TORONTO, January 1, 2006 (IslamOnline.net) – More Canadian Muslims, especially young people, are traveling to Saudi Arabia to perform hajj this year.

"The interest in hajj has increased in the Canadian Muslim community especially amongst the youth," Hamid Slimi, the imam of a large Toronto mosque, told IslamOnline.net on Sunday, January 1.

"Every year we have about 3,000 pilgrims going for the hajj but I think the number has increased this year because the pilgrimage coincides with the Christmas and New Year’s vacation here."

The number of Canadian Muslims making the spiritual pilgrimage has been on the increase over the last decade, according to IOL correspondent.

Most Canadian pilgrims have already arrived in Saudi Arabia with the last set scheduled for departure this weekend.

More than 1.1 million Muslims from the world over have already arrived in Saudi Arabia for the annual pilgrimage, which begins next week.

Hajj consists of several ceremonies, meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime.

Much of the increase in the number of pilgrims is the result of the number of organized hajj packages being offered by Islamic centers and specialized hajj tour operators.

A number of groups have also started to work closely together and coordinate their hajj tours.

"This year more than 20 groups have united and are coordinating with a major tour operator in the US," said Slimi, who has been for years accompanying pilgrims to Makkah.

"The group I am involved with is over 800 pilgrims with a good and strong leadership and experience. We hope this will be an example for the Muslims to be united and work together."

The average cost of a hajj package is an affordable $5,000 (Canadian), which includes airfare, hotel, meals and transportation inside Saudi Arabia.

Canadian pilgrims usually spend two to three weeks in Saudi Arabia and many of them take the opportunity to visit their countries of origin following the pilgrimage, according to IOL correspondent.

Many mosques, educational organizations and hajj group operators offer special courses on hajj rites to would-be pilgrims.

These courses, which also cover the practical side of the hajj such as what to take on the voyage, how to survive the hot climate as well as the culture of Saudi Arabia, have proven to be very useful to many younger Canadian Muslims whose hajj journey is their first trip outside of the West.

Over the last few years many Canadian Muslims have been taking alternative routes through Europe to avoid traveling via the US.

The concern that Muslims would be singled out for further security checks based on their travel for the pilgrimage has prompted the Washington-based Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) to issue a travel advisory.

In a statement, CAIR has urged Muslims to be vigilant in documenting possible rights violations by US agents and officers.

"The excessive security measures targeting Arabs and Muslims at American airports since the 9/11 attacks have alienated many Canadian Muslims," Monzel Bakash, the supervisor of hajj journeys organized by the Islamic Center in Toronto, told IOL correspondent in Vienna on Monday, December 26.

The number of Canadian Muslims has increased dramatically over the last decade, according to a national census.

There are some 200 mosques and prayer rooms in the capital Toronto.

• Hajj (a special page)