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Last minute warning over Swine Flu vaccine for Hajj

Swine flu: complacency or inoculation

Swine Flu And Meningitis: A Serious Threat To Hajj Pilgrims- Health Experts Warn, UK

British Hajj pilgrims are warned to take Health & Safety issues seriously

British Hajj pilgrims are warned to take Health & Safety issues seriously

National Hajj and Umrah (Health & Safety) Awareness Week Launch


Deputy Ambassador Ferej Al-Owedi in meeting with Muslim delegates

Hajj and Umrah conference

Pilgrims told: Get a jab

International Forum for Hajj Umrah Organisations

British Hujjaj Association grieved over tragic accident

HAJJ AWARENESS WEEK LAUNCHED

Muslim World League urged to take appropriate actions to protect the Hajj/Umra pilgrims from hardships and difficulties.

Death of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz.

Hajj Tour Operator Ordered to Pay Compensation

Hajj Pilgrims wary of Bird Flu scare

British Muslims express their deepest sorrow and sadness at Hajj tragedy.

Awareness Culture Is Vital For The Safety Of Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims

National Hajj & Umra (Health & Safety) Awareness week launch at House of Lords.

Exploitation and opression of British Hajj travellers must be brought to an end.

Letter from FCO Minister.

Letter from DTI Minister.

Letter from Lord Mohamed Sheikh.

British overseas travellers warned about health hazards

British Muslim doctors and community organisations denounce all acts of terrorism

Exploitation of hajj & Umrah pilgrims – a cause of great concern!

Rogue travel agents cheat British pilgrims to Mecca

Ministers warn Muslim pilgrims over rogue travel agents

Perform Rituals in Orderly Manner, Pilgrims Told

Letter from Secretary of State for Health

Hajj Pilgrimage increases Tolerance: Report

British Muslims welcome conviction of culprits forging Hajj visas

U.K. Government Hosts Summit to Stop Exploitation of Hajj Pilgrims

Warning of rogue tour operators

Warning over Hajj pilgrimage rip-offs

Pilgrims urged to take preventative measures

Hajji Camp For Prospective British Hajj Pilgrims- A Huge Success!!

Hajj scam sends shockwaves

British Muslims Congratulate Ummah and Pilgrims on a Safe Hajj

Hajj Pilgrims (UK Tour Operators)

Birmingham MP Slams Rogue Hajj Travel Agencies

World Meningitis Day Warning To Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims, UK

Take The Swine Flu Threat Seriously - British Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims Are Warned



Deputy Ambassador Ferej Al-Owedi in meeting with Muslim delegates

25/12/2004 :

The Deputy Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the United Kingdom and Ireland, Ferej Al-Owedi, recently held several meetings with two representatives of the Islamic community in the United Kingdom to discuss issues that Muslims face during the Hajj. His Excellency met; Mr Khalid Pervez, Secretary General of the Association of British Hujjaj, and Dr Syed Raza Hussain who recently delivered a lecture on Meningitis Awareness in the House of Common.

In the meeting the guest raised issues concerning the Hajj. His Excellency Ferej has assured them that HRH Prince Turki Al-Faisal, Ambassador to the UK and Ireland, is always ready to do whatever he can to help pilgrims and make their journey peaceful and enjoyable. He outlined to them the steps taken by the Saudi government as well as the huge investment made to insure the safety and welfare of all guests of the house of God in the Kingdom. The guests acknowledged the undeniable effort made by the Kingdom and encouraged it to continue its services towards Islam and Muslims.

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Hajj and Umrah conference

A special Hajj and Umrah conference was organised in Birmingham to help British pilgrims on their way to Makkah to know what to expect and how to have a safe trip. Religious experts, doctors and health and safety experts were to gather on 6 February, in Bordesley, to try to identify health and safety risks and devise strategies to minimise them. British Muslims have been caught up in recent disasters, including a massive fire and a stampede, which have cost thousands of lives. A spokesman for the Association of British Hujjaj, who were organising the event, said: "Unfortunately, there is an accumulated evidence that British Hujjaj experience significant problems due to ignorance, lack of awareness and the knowledge to perform a safe Hajj in the best possible manner". The association has recently persuaded the government to open a consulate in Makkah which will provide advice and help to British Muslims who need it. Details of this were to be announced at the conference. Chairman Javed Aziz added: "Some 20-30,000 British Muslims travel to Makkah and Madina every year and about half of this number come from Birmingham. In the past they have had no protection or advice if they are injured or even killed during their trip and have not been able to get basic advice on vaccinations".
Birmingham Evening Mail , 05.02.00
Black Country Evening Mail , 05.02.00

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Pilgrims told: Get a jab


Jan 18 2002
By Zoe Chamberlain, Evening Mail

Birmingham Muslims preparing for pilgrimage this year are being told they must be immunised against potentially-fatal viruses.

