Hajj 2015: Open Letter to Ghana's Hajj Committee (1)

Salamu Alaikum:

27 Shawwal 1436H

All praise and thanks is due to Allah and indeed HE is deserving of all praise. May Allah's peace and blessings be upon the best of creation Mohammed (may Allah exalt his mention) his household, companions and all who follow in his stead till the last day.

We are grateful to Allah for Ramadan (the blessed ninth month) and indeed grateful for all other months. Today (August 13^th) is equivalent to 28^th of Shawwal 1436. The next big occasion ahead of Muslims the world over is the upcoming "Hajj 2015."

The hajj period is a season during which the local media focuses more attention on us (as Muslims). The story has not been too pleasant in times past, fortunately it has improved in the recent past but there are areas that we cannot but should endeavour to improve upon.

The events before, during and after the hajj are of great importance and cannot be overlooked if we seek as an Ummah (community) expect to be fair to one another and also to present ourselves in the right light.

This piece is aimed at reminding the committee of some of the things that need to be done (if they already have not been done) and to also put forth (proposals if you like) on how to make the process better, especially taking a cue from other countries around the world.

I hereby submit the following:

a. A person who makes payment to the hajj committee should not fail to make the journey especially through NO (caps mine) fault of theirs. We should not repeat the instance when people paid for and were unable to make the journey because of flight issues.

b. The global convergence of persons requires that pilgrims do not travel with illnesses that they are likely to spread; they should also not go 'exposed' in other that they also contract diseases from others. Issues of immunization and other medical procedures should be sorted right from the word go.

c. The policing of the hajj village (a holding area for prospective pilgrims) hard and tedious as it may be, should not be compromised. Officials should be fair and firm to ensure that the annual 'organized chaos' that the committee superintends over is sorted out.

No doubt the issues of pilgrims leaving far places to lodge in Accra before takeoff is simply from lack of communication, that in turn becomes one of the worse spectacles year in and out, what happens with that? We hit the media for all the wrong reasons.

Allied to all of this is the issue of luggage and travel worthy items, a list should be circulated (in the media and on social media) relating to what can enter the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and what cannot, equally important, the weight of load each person is entitled to.

When adequate information on what to do and what not to do is properly circulated, the committee can put its feet down in refusing to compromise on the back of pilgrim ignorance. Having said that; the committee would have to liaise with agents to school pilgrims/clients.

As a summary to this first part, I entreat the committee to engage the media actively from now and to extensively work at ensuring that we are in the media for all the right reasons. We must put our best foot forward. May Allah help us and make Hajj 2015 better that the years gone by.

Very Sincerely Yours

SIGNED

Abdur Rahman Alfa Shaban