No matter how hard we Saudis try, we often just can’t get that hosting thing down. While you may read somewhere that Saudis are renown for their hospitality, there are an equal number of expats, especially those here on Haj, who beg to differ.
Barking tour operators. The hustle and bustle of moving between Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah. The cattle drive mentality to keep things moving causes a lot of wear and tear on the emotions. At the end of the pilgrimage there’s a sense among many worshippers that they never got to know Saudi Arabia, its culture and its people.
The Ministry of Haj has recognized this and in a small way is attempting to ease pilgrims’ entry into the country and minimize their stress that accompanies such trips.
The ministry has delegated a large group of students to sing welcome songs to visitors once they arrive at Madinah’s Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport. Young people shower their guests with rose petals and spray them with floral-scented water. Dates are offered.
Madinah’s Haj Ministry Director Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Albejaoa told Saudi reporters recently that, “The branch provides buses to commute the elementary students according to the specified schedule for each school. Supervisors accompany the students from the school to the airport. It also aims to instill positive values in the youth, promote the culture of generosity in them and highlight the attention that the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah pays to visitors and worshippers.”
It’s such a small gesture, but its significance can’t be underestimated. After all, we are not Hawaii, which has young greeters presenting leis to arriving visitors at the airport, or London cabbies providing off-the-cuff sightseeing tips to first-timers arriving at Heathrow Airport. No, we take your SR100 for the trip from the airport to the hotel. And by the way, pull your own bags from the trunk of the cab.
The Madinah program is part and parcel to the changing nature of how Saudis treat tourists in general and Haj pilgrims in particular. As we strengthen our tourism policies, we recognize that we have plenty to offer for the religious tourist as well as the casual one. We can dispel the myths about Saudis by changing the perception that we are so private and aloof that we are inhospitable. But as Albejaoa noted, that purpose is twofold. Expose a little Saudi culture to guest and instill pride and values in our young people.
Of course, no good deed goes unpunished. Some wet blankets can’t help themselves by complaining that the gesture is not Islamic; that singing is somehow haram. Apparently they have forgotten the stories of the Prophet (peace be upon him) being greeted in Madinah with singing from the local people. Or when he hoisted his wife on his shoulders to watch a musical group enter the city.
Here we have a means, and the will, to make modest changes in how we approach traditions, customs and our religious obligations without diminishing our Saudiness or our religion.
The Madinah program is a perfect opportunity to launch similar plans in Jeddah, Makkah and Riyadh for different events. Hopefully, we won’t take the naysayers too seriously.
—
Email: [email protected]