The call for more Inoculations comes amid growing concerns over the number of new and deadly tropical diseases coming into Britain as a result of foreign travel.

The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK, based in Haden Street, Sparkbrook, is launching a Meningitis Awareness Campaign at Al-Hamra Centre, Upper Trinity Street, Bordesley Green on Sunday

General Secretary of the association, Khalid Pervez said: "It has been estimated that more than 40,000 British Muslim pilgrims visit Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and Umra every year.

"Last year ten British Pilgrims died from a dangerous strain of meningitis after performing the Hajj or being in close contact with someone who had been on pilgrimage," he said.

"To overcome this serious issue, we have joined forces with the NHS to launch this campaign.

"I strongly urge all British pilgrims intending to perform Hajj this year to protect themselves and their families by ensuring their doctors give them the quadrivalent meningococcal vaccine which protects against four different strands of meningitis.

"A multi-lingual leaflet highlighting the need of immunisation against meningitis, and advice on other health issues affecting British pilgrims, will be distributed during the meningitis campaign launch."

Pilgrims are now required by the Saudi Arabian government to have a valid certificate against meningitis before they are issued with a visa.

Health Minister Lord Hunt is guest of honour at Sunday's event, which starts at 10.30am. Officials from the Department of Health and GPs will also give presentations on other vital issues on health and safety.

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British Hujjaj Association grieved over tragic accident

LONDON : Association of British Hujjaj, UK has expressed its heart felt sorrow and grief over the tragic road accident in Saudi Arabia in which forty pilgrims including thirty-seven Pakistanis were killed.

In a statement here, the General Secretary of the Association, Khalid Pervez expressed condolences with the bereaved families saying the Muslims in Britain and Europe share their sorrow.

It called on the governments of Pakistan and Saudi Arabia not to let the families of the victims alone and extend all out assistance to them.

Pakistan Link, Feb16

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HAJJ AWARENESS WEEK LAUNCHED

The National Hajj Awareness Week from 13th to 20th December, 2004, was launched by Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Patron of the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH) at the House of Lords, London, on 13th December.

The basic aim is to yet again initiate the launch of the awareness campaign against meningitis - both at the national and the international level. The ABH is specifically committed to create awareness in the public regarding health and safety issues- especially amongst those wishing to undertake Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.

The launching ceremony was attended by diplomats, community leaders, TV and media journalists including Lord Hunt, former Minister of Health, Ambassador Ferej Alowedi, Deputy Head of Mission, Saudi Arabia, Ambassador Pengiran Haji Yunus, High Commissioner of Brunei Darussalam, Haji Salim Moosa, Grand Mufti of Albania, representatives from the Syrian and Egyptian embassies.

By Dr. Mozammel Haque

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Muslim World League urged to take appropriate actions to protect the Hajj/Umra pilgrims from hardships and difficulties.

Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK has sent a letter to Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulmohsin Al-Turki General secretary Muslim World League at the event of an international conference being held in Makkah by Muslim World League, where over 300 Muslim scholars and academics from all over the world are meeting together to discuss on the crucial issues faced by the Muslim Ummah.

Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK strongly urged the Muslim World League to place the issue of welfare and well being of millions of Hajj/Umrah pilgrims on their conference agenda. Muslim World League should prepare a strategy and recommendations to all its member countries to improve their Hajj/Umra arrangements specifically more emphasis should be given to training and education of every aspect of performing Hajj/Umra and make it compulsory to all the prospective Hajj/Umra pilgrims from their countries.

It is extremely vital that they should take initiative to setup an International Hajj Forum which should address the issues and oversee to improve Hajj/Umra arrangements by the relevant authorities and countries from all over the world

‘Sound planning, religious, health and safety education, full awareness of all aspects of pilgrimage are the fundamental pre-requisites to ensure smooth, safe and total devotional fulfilment. Ignorance and lack of proper training can, in fact have resulted in accidents during the Hajj and Umra in the past, leading to loss of innocent human lives.

Muslim World League should take this issue seriously and take appropriate actions to protect millions of Hajj/Umra pilgrims from hardships, difficulties and to prevent any loss of innocent human lives. They should make every effort to ensure that Hajj/Umra pilgrims from all over the world perform Hajj/Umra in safe and best possible manner in ease and comfort.’
said Khalid Pervez General Secretary Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK

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Death of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz.

