|
American Muslim Pilgrims Seek Spiritual Comfort During Hajj Pilgrimage
MEDINA,
Saudi Arabia, Feb. 16 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - American Muslims,
feeling under threat since the September 11 attacks on the United States, have
joined the annual Hajj pilgrimage, looking for spiritual comfort at Islam's
holiest sites, news agencies reported.
"I
came here to be close to God and have the power to face up to the ill-feeling
when I go back to the United States", said 33-year-old Omar Tawakol, an
American of Egyptian origin, who works for a software company in Seattle.
"After
what happened [last September], we became very active to explain Islam and
correct our image, but the press has been very negative," Tawakol,
undertaking his first Hajj with his Egyptian wife and father, told Agence
France-Presse (AFP).
"What
happened to the World Trade Center was terrible for galvanizing people [against
Islam], but anti-Islamic feelings were already there," he said, calling it
a "sad situation that some people listen to Osama bin Laden."
It
is worth mentioning that the US holds Osama Bin Laden and his Al-Qaeda network
responsible for September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center without
submitting any evidence to this effect.
The
Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five basic pillars of Islam; every Muslim who is
financially able, male or female, is required to make this pilgrimage to Mecca,
involving rituals there and at other Islamic holy sites in Saudi Arabia, at
least once in his or her lifetime. The pilgrimage takes place during the final
month of the Islamic calendar, once a year.
Hardly
into his hotel room after a 10-hour flight from the United States, bearded Tareq
Pasha, 23, dumped his bags in his room and quickly exited with his veiled wife
to the prophet's mosque in time for evening prayer.
"It's
a dream come true to see the holy sites of Islam. It's a thrilling feeling, a
thrill of a lifetime," said the Birmingham, Alabama resident, who is of
Syrian origin.
Last
September's "attacks had some positive and some negative aspects. The
positive is that people started to want to know more about Islam and what it has
to offer, but the negative aspect is that Muslims are now afraid to practice
openly.
"I
work with new Muslims, and the number of conversions after September 11 has been
much more than before," Pasha, who is preparing to study medicine, told
AFP.
"You
have a few extremists who took some verses from the Qur’an out of their
context to suit their needs and kill innocent people," he said of those who
are suspected of carrying out the devastating terror attacks.
"It
is hard to tell if Muslims in America will overcome the effects, but we have to
work on that by showing a good example."
For
Shaheed Baksh, a New York real estate broker born in British Guyana, the Muslim
community in the United States suffered a "sense of uneasiness, but we got
stronger."
He
dubbed the suspected attackers "renegades to Islam who tried to use Islam
for their own ends."
Mohammad
Al-Mahaynah, a 42-year-old engineer of Syrian origin, said "the terrorists
of Afghanistan were made and financed by the U.S. to resist the Soviet
occupation. They are a product of the U.S. which is firing back."
"It
is hard for me to believe that a man, living in a cave can do what he is said to
have done,” he said, referring to bin Laden, the Saudi dissident who is
America’s prime suspect in the attacks. “He should have spent his fortune on
helping Muslims in the world and spreading a good image of Islam," Mahaynah
added.
Sitting
behind a desk in the lobby of one of Medina's main hotels, Mustafa Ahmad, an
American of Egyptian origin, is busy answering the questions of pilgrims, whom
his Dar Elsalam travel agency has brought to Saudi Arabia.
"Believing
the attacks would discourage people, I cancelled half my reservations before
taking them on again," said Mustafa, whose pilgrim package includes
accommodation, transport and food.
Around
8,000 American pilgrims make the Hajj each year, according to Mustafa, each
paying between $3,000 and $7,000 for the trip, depending on the quality of
services offered.
Saudi
authorities have stressed that the kingdom will not allow the Hajj to be
exploited as a platform to criticize the United States.
The
U.S.-led war in Afghanistan and the possibility of such campaigns against other
Muslim countries have aroused strong concerns in the Muslim world that this war
is against Islam, not terrorism.
|
