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An
over view shows damage in Aceh seven days after a quake-triggered
tsunami hit southeastern Asia. (AFP)
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KUALA
LUMPUR, January 2 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The number
of pilgrims flying from some Asian countries may decrease as a result
of the deadly tsunami disaster which battered the region and claimed
hundreds of thousands of lives, according to press reports.
Indonesia,
Sri Lanka and India are among the countries where fewer-then-expected
pilgrims are to make the spiritual journey to Saudi Arabia, the
Malaysian news agency, Bernama, reported on Sunday, January 2.
“There
were many casualties in the eastern part of Sri Lanka which is a
predominantly Muslim area,” Sri Lankan Consul-General A.M.J. Sadiq
in Jeddah told the Saudi daily Arab News.
Some
6,370 pilgrims were expected to perform hajj this year from Sri Lanka.
“So
far, only about 600 pilgrims have come on three flights. The groups
registered from the eastern area may not come now,” said the
diplomat.
Indonesian
Consul Sabilillah Maqom also said only seven of the 17 flights
scheduled to arrive from Acheh, one of the worst-affected areas,
landed in Saudi Arabia.
“The
others may not come at all,” he said.
Originally,
some 205,000 pilgrims were expected from Indonesia, the world’s most
populous Muslim country and the worst affected by the Asian disaster.
The
hajj is one
of the “five pillars” of Islam, and thus an essential part
of Muslims’ faith and practice under the condition of physical and
financial ability.
It
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.
The
hajj, which is also the largest gathering of humanity in any one time
or place, is the culminating spiritual experience for a Muslim. (Click
for the history
of hajj) over the past 14 centuries.
As
Scheduled
However,
Bernama quoted Jeddah-based Tabung hajj officials as saying that
flights from Malaysia are arriving as scheduled without cancellations.
Around
25,000 Malaysians are to perform hajj this year.
Moreover,
Thai Consul-General Sukasem Yothasamutr told the Saudi Gazette daily
that hajj arrivals from his country were proceeding as scheduled.
He
added that 4,000 out of 10,200 pilgrims had arrived as of Saturday,
January 1.
Yothasamutr
said the Muslim population in Thailand was from the east of the
country, not in the western coastal provinces which were hardest-hit
by the tidal waves.
Saudi
Hajj Minister Iyad Madani did not expect the tsunami disaster to
affect the number of pilgrims.
“Judging
from previous experiences when natural or man-made tragedies struck
some parts of the world, it seems this year hajj will not be affected
by such developments,” he said after touring the holy sites in
Madinah.
The
Saudi Press Agency on Saturday said over 435,000 pilgrims who had
already arrived in the kingdom.
It
said the majority arrived by air while just over 4,000 traveled over
land, and some 1,350 by sea.
Official
figures put the total number of pilgrims performing last year's hajj
at 1,892,710, with 1,419,706 from abroad and 473,004 Saudis and other
Muslim residents of the kingdom.
Under
a quota system approved by the 55-nation Organization of the Islamic
Conference, Muslim states can send 1,000 pilgrims for every one
million of their population.
The
quota was introduced to reduce congestion at the holy sites as well as
the pressure this causes on the services and infrastructure.
The
Saudi government a few years ago began implementing a system whereby
both Saudis and expatriates are allowed to perform hajj only once
every five years.
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