Hopes fade for Qatar residents to perform Hajj

Al Jazeera
August 31, 2017

Doha, Aug 31: For the last 35 years, Mohammed Shafiq, a Qatari resident from Pakistan, has been working hard to finance his once-in-a-lifetime trip to Mecca.

But his dream of performing the Hajj this year is fading fast.

In June, Saudi Arabia, which oversees and manages Islam's two holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, along with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and Bahrain severed diplomatic ties with Qatar.

The quartet withdrew their ambassadors in protest at Doha's alleged "interference in their internal affairs" and its support of "terrorism". Qatar denies the allegations.

They also imposed a land, sea and air blockade, making the task of procuring Hajj and Umrah visas nearly impossible.

"I want to go on Hajj but I am not allowed," Shafiq told Al Jazeera.

"The Saudi embassy is closed so how am I supposed to go? ... I am an old man [this could be my last chance] and maybe I will die tomorrow."

With only hours left before the start of the pilgrimage, Shafiq says his only other option is to travel through Pakistan.

But for someone who has lived in Qatar's capital, Doha, for so long, he thinks it is unfair he should to pay to travel so far to a country so close.

Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims worldwide are expected to make at least once in their lifetime, if they are able to. More than two million people from around the world have converged this year for the pilgrimage.

Last month, Saudi Arabia said Qataris wanting to perform this year's Hajj would be allowed to enter the kingdom, but imposed certain restrictions including that those arriving by plane must use airlines in agreement with Riyadh.

They failed to clarify their position on how expatriates could perform the pilgrimage and refused to establish consular services for the duration of the Hajj, an offer the kingdom extended to its arch rival Iran.

Qatari authorities subsequently accused Saudi Arabia of politicising Hajj and jeopardising the pilgrimage to Mecca by refusing to guarantee their pilgrims' safety.

Qatar's National Human Rights Committee (NHRC) said in a statement "that the Hajj cannot be used for political and personal calculations or mediations, rather, it is a right guaranteed by international agreements on human rights and Islamic law".

Jumah al-Kuwari, the head of the Doha Group Transport Company for Hajj and Umrah, told Al Jazeera that Saudi Arabia's refusal to communicate with its neighbour had wreaked havoc with travel plans.

"The Qatari Ministry of Islamic Affairs would coordinate the pilgrimage with the Saudis, but since the crisis started, no one would answer. Many residents who were accepted got their passports back without a visa," he said.

"Most pilgrims sign up to Hajj companies which takes care of their food, transport and accommodation. But, because of the Gulf crisis and restrictions on travel, these companies are unable to make the necessary arrangements."

So, as about two million Muslims from around the world begin the Hajj pilgrimage at Islam's holiest sites, Qataris and expatriates in Doha will have to wait on Saudi Arabia to ease their demands if they are to go next year.

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News Network
January 8,2020

Dubai, Jan 8: Iranian state television said on Wednesday that at least 80 "American terrorists" were killed in attacks involving 15 missiles Tehran launched on US targets in Iraq, adding that none of the missiles were intercepted.

State TV, citing a senior Revolutionary Guards source, also said Iran had 100 other targets in the region in its sights if Washington took any retaliatory measures. It also said US helicopters and military equipment were "severely damaged".

Iran launched missile attacks on US-led forces in Iraq in the early hours of Wednesday in retaliation for the US drone strike on an Iranian commander whose killing has raised fears of a wider war in the Middle East.

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Agencies
January 11,2020

Muscat, Jan 11: Oman's Sultan Qaboos bin Said has died, Aljazeera reported citing state television on Friday.

Qaboos was 79-year-old and was ill for a long time. He has served as the ruler of Oman since 1970 when he ousted his father in a bloodless coup.

Qaboos had no children and has not publicly named his successor.

Sultan Qaboos travelled to Belgium for a week in December for what was described then as "medical checks." He returned to Oman but speculations of his deteriorating health were rife.

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News Network
May 21,2020

Dubai, May 21: Around 10,000 Iranian health workers have been infected with the new coronavirus, the semi-official ILNA news agency quoted a deputy health minister as saying on Thursday.

Health services are stretched thin in Iran, the Middle East country hardest hit by the respiratory pandemic, with 7,249 deaths and a total of 129,341 infections. The Health Ministry said in April that over 100 health workers had died of COVID-19.

No more details on infections among health workers were immediately available.

Earlier on Thursday, Health Minister Saeed Namaki appealed to Iranians to avoid travelling during the Eid al-Fitr religious holiday later this month to avoid the risk of a new surge of coronavirus infections, state TV reported.

Iranians often travel to different cities around the country to mark the end of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, something Namaki said could lead to a disregard of social distancing rules and a fresh outbreak of COVID-19.

"I am urging you not to travel during the Eid. Definitely, such trips mean new cases of infection...People should not travel to and from those high-risk red areas," Namaki was quoted by state television as saying.

"Some 90% of the population in many areas has not yet contracted the disease. In the case of a new outbreak, it will be very difficult for me and my colleagues to control it."

A report by parliament's research centre suggested that the actual tally of infections and deaths in Iran might be almost twice that announced by the health ministry.

However, worried that measures to limit public activities could wreck an economy which has already been battered by U.S. sanctions, the government has been easing most restrictions on normal life in late April.

Infected cases have been on a rising trajectory for the past two weeks. However, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday that Iran was close to curbing the outbreak.

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