Cairo:
Children, the elderly and people suffering from chronic diseases may be barred from participating in this year's Haj due to fears of rampant swine flu epidemic, a decision also backed by Egypt's top Islamic religious leaders.
The decision to bar these people from Haj was taken at the Arab Health Ministers' conference which concluded in Cairo on Thursday, but they just stopped short of calling off the pilgrimage which draws more than 3 million people to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Shaykh Muhammed Sayyid Tantawi expressed his support to ministers' recommendation on putting off Haj and Ummrah (minor pilgrimage) for certain people on back of flu fears.
The conference voiced concern that the pilgrimage which brings millions of people in close proximity could trigger the epidemic. After deliberating for 48-hours the ministers took the decisions to blunt the possibility of epidemic by barring the most vulnerable of the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Egypt's Mufti Ali Jum'ah asked for abiding by instructions and guidelines adopted by the Arab health ministers at their emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to prevent flu infection during this year's Haj.
H1N1 virus has almost been declared pandemic by the WHO with global deaths escalating to more than 700. In the West Asia itself so far 952 cases have been reported.
At the conference, the Arab ministers stressed on speeding off efforts to find a vaccine against the virus and said if it was ready before the pilgrimage, all the pilgrims would have to carry an immunization certificate before they were issued visa.
They also demanded that WHO should set aside a quota of vaccine for the developing countries.
The ministers' decision appears to be an attempt to head off a cancellation of the pilgrimage which was gaining ground in most of the Arab countries.
In a statement, Shaykh Tantawi noted that he approved postponing Haj and Umrah for this season for the elderly who are above 65 years old and for those who are suffering from chronic diseases along with children below 12 years old.
He said such measures are meant to protect them against catching swine flu. He said health officials held that those categories are vulnerable to the virus in case they went for the Islamic ritual this year, with the swine flu spreading in a massive way.
Earlier in the week, Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Jum'ah said that issuing a fatwa (religious edict) on delaying Umrah (minor pilgrimage) this year over swine flu fears depends on technical and health reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Health Ministry which determine the gravity of the disease.
If it tuned out that performing Umrah will further accelerate the spread of the virus, then Muslims should not go for pilgrimage according to Shariah which calls on Muslims to take care of their health, he said.
The decision to bar these people from Haj was taken at the Arab Health Ministers' conference which concluded in Cairo on Thursday, but they just stopped short of calling off the pilgrimage which draws more than 3 million people to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Shaykh Muhammed Sayyid Tantawi expressed his support to ministers' recommendation on putting off Haj and Ummrah (minor pilgrimage) for certain people on back of flu fears.
The conference voiced concern that the pilgrimage which brings millions of people in close proximity could trigger the epidemic. After deliberating for 48-hours the ministers took the decisions to blunt the possibility of epidemic by barring the most vulnerable of the pilgrims.
Meanwhile, Egypt's Mufti Ali Jum'ah asked for abiding by instructions and guidelines adopted by the Arab health ministers at their emergency meeting in Cairo on Wednesday to prevent flu infection during this year's Haj.
H1N1 virus has almost been declared pandemic by the WHO with global deaths escalating to more than 700. In the West Asia itself so far 952 cases have been reported.
At the conference, the Arab ministers stressed on speeding off efforts to find a vaccine against the virus and said if it was ready before the pilgrimage, all the pilgrims would have to carry an immunization certificate before they were issued visa.
They also demanded that WHO should set aside a quota of vaccine for the developing countries.
The ministers' decision appears to be an attempt to head off a cancellation of the pilgrimage which was gaining ground in most of the Arab countries.
In a statement, Shaykh Tantawi noted that he approved postponing Haj and Umrah for this season for the elderly who are above 65 years old and for those who are suffering from chronic diseases along with children below 12 years old.
He said such measures are meant to protect them against catching swine flu. He said health officials held that those categories are vulnerable to the virus in case they went for the Islamic ritual this year, with the swine flu spreading in a massive way.
Earlier in the week, Egypt's Grand Mufti Ali Jum'ah said that issuing a fatwa (religious edict) on delaying Umrah (minor pilgrimage) this year over swine flu fears depends on technical and health reports by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Health Ministry which determine the gravity of the disease.
If it tuned out that performing Umrah will further accelerate the spread of the virus, then Muslims should not go for pilgrimage according to Shariah which calls on Muslims to take care of their health, he said.
