – five million and growing..

Sarkozy’s speech should be seen as a piece of politics. Despite good results at the European elections, Sarkozy and his government are not popular. With gloomy economic forecasts and discontent in workplaces across Europe, he made a feeble attempt to deflect his nation’s attention from more pressing issues to the quintessentially French preoccupation with women’s clothes.

President Sarkozy’s comment on burqa
President Sarkozy said, “The problem of the burka is not a religious problem, it's a problem of liberty and women's dignity. It's not a religious symbol, but a sign of subservience and debasement. I want to say solemnly, the burka is not welcome in France. In our country, we can't accept women prisoners behind a screen, cut off from all social life, deprived of all identity. That's not our idea of freedom.”

Nationally, the speech was attacked by all the opposition parties as an ‘act of self-promotion by a President with monarchical pretensions’. French Muslim leaders reacted cautiously saying this would further stigmatize a big immigrant population. “To raise the subject like this…. Is a way of stigmatizing Islam,” said Mohammed Moussaoui, the head of the French Muslim Council.

The speech already received criticism of France abroad. President Obama attacked the French headscarf rule in his historic speech in Cairo University saying that the United States prized freedom of religion and the United States did not believe that the Government should dictate people’s dress. “We are not going to tell people what to wear”, said President Obama

Analytical study of President Sarkozy’s remarks
Before looking into the reaction and response to Sarkozy’s comment on burqa, let me analyse his remarks.

Not sign of religion: First of all, Sarkozy said burqa is not sign of religion. Observers raised question: since when did Sarkozy become an authority on Islam? Has he read the verse of the Qur’an (Surah Ahzab, Verse 59) which explicitly enjoins believing women to wear an outer garment when outdoors, so that they are identified as Muslim women and not harassed? If so, how is he qualified to offer a different conclusion from centuries of Muslim exegetes and scholars who affirmed that such a garment is undoubtedly a religious obligation? Has he ever spoken to any of the thousands of Muslim women who choose to wear the burqa/abaya/jilbab and asked them the rationale behind their choice of that garb?

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is 'not qualified' to judge the Muslim women's dress code, said Muslim scolar in reaction to his branding of full-body veils as a sign of servitude. "This man is not qualified to tell Muslim women what they should or should not wear," said Moustafa Al Shaka'a, a member of the Islamic Research Centre, an influential arm of Al Azhar, the Sunni Muslim world's prestigious institution. "First, he (Sarkozy) does not believe in Islam, which is a heavenly religion that holds women in high regard. Another reason is that he belongs to a culture, which is unfair to women," Al-Shaka'a told Gulf News. "One example, Islam gives women the right to keep her family's name after marriage, which is not the case in the West (...)

Secondly, Sarkozy said, it’s a sign of subservience: Observers commented, “It is a sign of subservience – not to human beings, fickle fashion trends and social mores – but to the Higher Wisdom of the One who decreed it an obligatory protection for Muslim women.”
Thirdly, Sarkozy said, it’s a sign of debasement. Observer explained debasement thus: “Debasement is trading in the bodies of women, displaying them and using them as a means of provoking and gratifying unnatural biological urges in strangers. Debasement is the deliberate, systematic dehumanization of women and their relegation to being sexual toys in the hands of profiteers – not the covering of a woman’s body in public, that protects her from precisely such predators.” Wrote Rahla Khan.

Response and Reaction in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, people from different levels and different walks of life reacted to President Sarkozy’s interference in woman’s rights to their dress code. Responding to President Sarkozy’s remarks on burqa, the Communities Minister of the British Government, Shahid Malik, M.P. said, “It is not the job of government to dictate what people should or should not wear in our society – that is a matter of personal choice.”

Communities Minister
“There are no laws stating what clothes or attire are acceptable and so whether one chooses to wear a veil or burqa, a miniskirt or goth outfit is entirely at the individual’s discretion,” said Minister Malik and added, “It is true that many Muslims feel the veil and its rationale are misunderstood and so sensible discussion provides an opportunity to create a better understanding and ultimately ensures we are more at ease with the diverse society within which we live.”

Lord Ahmed
“President Sarkozy’s remarks are inflammatory,” Labour Peer, Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotharham, told me in an interview and added, “Burqa is worn by a small minority of Afghani women and there are only a handful of Afghani women in France. It is a deliberate diversion from his domestic problems to stir up heat against Muslims.”

Lord Ahmed also said, “According to Sarkozy, ‘burqa is a sign of subservience and debasement’. Many would say that naked women posing for photograph and using them to amuse men in the sea beeches is also sexual exploitation of women. I am fully aware that Carla Bruni (Mrs. Sarkozy) posed naked in Magazines and there is this of other women who posed naked in the beeches of southern France.”

“In a society where you are allowed to take off your clothes in the name of liberty, equality and fraternity they want to ban those who want to keep their dignity and modesty in line with morality,” said Lord Ahmed.

Lord Sheikh
Conservative Peer, Lord Sheikh, said, “I don’t agree with President Sarkozy’s remarks concerning wearing burqa. I feel that Muslim ladies should be given the opportunity to wear Burqa or Hijab or Niqab if they want to do so. The State should not be interfering with the dress code of the Muslim ladies; they should be given the choice. In the United Kingdom, there is no such restriction and I very much hope that this is continued and there is no interference in our beliefs and our attitudes to the dress code of Muslim or any other racial or religious groups.”