August 2, 2005

Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK expressed deepest sorrow and sadness on the death of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in its executive committee meeting held in Birmingham, UK.

Khalid Pervez General secretary of Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK said, ‘We would like to send our deepest condolences to the kingdom and people of Saudi Arabia and we all mourn the death of king Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz. No doubt he was a great king and truly great leader. It is a tremendous loss and tragedy to the Muslim ummah. We will always remember his dedication and commitment to Muslim ummah specifically to facilitate the Hajj arrangements for millions of pilgrims from all over the world. Ummah has greatly appreciated his personal interests and efforts to expand the Harmain-e-Sharifain in Makkah and Madina. He was a true servant of Harmain-e-Sharifain and it is on his credit to double the size of the Haram in Makkah to 3.5 million square feet to accommodate one million pilgrims to allow them to perform Hajj/Umra in comfort and safety and increase the size of the Prophet’s Mosque in Madina to facilitate about half a million people to pray in the mosque at a time.

‘We will always remember him in our prayers. May Allah almighty rest his soul in peace’ said, Khalid Pervez.

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Hajj Tour Operator Ordered to Pay Compensation

A couple have won a claim against a Hajj tour Operator and brought about calls for new written contracts for travellers. Ayub Bahadur and wife Zahera went to Hajj in January 2004 for four weeks. However the couple missed their return flight and say they were forced to find £536 for a flight back to the UK. This month Teladia Tours and Travel a Birmingham based company was ordered by Blackburn County Court to pay a total of £1536 back to the couple.

However, Mr Haroon Teladia from the company said he had appealed against the decision. Ayub said, "No proper arrangements were made on the day of our return. We ended up arriving only 10 minutes before the departure time thus missing our flight."

Mr Bahadur of Blackburn said he paid over £5,000 for the trip that all Muslims must make at least once in their lifetime. He understood this to include the flight, accomodation, a Hajj draft, a Hajj visa, Ziyarats (sightseeing) of the holy places and all transportation. Mr Bahadur said he gave a lot of thought and consideration before taking legal action against the company. They went to court as a last resort and plan to give the money to charity.

He said he was glad justice had finally been served. "It was more a point of principle and the need to improve the services for future pilgrims that drove me on. "I hope we can all learn from this and move forward. "The British Hajj Foundation leaflet tells us to go to Trading Standards if we are unhappy with the service we receive. When we went to trading standards they asked for a contract.

"The booking of the Hajj is still largely based on trust but I think operators should have to give everything in writing. Pilgrims should not have to ask for this. "This way both the pilgrim and the operator are protected."

Mr Teladia said, "Nobody else on that visit had any problems. We have been involved in providing an efficient service to pilgrims for many years.

"The Saudi authorities put restrictions on what Tour operators can and cannot do. For instance the authorities take away pilgrim's passports when they go on the Hajj. Hajjis have long been campaigning for greater protection from tour operators. Many pilgrims do not complain out of embarrassment and the notion that because you are travelling on the Hajj you should have to put up with a level of hardship.

Salim Loonat of the UK Hajj Forum said, "When problems arise some tour operators are keen to say it is 'the will of Allah' one must do 'sabar' (be patient)."

Lord Adam Patel who is chariman of the Birtish Hajj Committee said, "I have in the past suggested to the Saudi Authorities that they should make written contracts mandatory. Unfortunately they have not which causes a lot of confusion."

"However, pilgrims must be aware that if they are promised something by a tour operator it can become a binding verbal agreement."

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Hajj Pilgrims wary of Bird Flu scare

Fears have grown in anticipation of the fast approaching Hajj, when millions are expected to arrive in Saudi Arabia from nations already heavily affected by the bird flu strain including Turkey and Indonesia.

"We have confidence that if Saudi authorities will discover a sporadic human case of bird flu in Makkah during Hajj, then they will take extreme and immediate actions to protect Hajj pilgrims. But we strongly oppose, the idea of Didier Pittet, Director of Infection Control Programme at Geneva's University Hospitals, that Hajj should be called off, as quoted by Reuters" said, Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK.

All necessary precautions have been taken by the Saudi authorities to prevent an outbreak of Avian Flu. The authorities have tightened checks on people coming into the country from land and air entries and also centres in three key cities including Jeddah - a key entry point for pilgrims - have been opened to track down bird flu cases. But experts have warned that a global outbreak of bird flu pandemic is likely inevitable.

Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK (A.B.H.), the only hajj specific organisation in UK, has already raised their concerns to the Secretary of State for Health, Patricia Hewitt and Chief Medical Officer, Sir Liam Donaldson, about the safety of over 30,000 British Hajj pilgrims, who are travelling to Saudi Arabia to perform this years' Hajj.

The Association has also strongly urged to all British Hajj pilgrims that they should be heedful and take appropriate precautions to minimize their exposure to any health hazards during this year's Hajj.

The Association of British Hujjaj (ABH) is a registered charity and the only Hajj specific national organisation in this country working for the welfare and well-being of British Hajj/Umrah pilgrims. The executive committee of A.B.H is comprised of professionals, including a team of senior doctors who are committed to provide services to noble and humanitarian causes.

November 24, 2005

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British Muslims express their deepest sorrow and sadness at Hajj tragedy.

Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK express its deepest sorrow and sadness at the death of over 400 Hajj Pilgrims in Mina, Saudi Arabia during hajj.

 “We would like to send our condolence and deepest sympathies to families, friends and relative of all those deceased pilgrims including to the family of Aamar from Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham and of Fiaz Haque from London area. It’s highly regrettable that despite making every efforts by the Saudi Government to facilitate and help over two million Pilgrims to perform a safe Hajj in best possible manners, tragic incidents are still taking place. Its extremely unfortunate and a matter of great concern that substantial losses to innocent human lives during Hajj is occurring almost every year”, said, Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK, the only Hajj Specific National organisation in the United Kingdom.

 He continued, “We strongly urge Government of Saudi Arabia and Governments from all over the Muslim World, the lesson should be learnt from this tragedy and prepare a comprehensive plan to protect loss of innocent human lives, specific consideration should be given to the ritual of stoning in Mina area. Spending millions to improve the stoning area by Saudi Government to prevent occurring of tragic accidents have not proven to be successful. ”

 It is extremely vital that Muslim Nations should address the real cause of these tragic incidents. They need to change the attitude and behaviour of prospective Hajj Pilgrims by raising their awareness of safety issues. Education & training should be made compulsory for all prospective hajj pilgrims to enable them to perform a safe hajj. Every effort should be made by the Saudi Arabia and the Muslim Nations to reduce the number of pilgrims substantially, who perform hajj each year.

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Awareness Culture Is Vital For The Safety Of Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims

Main Category: Public Health News
Article Date: 12 Jun 2006 - 0:00am (PDT)

Awareness culture is vital for the safety of Hajj/Umrah pilgrims
A team of Senior British Doctors from Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK [ABH], the only National Hajj Specific Organisation, welcomes the recent initiative taken by the Saudi Ministry of Health, asking their embassies overseas to ensure that all prospective pilgrims must be vaccinated and protected against infectious diseases such as yellow fever, meningitis, polio and influenza before issuing them entry visa.

“However, it has come to our knowledge that some Hajj/Umrah tour operators and travel agents are obtaining visa from the embassy without producing proper certificates against protection of meningitis, or any other infectious diseases, for their clients. As a result a substantial number of pilgrims are travelling without any protection from meningitis. Consequently, these pilgrims and their family members are at a high risk to contract meningitis or other infectious disease. Strict implementation of Saudi Health Ministry's guidelines is, therefore extremely vital to help and protect millions of pilgrims in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia.” said the Doctors in their joint-statement.

They continued, “Every year over 50,000 British Hajj/ Umrah pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia. Unfortunately, a substantial number of these pilgrims experience significant problems due to ignorance and lack of pre travel Health & Safety education. The tragic death of over 20 returnee Hajj Pilgrims after contracting Meningitis during the Hajj in recent years is a matter of great concern. Over two million people converge in Makkah from all over the world during the Hajj, in such crowded environment the British pilgrims as well are at extra risk of contracting infections diseases including Meningitis . The welfare and wellbeing of British Hajj/Umrah pilgrims, is a high priority, which only can be achieved through pre travel health education and by increasing their awareness of Health & Safety issues. Culture of awareness will also help NHS to make substantial savings in NHS resources by preventing need for hospitalisation of returnees and avoidance of spread of infectious diseases in the community. Therefore we strongly urge, Health Authorities and PCTs to look into their statutory responsibilities to ensure the welfare and wellbeing of British Pilgrims and international travellers from their areas. Every effort should be made to reduce inequalities in health for disadvantaged groups and communities by ensuring that much needed resources are targeted at these community groups.

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National Hajj & Umra (Health & Safety) Awareness week launch at House of Lords.

