ARAFAT, 19 December 2007 — Mobily umbrellas were everywhere at Arafat yesterday. They were providing the pilgrims a useful shade from the blistering rays of the midday sun. There were umbrellas from other telecom companies and airlines, but Mobily umbrellas far outnumbered the others.
In many cases, the pilgrims had no idea what Mobily was or what business it was in. “I have no idea about the company. I just know that I got this one free and it has turned out to be the most useful item here,” said Fatema Ashour, an Egyptian pilgrim. “We were under the impression that it would be cold in Saudi Arabia and when we started for Haj our tour operator had advised us to pack in winter clothing, but here in Arafat was too hot.”
Like Ashour, Ruqaiyya Beewi from Kerala had no idea about the telecom company that provided the umbrellas. “I don’t care where it came from. I know that I prayed a lot for those who thought of us and provided this comfort to us here in Arafat. God bless them,” she said.
For Rehman Malik from Pakistan, the umbrella will remain with him forever. “I am emotionally attached to it now,” he said. “Because it is my Haj companion. What relief it provided to us. Our prayers are with those who gave this stuff to us. I will carry this one home as a souvenir,” he added.
Mobily provided half a million umbrellas as part of its Haj campaign for 2007. The umbrellas were distributed among pilgrims through the 38 service points that the company had set up at several international airports as well as a number of domestic airports, seaports and hotels.
According to information posted on Mobily’s website, the company had dispatched a special team of distributors who worked around the clock at these points over the past three weeks. “We wanted to bring smiles on the faces of pilgrims,” said Mobily CEO Khaled Al-Kaf. “These gifts are the least the company can give to God’s guests. We at Mobily wanted to do whatever we could to help make this year’s Haj season a success.”
In coordination with the Ministry of Haj, the mobile operator dispatched more than 1.5 million Haj awareness SMS messages to pilgrims who subscribed to its network. The messages, in many languages, carry advices such as “Keep to the grouping plan to be safe from stampedes.” These messages are Mobily’s contribution to minimize risks for pilgrims and keep them safe as they perform their rites.”
Some Muslim scholars, however, decried the move to use Haj as a marketing tool. “We understand the good intentions of these companies, but flip side of all this exercise is to gain mileage. The idea is to make your presence felt,” said Maulana Zafarul Islam from Pakistan. “If their intention is to provide comfort to pilgrims, they can just provide a white umbrella without the company’s logos. They will get a reward from Allah for their intentions.”
Among the other airlines, Egypt Air and Pakistan International Airlines umbrellas were widely visible. Saudi Telecom umbrellas were visible too but nobody could make an impact like the one made by Mobily.
