Islamic expert urges for a greener Hajj

Mawil Izzidien, an Islamic expert from the University of Wales, urged fellow Muslims to lessen the environmental impact of Hajj, the yearly pilgrimage to Mecca, by not staying in expensive hotels and avoiding air travel. From 25 to 30 November, approximately two million Muslim pilgrims gathered in Mecca, the holiest place in Islam.

According to Islamic teachings, an adult Muslim must do the pilgrimage at least once in his life, if he is physically able and can afford it. Mainly coming from distant places, many Muslims save money for years just to perform Hajj in Mecca.

Izzidien, who had written about the environmental impact of Hajj, encouraged Muslims to minimize the number of travels in Mecca. He said that Muslims do not need to perform Hajj twice if they had already done the first one.

He also recommended that pilgrims should not travel in first class airplanes and not stay in luxurious hotels, as Hajj is about travelling with difficulty. In this way, pilgrims reduce their travel expense and carbon footprint. Moreover, the Islamic expert further added that the amount of food wasted and the wastage of meat from sacrificed sheep are issues which local organizers need to address.

However, Saleem Qidwai, General Secretary of the Muslim Council of Wales, disagreed to some of Izzidien’s ideas. Qidwai said that it is unrealistic not to travel by air and not to stay in good hotels as pilgrims need to be in Mecca for 10 days.

Qidwai though supported the other environmental concerns highlighted by Izzidien. He said that there is a lot of garbage during Hajj, particularly leftover bottles and plastic bags.