AVOID ANOTHER HAJJ DEBACLE

IT is really disheartening to once again hear that 2007 would-be Hajj pilgrims are still undergoing unpleasant experiences at the Aviation Social Centre near the Kotoka International Airport in Accra, with diminshing hopes of making the pilgrimage to Mecca this year.
For some years now a number of would-be pilgrims have unduly been subjected to inhumane conditions, including the bitter vagaries of the weather. These people travel from very far places, with the hope that they are travelling to Saudi Arabia to fulfil one of the pillars of Islam, only to be slapped with the shocks of their lives by the lack of proper planning and organisation by those entrusted with the responsibility to organise the Hajj.
The Daily Graphic is of the view that this Hajj problem should have been resolved once and for all following the bitter experience of the disappointment and humiliation suffered by 499 would-be pilgrims last year.
In the aftermath of such inhumane experience, many Islamic organisations came together to ensure that the problem would never be part of the Hajj again. It was sad that some of the organisations decided not to be part of the preparations towards the Hajj as a result of “power politics”. It is recalled that when the IHMC was set up, we counselled that for once it should organise an incident-free Hajj, but, unfortunately, our advice had not been heeded, hence the present debacle
It is also very clear from the way things are going that there is an absolute communication gap between the IHMC and the would-be pilgrims. It is also believed that the truth is always hidden from the would-be pilgrims, otherwise why would the IHMC say that it initially thought the Saudi Embassy was going to issue 3,000 visas, instead of 2,700. Who might have misled the committee and why did it not ask for the official quota from the appropriate authorities?
It is yet another disappointment that even the 499 would-be pilgrims who were promised that they would leave for Saudi Arabia last Saturday are still in the country, completely aghast at the whole organisation of the journey.
The Daily Graphic wants to believe that there is no proper management procedure when it comes to the issue of the Ghanaian Muslim community undertaking the pilgrimage. Today it is this airline, tomorrow it is a different one. At other times, some Muslim groups decide not to be part of the exercise, as was the case this year when notable organisations such as the Ahlussunna Wal-Jama’a (ASWAJ), the Federation of Muslim Women’s Association of Ghana (FOMWAG) and the Coalition of Muslim Organisations, Ghana (COMOG) decided to stay away from the organisation of the Hajj.
The Muslim community must close its ranks, particularly on matters affecting the welfare of Muslims, in order to achieve their religious objectives.
The Daily Graphic feels that the IHMC must wake up and pull its socks up to forestall the disappointment and inconvenience that seem to characterise the Hajj every year.
The National Chief Imam must be very resolute in making sure that those who do not do their jobs well ‘leave the scene’ for competent ones to take over, so that at the end of it all Muslims will enjoy the blessings of the sacred pilgrimage.
The government’s concern for an incident-free Hajj may be understandable because the State has a responsibility to safeguard the interest of all its citizens.
But since we have been at our wits’ end to resolve this problem, the Daily Graphic thinks that the time has come for a truly independent body to organise the Hajj, devoid of interference from any quarter.
The Hajj, as one of the pillars of Islam, must be carried out with obvious relish. Muslims must, therefore, be encouraged to undertake the Hajj without first subjecting them to such inhumane treatment. Those who broke away must be encouraged to come back to help, because the Daily Graphic believes the Hajj debacle can be avoided if the Muslim community relies on its intellectuals and experts. The lesson must provide us with the basis to put in place new strategies in the organisation of the pilgrimage to ensure the success of future pilgrimages without such magnitude of hellish conditions.