Muslims Risk Swine Flu for the Hajj

It is traditional in the Islam religion for its followers to take a trip to the holy city of Mecca at least once in their lives. For the past 1,400 years there has been an annual period for this pilgrimage. The only difference this year around is that the threat of the swine flu is growing. According to the article, "Thousands Risks Flu for Hajj Pilgrimage to Mecca", 2.5 million people are going this year to make the annual trip to Mecca. The bigger problem is that since this will be a large grouping of people, it makes it even easier to spread the virus. Although the swine flu is a problem, the people do not seem to mind. One woman even said that their faiths in the hands of Allah and that they will all die someday anyways. One of the only precautions people seem to be making is wearing a mask while they are grouped together. The Saudi Arabia health administration have discussed this issue and they feel like they do not have the right to ban the Hajj.

I believe that if the people of Islam want to make this trip, they should be allowed to. I have several friends that have made this pilgrimage and they have all told me that it was a very important life experience for them. So to ban them from making their pilgrimage seems wrong to me, even with the threat of the swine flu, because they should still be allowed to have the choice to go or not.