‘It is vital that Hajj pilgrims should get training and education and there should be clear guidelines to enable them to perform a safe Hajj and to help and protect them from hardship and difficulties,’ said Lord Philip Hunt, Minister for Department of Work and Pension. He was speaking at the launch of National Hajj & Umra Awareness week at the House of Lords organised by the Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK, the only Hajj specific national organisation. He also expressed deep sorrow at the death of three pilgrims in the last year hajj, he hoped that the Hajj & Umra awareness program launched by the association would be instrumental in creating awareness among the Hujjaj about safety and health matters. It would also help them understand problems besides being useful in resolving the same.

Lord Nazir Ahmed, patron of the association, declared the awareness week extremely important as well. ‘Lack of awareness and ignorance of pre-travel health and safety education among the British Hajj/Umra pilgrims is a big problem. The Hujjaj also lack planning. They do not make in-time preparations for Hajj and Umra which results in many difficulties for pilgrims. It is wrong to hold Saudi authorities responsible for every issue that arises in these circumstances.’
 
He added that, ‘On the initiative of the Association of British Hujjaj, the Foreign Office agreed to help British Hajj pilgrims at Makkah during Hajj and I led the first ever British Hajj delegation to Makkah. This Hajj delegation has been serving pilgrims since then. Association of British Hujjaj is doing an excellent job to promote awareness of health and safety issues to ensure welfare and well being of British Hajjis.’

Executive members of the Association, Dr. Syed Raza Hussain and Dr. Rasheed Bhatti briefed those present about the measures that the Association is taking to extend health and safety educational programmes, including prevention from meningitis. They also said that the Association is making every effort to raise awareness of these issues amongst the pilgrims through seminars, conferences and high profile publicity campaigns through press and media, producing and distributing informative literature.

‘It is an honour for our government to provide facilities to the pilgrims of the world,’ said Senior diplomat of Saudi Arabia Hazaah al-Ashar. ‘Soon after the end of one Hajj, we start preparations for the Hajj of next year. The Saudi press, media and other bodies also launch various programmes to make the pilgrims aware about the matters related to Hajj and Umra. These programmes are held in different languages. We welcome suggestions about the arrangements of Hajj.’ He added that the steps taken by the association to help the pilgrims are really praise worthy. Diplomats of Iran, Kuwait and other countries as well as other community dignitaries also spoke on the occasion.

For further information please contact:

Khalid Pervez  _ General Secretary
Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK
Tel: 0121-440-1700  Email:abh12@btconnect.com

Government Minister Lord Phil Hunt, Lord Nazir Ahmed, Senior Saudi Diplomat Hazzah Al-Ashar, Khalid Pervez (General Secretary) and Executive Members of A.B.H, other Senior Muslim Diplomats at the Launch of Hajj & Umra (Health & Safety) Awareness Week at the House of Lords.

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Exploitation and opression of British Hajj travellers must be brought to an end.

The Muslim community in Britain expresses outrage about the treatment of over 50,000 British citizens who travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj & Umrah every year. Many of these travellers experience extreme hardship and mental anguish at the hands of some unscrupulous tour operators and travel agents who through their malpractices exploit them both financially and mentally.

Petition
Lord Nazir Ahmed, Lord Phil Hunt (Minister of Health), Dr.Rasheed Bhatti, Khalid Pervez, Dr. Syed Raza Hussain and Sarfaraz Madni launching the ABH petition.

“It is scandalous that some tour operators sell their travel package and then become elusive and abandon the travellers, leaving them out of pocket and unable to arrange their documentation in time for their Hajj journey. Some of the tour operators exploited those affected Hajj pilgrims by charging extortionate prices for Hajj visas that were meant to be free of cost. Also, some travel agents sold travel tickets to Saudi Arabia at premium prices and in some instances nearly doubled the cost. It is an insult to injury that a large number of tour operators do not provide the quality services i.e. accommodation, transport and other amenities during the Hajj period as promised by them in UK” said Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH). 

ABH, the only National Hajj & Umrah specific organisation and registered charity has launched a petition with the help of Lord Phillip Hunt (Health Minister), Lord Ahmed of Rotherham, Steve McCabe MP, councillors and community dignitaries at an event organised by the association last week, strongly urging the various government departments to take a robust stance in this situation and to take decisive action (together with the Saudi Authorities) to help eradicate the malpractices and oppression of innocent British citizens.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham said during his address to the audience at the event, “When you have paid the best price there is no reason why you don’t get the best service and those who don’t provide you that service are criminals and should be prosecuted in this country and banned from Saudi Arabia”.

 “I was deeply concerned to hear about the reports of the unscrupulous travel agents and tour operators, I find that totally unacceptable! I can promise to ensure that these matters are discussed with my colleagues in the foreign office and the DTI” said Lord Phillip Hunt.

