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19 November 2009

Muslim Americans Prepare for Hajj

An estimated 10,000 to 12,000 will participate in 2009

By Howard Cincotta
Special Correspondent

Washington — Edgar Castillo is one of an estimated 10,000 to 12,000 American Muslims participating in this year’s Hajj.

The number of Americans making the trip is down from previous years, according to tour operators who specialize in offering travel packages for the Hajj as well as Umrah trips to the sacred cities of Mecca and Medina, which can take place throughout the year.

The chief reasons: an economy in recession and concerns about the H1N1 pandemic.

Khalid Kazi, owner of Allstate Travel and Tours in Houston, Texas, estimated that his business has declined as much as 40 percent over previous years. Kazi is leading a group of 225 Americans who are flying to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, in mid-November and returning in early December.

HAJJ PREPARATIONS

One of Kazi’s clients is Edgar Castillo. Ironically, it is the poor economy that pushed Castillo to make the trip this year. When he was laid off from his job in Houston, Castillo decided this was the time to go. His Egyptian-born wife made the Hajj two years ago, so he decided to go alone.

“I converted by myself, I learned to pray by myself, and I’ll make this trip for God by myself,” he said.

Castillo, 31, has a degree in international relations and speaks Arabic; in 2007, he made an Umrah trip to Saudi Arabia. “The Hajj is not going to be a vacation. I know that it’s going to be difficult at times.”

Like every Hajj traveler, Castillo received the required inoculations for meningitis and the regular seasonal flu. Because of his non-Muslim name, he is bringing a letter from an imam in Boston, where he lived for many years, confirming that he is, in fact, a Muslim.

As for H1N1, Castillo trusts that his trip will go well, but he will bring plenty of hand sanitizer. “You know you’ll be sleep deprived, eating unfamiliar food — everyone gets a little sick at one time or another.”

Saudi authorities have made extensive preparations for dealing with outbreaks of H1N1 among the 2.5 million to 3 million pilgrims making the Hajj this year. They have urged people in certain high-risk categories to not travel this year: those under 12 or over 65, pregnant women, and those suffering from certain chronic diseases like diabetes.

In June, the Saudi government held a four-day workshop in Jeddah with international experts from the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. They reviewed procedures for receiving Hajj pilgrims and made recommendations for caring for those who fall ill from the flu.

HAJJ TRAVEL

Making the Hajj is a significant financial investment for Muslim Americans even in the best of economic times. Companies such as Allstate Travel and Dar El-Eiman Tours, based in New Jersey, offer a range of travel options — from standard packages costing $4,000 to $5,000 per person for trips running 16 to 20 days to $8,000 to $10,000 or more for luxury accommodations.

Allstate’s Kazi says the average cost for his clients runs between $5,000 and $6,000.

“We ask, ‘What can you afford? Will there be two per room, or four or five?” said Ahmed Shadeed of Dar El-Eiman, who has led Hajj trips for almost 20 years. “Don’t forget the temperature will be more than 30 degrees Celsius.”

Tour operators provide guides and religious educators for their Hajj travelers, along with hotel accommodations, airline and bus transportation, and amenities such as air-conditioned tents for the pilgrimage to Mount Arafat.

They also offer popular side trips to Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and other countries in the region.

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY

In a 2007 survey, the Pew Research Center found that nearly two-thirds of Muslim Americans said that making the pilgrimage is very important.

In 2008, Keith Ellison, the first Muslim member of Congress, made the Hajj. “It was an amazingly transformative experience; I’ll never forget it,” he said in a newspaper interview. “Three million people from every inch of the globe, all getting along together in a world where there’s a lot of turbulence.”

Travel operator Ahmed Shadeed, who often gives interfaith talks about his Hajj experiences, says that he always returns feeling more connected not only to his own faith, but to the religious faiths of others as well.