By Mustapha Kamara Jnr
As a result of the ongoing Ebola outbreak in West Africa, Muslims in Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia will for the second consecutive year not take part in the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.
The annual journey called Hajj is prescribed for all practicing Muslims as one of the five pillars of Islam.
According to international media reports last week, the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the custodians of the two Holy Mosques, has ruled out issuing visas to pilgrims from the countries affected by the epidemic.
Every year, millions of Muslims from across the world take part in the Hajj.
According to the Saudi government health ministry, the decision was taken in order to ensure the prevention of the epidemic in the Kindom.
However, the Saudi government has also warned Muslims in other parts of the world who intend to perform the 2015 Hajj to take compulsory vaccinations, especially in countries which are suffering from outbreaks of other contagious diseases.
Currently, there is an outbreak of the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), a disease that has killed over 180 people, as of the beginning of July.
MERS is a viral respiratory disease caused by a novel coronavirus (MERS‐CoV) that was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012.
Symptoms include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to WHO. The disease is zoonotic, meaning it is transmitted from animals to humans.
The origins of the virus are not fully understood but, according to the analysis of different virus genomes, it is believed that it originated in bats and was transmitted to camels sometime in the distant past, WHO literature notes.
The Saudis have also requested that the aged, pregnant women, HIV patients and children below the age of five should postpone their plans for performing Hajj this season as they are more prone to contacting the disease.
Sierra Leone`s population is thought to be about 60% Muslim, in Guinea Muslims constitute about 85%, while in Liberia they are about 12% of the population.
Sheikh Allie Kallay, journalist and Islamic scholar, who is also a member of Sierra Leone National Hajj Committee, told Politico that the committee was aware of the decision of the Saudi government and said they couldn’t do anything to reverse the situation.
“Hajj is worship and it is part of the five pillars of Islam which every Muslim would love to perform but that decision is beyond the control of Muslims,” Kallay said.
He said to perform Hajj is prescribed by Allah through his messenger, Prophet Mohammed (SAW), but, he noted, it goes with conditions, including financial capability, security and chance to travel to Mecca.
If you don’t have the chance, a Muslim should consider that as destiny, which means they have not been called by Allah, he said.
He advised those who have prepared to perform the 2015 pilgrimage not to be bothered and to exercise patient and wait on the “time of Allah.”
Kallay also called Muslims in Sierra Leone and in the neighboring countries to join their respective governments and help end the spread of the Ebola virus.
Joseph T. Kanu, the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children’s Affairs, which is responsible for coordinating all religious activities in the country, declined to comment on the matter, saying “I have no idea” about it.
Meanwhile, the Saudi government said it was now working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) to monitor the spread of contiguous diseases worldwide and to issue special health vaccination guidelines for countries for a safe Hajj season.
(C) Politico 14/07/15
