The time-honored tradition of holding your place in a queue for some reason works everywhere else but here. And what is certainly more distressing is that the very same people who make it a habit of jumping their turn here, are meek, patient and respectful of standing in lines when they travel abroad to the West. Along these lines is an edited narrative from a reader relating one such local encounter.
“A few days ago I had the opportunity of performing the Tawaf in Makkah. The experience left me guessing as to the attitudes of people in general. I have seen this happen before and the latest experience is still fresh in my mind.
“After finishing the Tawaf, I gathered enough courage to kiss the Black Stone and joined the queue. The queue was not moving anyway. Most of the fellow worshippers thought perhaps that it is only the naives who wait their turn standing in the queue. The utter disregard for the queue was not confined to any nationality. All the nationalities were indulging, although some were quite conspicuous.
“I saw people who had just shaved their heads and were in “ahraam” jumping the queue. In other words, people of all form and color were ignoring the rights of those who lined up, waiting for their turn.
“I reminded several of them that they were in Allah’s house and that they have come to seek Allah’s pleasure, therefore they should be fair and patient towards their fellow Muslims. Yet my requests went unheeded. One gentleman replied that it was not him but his son who is interested in kissing the Black Stone. I could not understand why even his son should jump the queue. After sometime I saw this same gentleman rushing towards the Black Stone. Some of us waiting our turn even complained to the policeman who was on the Rukn al Yemeni side, but he directed us to tell the same to the policeman who holds the rope. But a look at him made me decide against it since he was having a tough time controlling the crowd.
“Realizing that it would take a lot of time to reach the Black Stone since hardly a few were following the queue, I was momentarily tempted to jump the queue. But my conscience wouldn’t permit me and resting my left hand on the wall of the Kaaba, I quietly awaited my turn. A compatriot of mine was asking me not to say anything but pray to Allah to provide guidance to such people.
“What pained me most is not the fact that we had to wait. What did was the fact that how rude and unfair people could be within the precincts of the Holy Haram. Imagine how they would behave outside of it. And if such attitudes continue amongst Muslims, can we hope to overcome the occupation of Palestine or the atrocities on Muslims the world over? Do we deserve to be treated with respect?
“Someone once told me that Golda Meir, the ex-premier of Israel, on an occasion of an Arab build-up against her country quietly told her compatriots, ‘You don’t have to fear Arabs as long as they don’t learn to stand in a queue.’
“The incident reminded me to do a rethink. It is not just confined to the Arabs, but could apply to most of the Muslim world.
“Although we see the total disregard for queues daily and tolerate it just as an every-day occurrence, how truly it portrays our lack of discipline and sincerity that has led us to the state we are in today! May Allah guide all Muslims. Amen.”
Thank you, dear reader, and for the record, I couldn’t have said it any better. — [email protected]