Carry a Medical ID at Hajj

If you have health concerns and are considering what to pack for hajj,  make sure you carry an ID bracelet  or necklace with that lists andy life-threatening food or drug allergies, medical conditions  or a rare blood type.  In addition to the traditional medical id bracelets and necklaces, there are new ID products you can consider. 

There is an ID that can fasten through your  shoelaces.  You can have your  medical history saved and stored on a flash drive with universal medical insignia - a device small enough to carry with you on a keychain, bracelet or necklace–and it can be opened and read by any doctor anywhere with access to a computer.

Seek Ramadan Reconcilliations Before Hajj

When we prepare for hajj we should also prepare for death.  No one is guaranteed return from hajj.  We are supposed to put our affairs in order, make our wills, say our goodbyes.  We try to mend fences with those estranged from us–relatives, friends, enemies. Understandably, we often  put these uncomfortable conversations off until the last possible minute.

Ramadan is a good time to begin the process of forgiving, asking forgiveness and reconcilling with others just as we fast and pray and hope for forgiveness from Allah and reconcilliation in our relationship to Allah.

An IMAX Hajj

 Journey to Mecca is a 45 minute IMAX film that chronicles the hajj of 14th century scholar Ibn Battuta and also brings the only aerial footage of hajj approved by King Abdullah of Saudia Arabia.  The film is in Arabic and English and is currently playing in Dearborn, Michigan among other cities around the world.  The film premiered in January 2009 in Dubai. Journey to Mecca was voted the most popular film at the 2009 at the La Géode Film Festival in France.

Contact information about hosting the film for children and in other cities can be found on the Journey to Mecca  website. 

Swine Flu May Curtail Hajj for Many

A meeting of Arab health ministers  took place in Egypt last week. Recommendations adopted there may place restrictions on who may make hajj this year.  It is not certain yet which countries will place the recommendations into effect. In an effort to disrupt the spread of  the H1N1 swine flu virus,  Muslims with chronic illnesses, under 12 or over 65 may  be banned from hajj.

Authorities in Egypt, India and Pakistan have said that bureaucratic problems arising from efforts to enforce the ban while simultaneously fulfilling alloted hajj quotas would present many difficulties for their respective countries. Over 20% of hajj applicants in each these countries is over 65 years old.

Hajj Immunization for 2009

Guidelines for those planning to make hajj in 2009 can be found at the Ministry of Hajj.  Do not leave getting your immunizations until the last minute.  Depending on where you are traveling from, you may be advised to have immunizations against yellow fever, or to get a single 500 mg dose of ciprofloxacin. Immunizations received within less than 10 days arrival in Saudia Arabia will not be accepted and you will not get to make hajj. Also look at other recommendations for immunizations for adults and children.