Swine Flu Discourages Bulgaria Pilgrims

From islamonline.net

By Hany Salah

Fearing a spread of the swine flu virus during the ritual, many Bulgarian Muslims have shied away from going on the soul-searching journey of hajj this year.

“Fears of contracting the swine flu caused a drop in the number of this year’s pilgrims,” Mustafa Zekov, the hajj official at Bulgaria Fatwa House, told IslamOnline.net on Saturday, October 31.

“We have nearly 470 pilgrims going on hajj this year.”

Last year, 750 Bulgarian pilgrims performed the ritual.

The swine flu (H1N1), a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, first emerged in Mexico in April.

The virus has so far killed more than 3,917 people in 191 countries.

Most Bulgarian pilgrims this year are old people.

“There is a decades-old belief among Bulgarian Muslims that whoever goes on hajj should not commit any sins after the ritual,” said Grand Mufti Mustafa Haci.

“That is why most young people favor delaying hajj until old age because they believe that they are now difficult to avoid committing sins.

“We keep urging Muslims at every occasion that every Muslim should perform hajj whenever he is able to.”

Muslims make up 12 percent of Bulgaria’s 7.8 million population, according to official estimates.

The Fatwa House, however, puts the percentage at nearly 20.

Bulgaria is the only European Union state where Muslims are not recent immigrants but a centuries-old local community.

Preparations

Despite the drop, preparations are going in full swing for the soul-searching journey.

“All pilgrims’ passports are ready,” said Haci.

He said an official Saudi delegation will arrive soon in Bulgaria to provide entry visas for the pilgrims.

The first batch of Bulgarian pilgrims will leave for Saudi Arabia on November 9.

“The remaining pilgrims will move by bus on November 13, to Saudi Arabia through Turkey, Syria and Jordan.”

Booklets about hajj have been distributed among Bulgarian pilgrims to educate them about the ritual.

Experienced guides have also been chosen to serve the pilgrims during the ritual, said Haci.

“Ten guides have been selected to accompany the pilgrims to help them perform hajj rightly,” he said.

“We conditioned that the guides have performed hajj before in order to be able to answer the pilgrims’ questions.”

Every able-bodied adult Muslim -- who can financially afford the trip -- must perform hajj once in his lifetime.

Around three million pilgrims from over 160 countries are expected to perform hajj this year, which is expected to climax on November 26, when the faithful descend the Mount Arafat.

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