Dr. Forqan Uddin Ahmed :
The Hajj starts on the 8th day of Zilhaj, a month in the Islamic lunar calendar, based on the motion of moon, when all pilgrims gather in the tent city of Mina for the next four days. The core activities of the hajj include gathering of all pilgrims in Mina travel to Arafat next morning, arriving and spending the night in Muzdalifah. The day of 10th Dhulhijja requires travel from Muzdalifah to the tent city of Mina, walking to a few kilometers to place called Jamaraat for symbolic stoning of Satan, offering a sacrifice of an animal, shaving the head, visiting Makkah and coming back to Mina. These journeys are intensely crowded and in the past have caused several stampedes.
Unlike many other large crowded events, the Hajj is a well-defined, articulated, precise but very tedious event to manage. The problems lie in the simultaneous and frequent movements of millions of people with in tight time limits, sometimes hours only, the core activities of four days of the hajj, require all pilgrims to move back and forth from one place to another. The linguistic and health issues add to the complexities of this event. Hajj and Omrah in particular are prone to overcrowding, which must be controlled. The hajj rituals are based on Abrahamic traditions mentioned in the holy Quran which were followed and demonstrated by Mohammed (SM), the prophet of Islam in his only Hajj in the year 1410H. As such some desirable changes like easing the overnight stay in Muzdalifa would require decrees by competent religious authorities. Technology can assist to an extent but it cannot overcome ignorance and overcrowding, which prevails in almost all religious gatherings. Unfortunately, there is a lot of ignorance in religious gatherings like the Hajj and Omrah as the participants come from different backgrounds, ethnicities and geographical regions, which make it very difficult to adapt to a uniform code of conduct which is desirable in most gatherings, particularly the religious ones.
One of the issues is that private Hajj agencies in Bangladesh have much more of a stake than they probably should unlike in countries like neighboring India where they form a miniscule portion of the whole process. In India, Hajj pilgrims have the option of two streams: The Hajj Committee of India (HCoI) and private tour operators (PTOs). Every year, a large number of pilgrims are going to Mecca to perform Hajj under the government-managed HCoI and through PTOs-in stark contrast to the scenario in Bangladesh where only a meagre eight percent is being processed through government management. Not only that, government packages are apparently cheaper than private ones in India unlike in Bangladesh where government packages are double the minimum cost of a private Hajj package. They also have a fast, online processing mechanism (including online payment option for pilgrims) and selected pick-up points for Hajjis. We clearly have much to learn from India’s Hajj management process which is very closely monitored by the Indian government. Our laissez-faire approach towards Hajj management, giving private operators with dubious intentions a free hand, is not working.
Overhauling the Hajj process isn’t going to be easy. It would require, among other things, bringing in all the Hajj agencies under a centralised system and digitising the process which would no doubt drastically reduce the incidence of fraudulence by shady private Hajj operators and brokers. Fines and suspension of licences aren’t going to bring any meaningful change. A monitoring committee consisting of Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB), the religious affairs ministry and other groups representing the interests of the public would also be needed for purposes of checks and balances. So the government needs to start thinking big and fast. When the impetus for digitalisation of the country is loud and clear, such outdated modes of business no longer make sense. We are one of the major countries in terms of Hajj pilgrims yet our Hajj process is one of the worst.
For a secure, safe and a healthy Hajj, we need to have technologies and devices which are an imperative to better hajj management. Moreover, cross cultural consultation and discussion are the vital essentials for Hajj management. Problems and issues in home and abroad need to be addressed. If master plans better policies are undertaken and techno-based systems are introduced, hajj performance will be easier, comfortable, risk and hazards free. To solve problems, the government of Saudi Arabia and the Muslim community of the world must come forward to develop a digitalized uniform code of conduct and all countries must follow the guide and come under the established regulations. Only then hajj will get institutionalized and there will be a better and improved Hajj management.
(The writer is former Deputy Director General, Bangladesh Ansar and VDP).
