05 February 2002

American Muslims Embark on the Hajj

Washington -- An estimated 10,000 American Muslims are preparing to embark on the annual pilgrimage to Islam's holiest sites in Mecca and Medina, in Saudi Arabia, later this month. They will join an estimated one to two million Muslim pilgrims from all over the world. The pilgrimage, or hajj, slated to take place from about February 20-25, is determined by a lunar calendar.

The Saudi Embassy in Washington says about 9,000 American Muslims went on the hajj in 2001. Ibrahim Hooper, the spokesman for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), a Washington-based advocacy group, said the number of American Muslims making the hajj increases by 1,000 or 2,000 yearly. Hooper said he expects about 10,000 American Muslims to make the journey in 2002. Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States.

The hajj is a duty that every Muslim is expected to make at least once in his or her lifetime, provided the person has the financial means and physical health to do so.

One American pilgrim who will be going on the hajj for the first time says that, as an American Muslim, she feels a greater sense of inclusion in American society than before September 11, and she credits President Bush for his support of the American Muslim community following the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Sarah Ahmad, a staff administrative assistant for Masjid Muhammad Mosque in Washington D.C., said a large portion of the outpouring of respect, sympathy, and support that mainstream Americans have shown for the American Muslim community following the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington on September 11 came as result of President Bush's reaction.

"I would say about 40 percent was due to President Bush's response, letting people know there is a difference between a terrorist and a Muslim," Ahmad said. "It was very encouraging to know that people did make that distinction."

Ahmad said that Americans understand and accept Islam as one of their country's religions, and that President Bush's response in the days following September 11, was very helpful.

"It gave a sense some sort of inclusion. People began to see us in a different light. I really got the impression that people realized that there is nothing wrong with Islam as a religion. They began to make the distinction between us and people who practice their religion wrongly," Ahmad said.

Born 28 years ago to African American Muslim parents, Ahmad works in the Masjid Muhammad Mosque in Washington, whose adherents are predominately African Americans. She is going on her first pilgrimage, accompanied by her 15-year-old brother, Muhammad Abdul Mateen, whom she calls Mateen.

Her Hajj is her first trip outside the United States, Ahmad said. She said the travel agency, Dar El-Eiman, in northern Virginia, is taking care of the paper work, getting the visas from Saudi embassy and providing briefings for the pilgrims to let them know what to expect on their journey.

Ahmad, who received a degree in Spanish and Arabic from Georgetown University in Washington and worked in a credit union for five years before taking a job with the mosque, says she is preparing herself through prayer.

"If you have the correct intention, any sins you have committed in your life up to this point are forgiven," she said. "You want to make sure you have the right frame of mind during the Hajj. You don't want to get angry and you need to make sure you have patience."

Ahmad said she is asking for the strength and patience to deal with some hardships she is told she will encounter during the Hajj.

CAIR's Hooper said the events surrounding September 11 probably will affect this year's Hajj somewhat, with greater security checks and a general increase in travel logistics.

But he said he doubted the inconveniences will have any lasting impact on the Hajj, and noted that Muslims have been making the pilgrimage for centuries. This year, as in other years, American Muslims will join their co-religionists from around the world in the observance of one of the pillars of their faith.