Haj Committee gives in, makes qurbani money deposit optional

MUMBAI: Giving in to the demands of Muslim organizations, the Haj Committee has made the depositing of money with it for animal sacrifice optional. Muslim groups had protested against a Haj Committee circular which said that the committee would arrange for qurbani, as the animal sacrifice is called, on the behalf of pilgrims, who were asked to mandatorily choose the facility.
Muslim groups had argued that the Quran does not make qurbani for all pilgrims mandatory and had dubbed the circular “akin to meddling with the pilgrims’ religious affairs”.
Haj Committee CEO Ataur Rahman said that at a meeting on Monday the committee decided that the arrangement for qurbani on behalf of pilgrims would be optional.
Shiv Sena transport wing chief Haji Arafat Shaikh, who had petitioned the Haj Committee to keep the collection of qurbani money from pilgrims optional, welcomed the decision.
“My party’s MP Shivajirao Adhalrao Patil had met external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Monday and conveyed the community’s feelings on the issue,” Shaikh said.
General secretary of All India Ulema Council Maulana Mehmood Daryabadi had also protested against the proposal.
“It is a big relief,” he said. “The Haj Committee had transgressed its mandate. It is responsible for facilitating travel and accommodation of the pilgrims and it should confine itself to these responsibilities. Qurbani is an important ritual of haj, but it is optional. By planning to charge money for qurbani from all pilgrims, the Haj Committee was trying to meddle in the religious affairs of Muslims.”