November 19, 2009 19:26 PM

Don't Politicise Haj Pilgrimage

MECCA, Nov 19 (Bernama) -- The Muslim World League is calling on all Muslim pilgrims who are now performing the haj pilgrimage in this Holy Land to refrain from politicising the religious obligation to the extent of causing chaos.

Its secretary-general, Abdullah Abdul Mohsin Al-Turki said Muslims must perform the haj pilgrimage according to the sunnah propagated by Prophet Muhammad and should not have any other motive other than performing the religious obligation.

"Perform the haj pilgrimage according to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and don't mix the pilgrimage with other objectives such as political struggles to the extent of causing problems to other Muslims which could have adverse impact on the haj," he said when opening the Haj seminar at the South-east Asian level, here Wednesday night.

The Saudi Arabian government recently issued a warning to Iran not to politicise the haj pilgrimage after Iran accused Saudi Arabia of not giving proper treatment to pilgrims from that country.

Al-Turki said the Saudi Arabian government had taken various measures to ensure that the pilgrims could perform their religious rituals in comfort and in an orderly manner by improving existing infrastructure besides offering better services to the pilgrims.

At the seminar, Malaysia, China and Singapore had presented working papers on their respective experience in managing the pilgrims.

Malaysia's working paper, which was presented by Tabung Haji's expert consultant Dr Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, delved on the history of the establishment of Tabung Haji (TH) and the role played by TH in managing Malaysian haj pilgrims.

-- BERNAMA

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