Tunisia suspended Saturday lesser pilgrimages to Makkah for fear of swine flu infection, but reserved judgement on whether the main haj pilgrimage should be undertaken in November. As well as the annual haj, which all Muslims are required to make once in a lifetime if they have the means, the faithful can also make a lesser pilgrimage to the holy places, known as omra, at any time of the year.
The suspension of omra trips was "a necessary decision" which does not contradict Muslim doctrine, said Tunisian religious affairs minister Boubaker El Akhzouri. He was speaking to a crisis cell set up by Tunisia's health ministry, and said the rapid spread of the A(H1N1) pandemic meant that officials should "reflect on whether or not to postpone the haj" later this year. In the meantime, Tunisia has toughened selection criteria for haj candidates, doubling medical checks and ruling out the elderly or chronically sick on the grounds they would be "more exposed" to infection.
Some 30,000 Tunisians complete the omra pilgrimages, with peak numbers making the journey during the Holy month of Ramadan, which is this year due to begin some time in late August.
The suspension of the omra will affect travel agencies who specialise in pilgrimage trips, with BusinessNews website estimating the loss of revenue to the industry at around 150 million dinars (more than 80 million euros or 120 million dollars).
Tunisia has announced just three infections to-date, but with millions of Muslims preparing to converge on Makkah, the whole Islamic world is concerned about the pilgrimage season's potential to make the pandemic far worse.
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