The Generous People of Makkah

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on Friday, January 21, 2005

To the uninitiated, hosting millions of pilgrims from around the globe and assisting them in performing the Haj might sound impossible, and it might well be impossible were it not for the dedicated people of Makkah.

The hospitality and generosity of Makkawis is legendary. For years, they have taken special pleasure in serving the guests of God. Each year, at least one member of every Saudi family in Makkah does voluntary work during Haj. This is done as a rule and is not an exception. However important a position they hold and whatever place they are posted in the Kingdom, these young Saudis come home during Haj and staff the establishments with which their fathers and forefathers have been associated.

Here in the tent city of Mina, you meet them everywhere. There are some who specialize only in Haj services. One such Saudi from Makkah is Dr. Khalid Sami Muhammad Hussain. His forebears have been serving the pilgrims for the last 400 years. He is young, bright and dynamic. He is highly educated, as well, having earned his bachelor’s degree at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah and having completed his master’s and Ph.D. from George Washington University in the United States in engineering management.

Those skills are handily put to work as he is the quality assurance manager at the South Asian Establishment for Pilgrims. It was a pleasure listening to his chaste English as he explained the steps that are being taken every year by the tawafa organizations for better services. Although the Haj emphasizes the longstanding traditions of Islam, it takes some pretty sophisticated organizational methods to accommodate millions.

“We at the South Asian Establishment for Pilgrims have become the first such organization to receive this prestigious ISO9001 certificate for providing good services during Haj,” he said. His establishment is organizing Haj for 380,000 pilgrims this year. Despite the devastating tragedy that recently hit that region, many people from that part of the world are reaching out to Allah as pilgrims this year.

“It is amazing because we thought tsunami tragedy would reduce the number of pilgrims coming from South Asia, especially Sri Lanka,” he said. “We were worried, but Alhamdullilah, the number only increased. Last year, we hosted 360,000 pilgrims, and that number has gone up by almost 20,000 pilgrims, which is great.”

You might even call the preparations high-tech. “Each year we add value to Haj services. We are applying the latest technology and research in providing services in a very scientific way,” he said. “We call this continual improvement. This year we printed maps of the camps in Mina in many languages. Of course, that didn’t help some pilgrims from getting lost, but it has had its effect.”

They don’t look at their task as a logistical nightmare, but rather a challenge. “Let’s not forget that Haj logistics are a big challenge,” he said. “This is a unique event. Where else do you have nearly three million pilgrims on the move?”

Even with highly trained and educated people, such as Dr. Khalid Hussain, it still takes a little faith. “We once approached a European management center to ask them how best to organize them. They studied the videos, had lengthy discussions with us, and they finally told us: ‘This is impossible. Why don’t you organize Haj three times in a year,’” he said. “They are astounded even grasping what Haj is all about.”

Dr. Hussain himself performed Haj this year. The last time he performed Haj was nine years ago. “I was not associated with this Haj establishment then. I was with my relatives,” he said. “The one difference that you fail to notice is the number of people. There are so many people now — almost double of what we had nine years ago.”

Dr. Khalid Hussain is a representative of the generation that’s taking the reins from their elders to provide the best possible services to the guests of God. And if a little modern management and the latest technology make the experience more pleasant for the pilgrims, it’s all the better.

Pilgrim after pilgrim offer words of praise for the Saudi government and the Saudis themselves for doing what almost looks impossible and defies imagination. “This mass movement of people is amazing,” Dr. Khalid Hussain said, “and it provides a big challenge for the organizers.”

Haj Review: Testing Your Nerves

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on Friday, February 14, 2003

Covering Haj tests your nerves, your patience and your driving skills (our means of transport was not a car but a two-wheeler). It requires stamina and courage. Above all, it demands a complete detachment from the events on the ground. If you ever thought being a journalist was a glamorous profession, think again: It requires dedication and perseverance, and the ability to deal with extremes.

For instance, when the paramedics were busy attending to people who had lost consciousness while performing one of the rituals earlier in the week, we were busy either capturing the scene on camera or talking to eyewitnesses for the quotes on which our tribe relies. This detachment is difficult, to say the least, because a journalist cannot and does not function in isolation from his fellow human beings. When the three of us failed to detach ourselves from the events, we found ourselves baby-sitting a three-month-old who had been separated from his mother on the plains of Arafat, or crying along with the three Iraqi pilgrims — Fadl Attoohan and the two women who were accompanying him — who were praying for their country's well-being. There were moments when we reached the limits of our patience. But we persevered and our perseverance paid off. In the end, we came away with some very good stories.

We were struck by the investigative qualities of our colleague Essam Al-Ghalib, who joined Arab News just three months ago. None of us had realized that there was a fantastic photographer waiting to be discovered, as well as a first-rate journalist. This year's Haj gave him the opportunity to discover that he had yet another quality. He would lie on his stomach, or perch precariously on the mountains, to get his brilliant pictures. Considering everything he went through on a personal level during the Haj, he can already be described as a veteran journalist.

Our other team member, Hasan Adawi, was the vital link between the two of us as he knows the topography of Mina, Arafat and Makkah like the back of his hand. He always knew exactly where we were in the sea of white at Arafat. He knew the shortest route from Arafat to Mina. And yes, his skills on the moped are only comparable with an experienced jockey of an Arab steed.

We would have been simply unable to function without him. Others like Jamal Banoon of Al-Eqtisadiah, Mowafaq Al-Nowaisir of Asharq Al-Awsat and Abdul Mughni Al-Ghalib, who have been covering the Haj for years now, were very helpful in guiding us through the day's events. Mughni Al-Ghalib is rightly described as the father of Haj coverage.

Haj cannot really be described in words. Each person's experience will be different and unique. On the plains of Arafat we met many pilgrims who were withering away in the blazing sun, yet many others felt the weather was quite pleasant. But one thing is certain: Haj draws Muslims closer to their spiritual roots. The pilgrims get an enormous spiritual energy, which transcends much of the physical difficulty. Remaining calm is no easy task, whether you are a journalist or a pilgrim.

Moving around the tightly packed hordes can be irritating. The intensity of the experience can elevate even simple tasks into a test of faith. Officials and businesses supply plenty of water, but gaining entry to bathrooms can be an arduous process, and access to mosques and other holy sites can verge on the impossible. The constant crush of hundreds of thousands of other pilgrims, each trying to perform the same rites at the same time in a limited space in unbearable weather, compounds the stress and heightens the demand for good physical conditioning and mental resilience.