Canadian Pilgrims Avoid Humiliation at US Airports

Canadian Pilgrims Avoid Humiliation at US Airports

By Ahmed Al-Matboli, IOL Correspondent

VIENNA, December 26, 2005 (IslamOnline.net) - Canadian Muslims prefer
to transit at European airports en route to the holy city of Makkah to
perform hajj to spare themselves humiliating treatment and extra
frisking at American airports.

"The excessive security measures targeting Arabs and Muslims at
American airports since the 9/11 attacks have alienated many Canadian
Muslims," Monzel Bakash, the supervisor of hajj journeys organized by
the Islamic Center in Toronto, told IslamOnline.net on Monday, December
26.

"Canadian Muslims are ready to take the agony of undue delays and extra
journey hours instead," he added.

Bakash said most Canadian pilgrims used to go to Saudi Arabia via New
York, but not any more.

"Giant US airliners which offer direct flights to Riyadh fail to lure
them," he added.

The first batch of Canadian pilgrims arrived in the Austrian capital
Vienna on Sunday, December 25, on their way to Saudi Arabia.

Hajj consists of several ceremonies, meant to symbolize the essential
concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials of Prophet
Abraham and his family.

Every able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must
perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their lifetime.

Proper Hajj

Bakash said organizers offer this season a full-board hajj with
estimated costs ranging between 3,000 and 9,000 Canadian dollars
(US$2,571-7,761).

"Average costs stand at 5,000 Canadian dollars (US$4,286)," he said,
adding that the Islamic Center in Toronto offers payment facilities for
pilgrims at their request.

Bakash maintains that the figure is affordable for the majority of
Canadian Muslims, citing an increase in the number of the center's
pilgrims from 138 last year to 150 this year.

Ayman Sahebb, an Islamic jurisprudence researcher, told IOL that
several Muslim organizations across Canada have launched a four-session
program to enhance the pilgrims' awareness on how to perform proper
hajj.

"The pilgrims become acquainted with the hajj rites starting from their
hometown to Makkah," he said.

The number of Canadian Muslims has increased dramatically over the last
decade, according to a national census.

With approximately 600,000 Muslims in the country, Islam became the
number one non-Christian faith in Canada.

There are some 200 mosques and prayer rooms in the capital Toronto.

Also read:

Hajj (a special page)

http://islamonline.net/english/hajj/1426/index.shtml

.

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