Hajj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, is the spiritual high point of many Muslims' lives, an event that some say changes them forever and fills them with an inexpressible joy.
This year, the earthly concerns of money and sickness are intruding on many people's plans for the five-day pilgrimage, which begins in three weeks. Hajj trip agents are reporting a sharp drop in bookings because of the recession and fear over the H1N1 virus, also known as the swine flu.
In Riverside, Calif., for example, Riverside Haj typically arranges about 250 to 300 trips a year, said owner Omar Khattab. This year, the agency has booked 150.
"I know almost every hajj company in the country, and they say the same thing: Business is down 50 percent," Khattab said.
Islam requires everyone who is physically and financially able to attend hajj at least once in his lifetime. The pilgrimage follows rituals that the Prophet Muhammad performed during his last visit to Mecca.
Each year, 2.5 million to 3 million people converge on the holy city and its environs, walking miles between sacred sites, asking prayers for God's forgiveness and blessings, and casting stones at pillars that represent Satan. Everyone wears white, to make everyone appear equal before God and each other.
Hajj travel agents began seeing a decline last year, as the economy started to tank.
Business at the nationwide hajj tour company Dar El-Eiman was 20 percent lower in 2008 than in 2007, and fell another 30 percent to 35 percent this year, said Gaddoor Saidi, a Dar El-Eiman partner in Huntington Beach, Calif.
A few weeks ago, most flights scheduled around hajj were sold out. But in recent weeks, airfares to Saudi Arabia have fallen as travel agents who booked blocks of seats cancel reservations, said Nail Al-Jubeir, a spokesman for the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C. Saudi hotels also reported a decline in visitors during Ramadan, in August and September, possibly presaging a drop in hajj pilgrims, Al-Jubeir said.
Hajj trips cost thousands of dollars; the price depends on the quality of the hotel and other factors. Tours commonly cost between $6,000 and $7,000. The higher price buys the privacy of two people per room. But almost everyone this year is opting to save $1,000 and stay in four-person rooms, Khattab said.
Swine flu fears also are affecting bookings, he and others said.
Rumors have swirled that the Saudi government is banning certain people from attending hajj because of concerns about H1N1, some California hajj participants said. Outbreaks of other communicable diseases have occurred in previous hajjes among the millions of people crowded tightly together, Al-Jubeir said. The government suggests that children, pregnant women, senior citizens and people with chronic diseases not attend hajj this year, but it's not a mandate.
Some people on the hajj tour that Riverside resident Shirjeel Muhammad booked cancelled their pilgrimage plans because of the supposed ban on seniors and kids. They would have gone if they had realized the rumor was not true, Muhammad said. He said he is not worried about H1N1.
Muhammad was at a seminar Friday night at the Islamic Center of Riverside that explained to pilgrims what to expect at hajj. Dr. Aijaz Hashmi gave health tips to hajj participants and urged pilgrims to try to get the H1N1 vaccine.
The seminar attracted about 60 people, about half as many as last year, said Mustafa Kuko, the Riverside mosque's director.
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
Must credit The Press-Enterprise of Riverside, Calif.
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