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Turkey Unlikely To Follow Arab Nations In Putting Age Restrictions On Its Pilgrims This Year
27 July 2009Turkish officials have stated that they do not plan to apply age restrictions on Turks attending hajj -- the pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca -- although Arab health ministers agreed on Wednesday to ban the elderly and young children from going on hajj as a precaution against swine flu. Noting that Turkey has approached the issue cautiously, officials at the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Health Ministry said: “The decision [made by Arab officials] seems to be reasonable advice against the swine flu virus. However, since we will have all our pilgrims vaccinated against the disease … before they head to Arabia, it may not be necessary to put an age restriction on those performing hajj.” The World Health Organization's (WHO) spokesman in Egypt, Ibrahim al-Kerdani, told a news agency that some groups -- people over the age of 65, people under the age of 12 and people with chronic illnesses -- would be excluded from hajj, but he noted that the decision has yet to be ratified by Arab governments. While WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director Hussein Gezairy said the decision is likely to be ratified, the Saudi health minister said the percentages of countries attending would not change and the total number of pilgrims at hajj would not be restricted by Saudi Arabia. Around 3 million Muslim pilgrims from around the world perform hajj each year. Arab Nations Haj Bar Move ‘A Logistical Nightmare’ Haj authorities in India and Pakistan are gearing up for a logistical nightmare after the Arab health ministers’ decision in Cairo on Wednesday to restrict the elderly and children from performing Haj this year. Egypt too expected a drop by 30 to 40 percent in the number of people performing Umrah and Haj this year following the Cairo recommendations. The ministers unanimously agreed at the emergency meeting in the Egyptian capital that people over the age of 65 and children under the age of 12 and those with chronic illnesses should be excluded from undertaking the pilgrimage to Makkah. “The total number of pilgrims will not be restricted,” Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah was quoted as saying by news agencies. “We will not change the quota of any country. We have agreed to change certain rules” in an effort to contain the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, he said. Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) also attended the meeting. Although the Arab health ministers’ decision has to be ratified by their governments, WHO Regional Director Hussein Gezairi told news agencies it would likely be OK’d by the Saudi government. “The Saudi government will make (these conditions) a requirement ... No one will get their visa unless these requirements are fulfilled,” Gezairi told AFP. In June, Saudi Arabia had called on the elderly, ill and other unfit Muslims to postpone the journey to Makkah due to fears over the swine flu virus.
Turkish officials have stated that they do not plan to apply age restrictions on Turks attending hajj -- the pilgrimage to the Islamic holy city of Mecca -- although Arab health ministers agreed on Wednesday to ban the elderly and young children from going on hajj as a precaution against swine flu.
Noting that Turkey has approached the issue cautiously, officials at the Directorate of Religious Affairs and the Health Ministry said: “The decision [made by Arab officials] seems to be reasonable advice against the swine flu virus. However, since we will have all our pilgrims vaccinated against the disease … before they head to Arabia, it may not be necessary to put an age restriction on those performing hajj.”
The World Health Organization's (WHO) spokesman in Egypt, Ibrahim al-Kerdani, told a news agency that some groups -- people over the age of 65, people under the age of 12 and people with chronic illnesses -- would be excluded from hajj, but he noted that the decision has yet to be ratified by Arab governments.
While WHO Eastern Mediterranean Regional Director Hussein Gezairy said the decision is likely to be ratified, the Saudi health minister said the percentages of countries attending would not change and the total number of pilgrims at hajj would not be restricted by Saudi Arabia. Around 3 million Muslim pilgrims from around the world perform hajj each year.
Arab Nations Haj Bar Move ‘A Logistical Nightmare’ Haj authorities in India and Pakistan are gearing up for a logistical nightmare after the Arab health ministers’ decision in Cairo on Wednesday to restrict the elderly and children from performing Haj this year. Egypt too expected a drop by 30 to 40 percent in the number of people performing Umrah and Haj this year following the Cairo recommendations. The ministers unanimously agreed at the emergency meeting in the Egyptian capital that people over the age of 65 and children under the age of 12 and those with chronic illnesses should be excluded from undertaking the pilgrimage to Makkah. “The total number of pilgrims will not be restricted,” Health Minister Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah was quoted as saying by news agencies. “We will not change the quota of any country. We have agreed to change certain rules” in an effort to contain the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, he said. Representatives of the World Health Organization (WHO) also attended the meeting. Although the Arab health ministers’ decision has to be ratified by their governments, WHO Regional Director Hussein Gezairi told news agencies it would likely be OK’d by the Saudi government. “The Saudi government will make (these conditions) a requirement ... No one will get their visa unless these requirements are fulfilled,” Gezairi told AFP. In June, Saudi Arabia had called on the elderly, ill and other unfit Muslims to postpone the journey to Makkah due to fears over the swine flu virus.
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