Wealthy pilgrims opt for 5-star luxuries during Haj and Umrah

If you scan the city’s landscape carefully these days, you will not miss them. Big and small hoardings, with pictures of the iconic black, cube-shaped Kaaba alongside sacred words labaik, Allahuma labaik (God, I am here) invite the faithful to Islam’s holiest shrine in Mecca. And don’t miss the mention of “luxurious” and fancy hotels where the pilgrims are promised to be put up.From the 5-star “luxuries” the advertisements, both outdoor and in Urdu newspapers, promise to pilgrims, Haj and Umrah are no longer rituals to be observed in austerity.
Haj, the annual Islamic pilgrimage and Umrah (mini-Haj which are performed round the year) were till a decade ago not offered to be performed in such comforts. Around one lakh Indian pilgrims, along with several lakh from other countries, using the governments-run operations like the one run by Haj Committee of India, will sweat in the mercilessly hot weather this year. They will also use common toilets and be herded in buses (those who don’t get a seat inside the vehicles travel on roofs perched precariously). Food will be frugal even if it is not cold and deficient in protein.
In contrast, the pilgrims choosing Private Tour Operators (PTOs) are treated “royally”. They stay at 5-star hotels, served multi-course cuisine and transported in Mercedes buses. At the shiny office of Al-Khalid Tours, a leading PTO, at Clare Road in Byculla, young Khalid Kherada scans on his huge desktop computer some of the pictures from previous years’ Haj. “Look at our tents in Mina and Arafat (the two places outside Mecca where Hajis customarily park themselves during the 5-day Haj period). These are air-conditioned spaces with attached bathrooms and stocked with enough food and beverages,” says Kherada who dropped out from College to join his father Yusuf, a pioneer in Private Tours operations for Haj and Umrah.
Kherada goes on to show the luxurious hotels he has booked rooms in (a standard room at a famous hotel near the holy mosque in Mecca costs around Rs 75000 per night). “It is a myth that Haj and Umrah should be cheap. During the Prophet’s time the rich would visit Mecca on camels while the poor traveleld on foot. Today pilgrims travel by air, many business class, and stay in luxury because they can afford it,” explains Kherada. “Given the circumstances in which Haj is performed, I think Al-Khalid Tours offer excellent services. They make the journey quite comfortable,” says city-based businessman Abdus Samad Motiwala who performed Haj last year. In 2012 when Bollywood star Aamir Khan wanted to perform Haj along with his mother Zeenat Hussain, they were guided to Al-Khalid Tours who are known to facilitate wealthy pilgrims’ progress.
But shouldn’t austerity be maintained during Haj and Umrah? “There is no divine cap on the cost for Haj and Umrah. Haj is obligatory just once in a lifetime only for those who can afford it. But what worries me more is not the astronomical money first time Haj and Umrah performers pay but the multiple journeys many make to Mecca and Medina. The huge money spent on multiple Haj and Umrah can be used to fund education and medical facilities for the poor in our country,” says senior cleric Maulana Shoeb Koti.
While the superrich don’t flinch at spending Rs 10 lakh (per pilgrim) for Haj, there are tour operators like Asian Tours in Jogeshwari who offer categories like Deluxe and Economy. “The cost depends on how far from Haram Sharief, the holy mosques in both Mecca and Medin, a pilgrim is accommodated. The nearer the stay, the costlier it becomes,” says Nadeem Ahmed Khan of Asian Tours.
If the pilgrimage has become so comfortable, can the profiteers remain behind? For some pilgrimage is a business which also carries the “sacred service” tag and perhaps Allah too approves this expensive holy journey.