Steve McCabe (MP Birmingham) assured the community that “Later this year we will be bringing forward a consumer protection and an estate agent regulation bill and that we should now be looking from your experiences, if there is any scope within that legislation to address some of the problems that people have encountered”.

ABH strongly urges the members of community and community organisations to support this petition to make greater impact on the governments to secure and protect the human rights of its citizens. This petition can also be signed online via ABH website.

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Letter from FCO Minister

31 January 2007

 

Khalid Pervez
Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK
Southside Centre
249 Ladypool Road
Birmingham
B12 8LF

FCO
Foreign &
Commonwealth Office
London SW1A 2AH
From The Minister of State

Dear Mr. Pervez,

Thank you for your letter of 11 January inviting me to a reception for the returnee British Hajj pilgrims on Saturday 3 February in Birmingham.

In your letter you mention the difficulties experienced by British pilgrims due to unscrupulous tour operators and travel agents and to the Hajj visa complications that occurred this year. I am aware of these issues.

Our Ambassador and officials in Saudi Arabia have been in contact with Lord Adam Patel and the Minister of Hajj Dr Fouad bin Abdul Salaam bin Muhammad Al Farsy and are in the process of looking into how to resolve these problems. I will also bring the issue of the regulation of tour operators to the attention of the relevant Ministers in the Department of Trade and Industry and the Department for Transport.

The Foreign & Commonwealth office has worked hard to try and ensure the safely of British Hajj Pilgrims through the Hajj Advisory Group (HAG).

fco_sig

KIM HOWELLS

(Approved by the Minister and signed in his absence by the Private Secretary, Scott Furssedonn Wood)

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Letter from DTI Minister

fco
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
dti
Rt Hon Ian McCartney MP
MINISTER FOR TRADE. INVESTMENT AND FOREIGN AFFAIRS

 

29th January 2007

Khalid Pervez
Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK
Southside Centre
249 Ladypool Road
Birmingham
B12 8LF

 

Re: The Association of British Hujjaj UK Reception

Thank you for your letter of 17 January, invitation me to attend the Association's reception for homecoming Hajj pilgrims on 3 February, at AI-Hijrah School, in Birmingham.

You suggested that I might have used the occasion to assure Hajj pilgrims that the Government and law enforcement authorities will tackle unscrupulous travel agents and tour operators who seek to take advantage of pilgrims. I should like to take this opportunity to provide you and the Association with that assurance.

You do not detail the nature of the exploitation you believe some Hajj pilgrims are subjected to, but I take it from your mention of travel agents and tour operators that you believe that pilgrims can be victims of deception as to the services and arrangements on offer. Such practices are already illegal. Some may amount to criminal offences, while others might provide grounds for pilgrims to seek personal redress through the courts, if necessary. This is an issue to which the local authorities, who enforce criminal legislation which might apply in these circumstances, are clearly alert. I note that the Local Authorities Coordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) issued a warning last October and offered advice to pilgrims. LACORS works to coordinate effective enforcement activity across local authorities.

I wholly endorse their advice:

(i) Ensure the company is ATOL bonded so that your money is protected (Air Tour Organiser's Licenses can be checked on the Civil Aviation Authority's web site - www.caa.co.uk

(ii) Do not make a full payment when booking the trip. Find an operator who will accept a deposit and make the final payment when you have written confirmation that the trip is going ahead. Always get receipts for any financial exchanges.

(iii) Make sure you have a clear itinerary in writing.

(iv) Ask the operator to provide confirmation of flight details and that visas are being processed.

(v) Should the package not meet requirements, LACORS advises that pilgrims should take photos, ensure they have written evidence and contact their local trading standards departments as soon as possible after their return.

I would echo the final point. It is important that disappointed pilgrims bring their evidence and complaints to the attention of their local authority trading standards officers as soon as they can. That way, local trends can be identified and enforcement effort directed to where it will be most successful.

My officials have been assured by Birmingham Trading Standards Department that they stand ready to look into and advise on any complaints or concerns which are brought to their attention. They can be contacted on 0121 303 6031.

Please accept my best wishes for a successful event.

lAN McCARTNEY

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Letter from Lord Mohamed Sheikh

House of Lords
Westminster
London SW1A 0PW
Tel; 020 7219 4542

Lord Mohamed Sheikh

hol_sheikh  

 

Office:
Lygon House
50 London Road
Bromley, Kent BR1 3RA
Tel: 020 8315 5025
Fax: 020 8460 2118
Email: sheikh@camberfordlaw.com 

Mr Khalid Pervez
Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK
Southside Business Centre
249 Ladypool Road
Birmingham
B12 8LF

29th December 2006

 

Dear Pervez Sahib

Assalamualaikum

Having been to Saudi Arabia on six occasions, I do appreciate the need for helping and guiding the British Hajj and Umra pilgrims and the work you undertake in this respect is indeed commendable.

