Hyderabad: Mehram must for women Hajis, says Moulana Hafiz Ahsan Al-Hamoomi

Hyderabad: Moulana Hafiz Ahsan Al-Hamoomi, Khatib of the Royal Mosque in the city, said that performing Haj by a woman above the age of 45 without a mehram is against to the Sharia.

He said that even if the Centre allows women above 45 years to perform Hajj without a mehram, Muslims, who strictly follow the Sharia, will not opt for it.

The mehram ensures safety of women and it is not an intervention in their freedom.

Referring to the drafting committee recommendation to reduce number of embarkation points from 21 to nine, members from the community felt that it will cause inconvenience to Hajis.

Mr S.A. Shukoor, special officer of the Telangana Haj Committee, said that reducing embarkation points will put more burden on Hyderabad because it currently caters to AP and TS states and five districts of Karnataka in the erstwhile Nizam state.

Mr Ishaq Mansur of Direct Zakat movement said that pilgrims over 70 years may not get preference and they would be deprived of the pilgrimage to Makkah which is one of the five duties of Islam. The recommend to increase the quota of private tour operators will lead to increase in cost, he said.

Union minister Mr. Muqtar Abbas Naqvi had said that the Centre was planning 15 cruise trips as part of the new Haj policy from 2018 onwards.