Hajj is Looming: Time to Focus

As the global Ummah gradualy focusses it's attention in more ways than one towards Makkah, the sheer loss of life in SE Asia will no doubt figure as a topic amongst those fortunate enough to reflect in Allah's House.

How ironic that Indonesians who have a tradition of performing Hajj at a younger age, relative to other Muslims will receive added attention.

However, this is unlikely to overshadow concerns over the safety structure of our ever-burgeoning holy city. The fire at Mina and the Jamaarat stampedes of recent years will be at the forefront of many pilgrims minds.

In the wake of ever-increasing costs of performing the Hajj, pilgrims will be conscious of how well the Saudi authorities have learnt from the disasters and will surely be wondering as to how robust the host's preperations have been.

One hopes that Gen. Mansour Al-Turki's comments that the overall number of security officials during the Hajj season being 15 percent less than in previous years proves to be due to better organisation at the Interior Ministry.