The Hajj will be completed soon but of course there is a continuous need for the work to be undertaken, on my part I will do all I can to render you support and assistance.

I shall be obliged if you could communicate with me when you are next in London in order that we can meet and discuss matters further.

Kindest regards

 

Yours sincerely

lord_sheikh_sig

Lord Mohamed Sheikh

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British overseas travellers warned about health hazards

The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK (A.B.H) launched its pre-travel health & safety campaign to raise awareness amongst British overseas travellers. Senior doctors from A.B.H expressed their extreme concern about the wide spread ignorance amongst overseas travellers of the necessity of taking Health & Safety precautions before and during their visit. A substantial number of these travellers do not take the vaccinations required, and that they are risking their health by not taking the proper preventative measures against the diseases like Meningitis, Malaria and Hepatitis which are potentially life-threatening.
Many cases of Meningitis, Malaria and Hepatitis have been diagnosed in the UK travellers in recent years and deaths from malaria doubled from 2002 to 2003 amongst these travellers. The senior doctors have warned specifically those who plan to travel during this summer holiday season to Saudi Arabia and South Asian countries i.e. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh to take appropriate precautions to minimise their exposure to health hazards. The lack of sanitation and hygiene facilities in these developing countries is a major cause of concern.
“We strongly urge the travellers to speak to their GP, practice nurse or travel clinic up to eight weeks before travelling to get the best advice on protection”, said the doctors in their joint statement.

The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK is a charitable National organisation working for the welfare and wellbeing of the British overseas travellers including Hajj &Umrah pilgrims.

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British Muslim doctors and community organisations denounce all acts of terrorism

A meeting was held to discuss the recent horrific events that took place in Glasgow airport and London city centre, The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK a charitable National organisation along with other British Muslim doctors associations including British Muslim Doctors Association UK, Pakistan Medical Society, Birmingham UK, Nishtarian doctors Society UK, King Edward Medical College Alumni Association of the UK (KEMCA UK) strongly condemned these acts of terrorism which are un-Islamic and totally personal act, because Islam preaches peace, harmony, law and respect for all religions and individual. 

These events sent a shockwave across the Muslim community throughout the country. There is absolutely no justification for such brutal act of killing or inflicting harm on innocent people. We strongly urge all the law abiding citizens regardless of their ethnic origins, colour and creed that they should extend their full co-operation to Law Enforcement authorities to ensure these atrocious acts do not occur again.

The Community strongly believes that their values must also be protected so they can live in peace and harmony in this multicultural and multi-faith society.

The British Muslim Community highly appreciates the stance taken by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown and the government during this crisis. We assure the government of our full support in every step they take to achieve the desired objectives.

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Exploitation of hajj & Umrah pilgrims – a cause of great concern!

The Hajj visa chaos in recent years and the worse exploitation, oppression of Hajj & Umrah pilgrims by the unscrupulous tour operators/travel agent companies and their associates has caused immense distress, hardship and mental agony to a large number of Hajj & Umrah pilgrims and has sent a shockwave across Muslims throughout the world.

The Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims) UK (A.B.H), the only National Hajj specific organisation in the UK has issued a strong warning to the Muslim Ummah that they might have to face a worse situation when arranging their visit to Makkah to perform Hajj or Umrah in the coming years, unless the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and other concerned countries crack down on those corrupt elements who think that rules, regulation, procedure and the law do not apply to them and are responsible for the growing culture of fraudulent, illegal activities, corruption, inhumane and degrading treatment towards pilgrims, which does not have any place in the civilised world.  

“It is an insult to injury that a substantial number of tour and travel companies do not provide the quality services i.e. accommodation, transport and other amenities as promised in their packages sold to pilgrims.” said Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (A.B.H).   

He continued, “Hajj is approaching fast and we are extremely concerned that Hajj & Umrah pilgrims will once again be forced to suffer from distress, mental anguish, hardship and exploitations at the hands of criminals (unscrupulous tour operators/travel companies and their associates)”. Therefore, it is vital that the Muslim Ummah joint the forces with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to make every effort to protect the sanctity, respect and dignity of the guests of Allah. A decisive action must be taken to help eradicate the malpractices and oppression of vulnerable and innocent Hajj & Umrah pilgrims.