Sir Iqbal Sacranie
Sir Iqbal Sacranie, former Secretary General of the Muslim Council of Britain and the present chairman of Muslim Aid, told me in an interview, “These comments coming from such a senior political figure in Europe is extremely disturbing. It goes against the very tradition and values of a liberal secular democratic system which guarantees respect to individual rights, to address in accordance with the culture and religious traditions.”

“There may be arguments within the Muslim community whether wearing of burqa is part of the Islamic teachings but it is for the authentic Islamic scholars and renowned Islamic institutions, such as Fiqh Council in Makkah al-Mukarramah and Al-Azhar in Cairo to give a clear directive on this contentious issue,” said Sir Iqbal.

The Muslim Aid chairman also said, “However, looking at the recent pronouncement of the French government including the banning of headscarf in French schools clearly shows that these measures are clear infringement of the basic human right and breach of both UN and European Convention of Human Rights.”

“Such statements are deeply worrying and gives succor to the extreme right-win fascist groups in Europe to openly incite hatred against Muslims,” said Sir. Iqbal.

Muslim Organizations:
Muslim Council of Britain
“French leader’s burqa remarks are designed to whip-up further xenophobia against Muslims,” reacted by the Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) in its press release on 23 June 2009 and called on Sarkozy to "desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics" towards France's Muslim population.

“The Muslim Council of Britain criticized French President Nicholas Sarkozy’s intention to ban the wearing of Burqa - a garment worn by a minority of Muslim women in accordance with their religious belief. Reiterating its long established position that individuals must have the freedom to choose their attire on the basis of deeply-held religious beliefs, the MCB called upon the French President to desist from engaging in and promoting divisive politics towards its Muslim inhabitants,” the press release said.

In this respect, the MCB echoes the US President Barack Obama’s caution that “it is important for Western countries to avoid impeding Muslim citizens from practising religion as they see fit - for instance, by dictating what clothes a Muslim woman should wear. We cannot disguise hostility towards any religion behind the pretence of liberalism.”

Dr Reefat Drabu, Assistant Secretary General of the MCB, said in a statement: “It is patronising and offensive to suggest that those Muslim women who wear the burqa do so because of pressure or oppression by their male partners or guardians.”

Speaking for the umbrella group of more than 500 Muslim organizations including mosques, charities and community groups, she added: “Such suggestions can legitimately be perceived as antagonistic towards Islam.”

“Instead of taking a lead in promoting harmony and social cohesion amongst its people, the French President appears to be initiating a policy which is set to create fear and misunderstanding and may lead to Islamophobic reaction not just in France but in the rest of Europe too,” Dr. Reefat Drabu said.

Union of Muslim Organizations (UMO)
“It is all the more disturbing coming from the President of a country which prides itself to be the pioneer of liberty, equality and fraternity. President Sarkozy has brought humiliation on the French people by denying their right to wear whatever the dress they want to wear. Secondly, as it is targeted against Muslim women, he is infected with the disease of Islamophobia which is not being acceptable to the Muslims throughout the world,” said Dr. Syed Aziz Pasha, the General Secretary of the Union of Muslim Organizations of the United Kingdom & Ireland (UMO), in an interview with me.

Dr. Pasha urged “the President of the European Union to demand the French President that he should not enact any law which deprives the fundamental human rights of all French citizens.,”

Sister Yvonne Ridley
Respect Party politician Yvonne Ridley, revert to Islam and Press TV Journalist, told me in an interview, “It is outrageous but this man is using his position to try and to dictate what women should or should not wear. I will defend any woman’s rights to wear what she wants. This is nothing to do with religion but it is unacceptable attack on woman’s rights by a man who obviously regards woman as inferior.”

“When will man learn to stay out of the women’s wardrobe?” enquired Sister Ridley.

Most broadsheets continue to engage in the debate surrounding Nicolas Sarkozy's controversial comments on the burqa in France. Selected comments from The Times and The Guardian published on this issue.

Frank Skinner in The Times
Writing in The Times, London, Frank Skinner, English writer and award-winning comedian and best known for the hit football song, observed, “I don’t believe that any man should force his wife to wear a burka but I’m not sure that Mr. Sarkozy, the extremely proud owner of a trophy wife, is the best man to speak on the matter. Add to this that he was once seen to be checking his text messages during a private audience with the Pope and one might also ask whether religious sensitivity is one of his strengths.”

“To ban it (burqa) is to remove women’s choice, using oppression to combat oppression. Rigid Rules that make no allowance for personal choice are more suited to the Taleban than to one of Europe’s great democracies. So that’s my take on the burka issue,” said Skinner.

Stuart Jeffries in The Guardian
Writing in The Guardian under the caption, ‘Brush up your Hegel, Sarko’, Stuart Jeffries, feature writer and columnist of The Guardian, observed, “What’s striking in Sarkozy’s speech is that it is yet again a man who denounces women and presumes that they are cut off from social life. They may be cut off from Sarkozy’s secular French society, and that may be difficult for allegedly tolerant Western liberals, but they are not cut off from all society. In fact they’re very much part of the society that many Westerners despise as oppressing women.”