Clergy warnings
The most influential cleric of the Shiite Muslim community
in Lebanon, the great Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlalah, was the first to
issue a fatwa (religious edict) in that sense recommending that people at risk
avoid moving this year but denying the possibility of that the pilgrimage be
canceled since "it is a divine right".
"Sharia (Islamic law) is aimed at safeguarding human
lives from harm, and if there is a medical opinion of specialists that
indicates that the Hajj poses a threat to these groups, Islamic law has to
prohibit it," Abdul Salam seconded. -Abbadi, another reputed cleric of
Jeddah.
The controversy has forced the health ministries of the
region to speak, whose headlines organized an emergency meeting in July in
which it was decided to limit access to both Hajj and Umrah of what they called
"vulnerable groups" (pregnant women, sick children and elderly).
"Both appointments will continue but with conditions," said Ibrahim
al Kerdani, spokesman in Cairo of the World Health Organization.
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