JEDDAH: Iraqi authorities have decided to stop Iraqi citizens from coming for Umrah during the holy month of Ramadan. The decision was taken as a precaution against the risk of citizens contracting H1N1 virus, Iraq’s Radio Dijla reported on Wednesday.
The move follows Iran’s recent decision to suspend Umrah trips in Ramadan.
“The government also recommends reducing the number of Haj pilgrims this year. It will prevent the old and the chronically ill from performing Haj,” spokesman for Iraqi government Ali Dabbagh said in his statement which was quoted on the radio.
An emergency meeting of the World Health Organization and health ministers in the Middle East recently recommended that weak and the infirm be prevented from performing Haj as a precaution against the spread of the swine flu infection.
However, service providers for Umrah and Haj pilgrims in the Kingdom do not believe that the decision by the Iraqi authorities will have any serious impact on the total number of Haj or Umrah pilgrims.
“That is because the number of Iraqi pilgrims for both Haj and Umrah has been low largely due to the political and security situation there since 2002,” Saad Al-Qarshi, chairman of the National Haj Committee told Arab News.
Talal Mahdar, deputy chairman of the Tawafa Organization for Pilgrims of Arab Countries, echoed Al-Qarshi’s view.
Organizers and workers in the Kingdom’s pilgrimage industry will not be surprised if the number of pilgrims falls this year because of the flu awareness campaigns.
