Annual Hajj By Moslem Pilgrims And Government's Support


Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, the holiest city for Muslims, and a mandatory religious duty for Muslims. It must be carried out at least once in the lifetime of all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking that journey. It is one of the five pillars of Islam. The issue at hand is with government subsidizing Hajj fares for prospective pilgrims as was announced by the Chairman of the Hajj Board, Sheik I.C Quaye at the official launch of the 2018 Hajj season in Accra. He said the fare for this year's (2018) Hajj pilgrimage is GH¢15,000, an equivalent of $3,450. According to him, the actual fare is GH¢19,500 but government has absorbed GH¢4,500 of the cost to enable more pilgrims to perform the Hajj.

The Vice President, Dr Alhaji Mahammudu Bawumia also confirmed government’s decision not to increase the fare for the 2018 pilgrimage to Mecca at a forum in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region. According to him, government has decided to maintain the fares from last year’s (2017) pilgrimage despite the increment announced by the Saudi Arabian government. This, to some, especially prospective pilgrims and the Muslim community at large, sounds good but upon a second thought must be worrying in view of what Hajj is all about. Hajj is purely a religious act and has nothing to do with the state. Muslims should in clear terms discourage this trend on grounds made known in the Holy Quran that places emphasis on the fact that Hajj is for the physically and financially capable and not to be burdened on anybody. Embarking on the Hajj pilgrimage to every discerning person is Allah's way of getting the physically capable to put such a status to good use in order to have a meaningful livelihood. It is a known fact that a number of free tickets are given to Imams, the Council of Muslim Chiefs and others. Ghana as a state has a lot of financial obligations including the Free Senior High School Policy, School Feeding, inadequate classroom blocks, incubators for neo-natal intensive care units, and ambulances. All these need every pesewa available to be put in to better the lot of Ghanaians. A pilgrimage to Hajj which is basically a religious act should not under any circumstance be state funded or subsidized. Instead, what the Hajj Board and for that matter government should look at is the welfare of prospective pilgrims before, during and after the journey. Every year, in spite of measures put in place to make the transportation of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia successful, it ends in problems.

Christians also embark on trips to Jerusalem and other places but that never becomes an issue of state interest because it is handled properly. Upon all the challenges they face before embarking on the journey, Ghanaian suffer a lot when they get to Saudi Arabia. Most complain of being abandoned by their so called agents as soon as they get there. Issues of accommodation, transportation to and from all the various sites and others are all left for pilgrims to handle by themselves whereas pilgrims from Nigeria and other West African countries who always out number Ghanaian pilgrims are well catered for. Prospective pilgrims should be ready to foot the bill and get the best out of the trip. Government should hold the Hajj Board and agents accountable for the welfare of Ghanaians during their stay in Saudi Arabia. The Board and Agents should ensure that prospective pilgrims who pay on time ahead of deadlines embark on the trip instead of charging more after the deadline to displace others who paid earlier. There is also the issue of so called protocol pilgrims who in the last minute are brought in disturbing the smooth process.

BY: Marie Aziz Tunde, Journalist.

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