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Independent_Logo

Rogue travel agents cheat British pilgrims to Mecca

By Arifa Akbar and Nadeem Badshah
Published: 02 November 2007

A rising number of British Muslims who pay thousands of pounds to make the annual Haj to Mecca are being cheated by rogue travel companies.

Community leaders are warning travellers to the Haj next month to be vigilant after almost 1,000 British pilgrims were conned out of their savings by travel agents and tour operations last year, more than double the number of complaints in previous years, according to the Association of British Hujjaj UK (ABH).

An investigation by Eastern Eye newspaper found that travellers were sent forged airline tickets for non-existent flights, and some were forced to sleep on the floor of cramped rooms despite having paid for five-star hotels.

Khalid Pervez, the general secretary of ABH, said the problem had escalated as unlicensed tour operators sought to cash in. Mr Pervez has sent a petition with 5,000 signatures to the foreign and home offices, demanding action against rogue agents.

"Tour operators and travel agents want to make money through Haj trips. Normally it is a one-man show working from home, he is not licensed. The majority of people who travel are not very literate, people aged 70-plus, who are not fully aware of their rights. They are very easy targets for leaflets with false promises," he said.

Lord Ahmed, who hosted a Haj Awareness Event at the House of Lords this week focusing on rogue travel agents, highlighted the problem, saying that most of the scams were led by travel agents in the south of England.

"Last year was one of the worst because the demand was bigger than supply. Visas are given free by the Saudi authorities but agents are charging £500 to £700 per visa. When people complain, the agent says 'Haj means struggle. You shouldn't complain or your Haj will be void'. That is complete nonsense. Haj means comfort, worship, being in touch with your creator. It is the minority [of agents]. Most of them are south-based. There must be a zero tolerance towards these illegal, unscrupulous agents. People must report them to the police and Trading Standards," he said.

Up to 25,000 British Muslims are estimated to go to Haj this year. More than 80 per cent of them are aged over 65, and many have saved for many years to meet the cost of the trip.

The Foreign Office has launched a website offering advice to British Muslims. Its guidelines include booking airline tickets through a company which holds an Air Travel Organiser's License (Atol), as well as using a tour operator who has been accredited by the Saudi embassy. The Foreign Office also advised that copies of passports and travel insurance policies should be left with family members in Britain, and receipts for airline tickets obtained from travel agents.

Naheed Kayani, who fell victim to a Haj scam, paid £900 to travel to Mecca with her mother and 22-year- old son with a tour operator approved by the Saudi embassy. She said the trip left her traumatised. "We were promised direct return flights to Jeddah, but a week before travel, we were told we have to pay £1,000 more. When we refused, we were sent by chartered plane to Medina and we had to make our own way to Mecca.

"[The agent] would not give us our plane tickets [to London]. We were stranded in Medina for 18 days. My son is a medical student and didn't get the results he expected because he missed 10 days of lectures," she said.

Qaisar Rizvi, 68, also had a bad experience after travelling with a group of 80 people last year. "[The agent] said it was £2,000 if we wanted to go by British Airways and £1,800 with any other airline. We chose BA. My wife stressed that I am a diabetic, I have asthma, and had a heart bypass. When we got to the airport, it was some Italian airline with a small plane. We got to Jeddah airport. We didn't know where to go, where our luggage was. It was absolute chaos.

"We got to the hotel in Mecca and I haven't seen anywhere more dirty. According to [the agent] it would be a five-star hotel. There was waste all over the place. We used our suitcases as tables. The food was really awful."

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Independent_Logo

Ministers warn Muslim pilgrims over rogue travel agents

Tania Branigan, political correspondent
Thursday November 8, 2007

Guardian Unlimited

Ministers are warning the 25,000 British Muslims who will make the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca next month to beware of rogue travel agents, amid concern that conmen are exploiting the religious faithful.

It follows claims that pilgrims had been left without accommodation, visas or flight tickets. In extreme cases, agents simply disappeared with their cash.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is writing to every MP, urging them to publicise the issue in their constituencies, after Muslim organisations warned of the scam.

"Unfortunately for some pilgrims, what should be the occasion of a lifetime is turning into a nightmare. It's not acceptable and we want to put an end to it," said the consumer minister, Gareth Thomas.

"These conmen think that they are above the law because they exploit people who are either unwilling to complain, don't know how to complain - or simply don't realise that they can complain.

"People must give evidence to the police or trading standards so that we can crackdown on these unscrupulous practices. We want to be able to take more action like the successful case in Leicester, where a boss was fined £20,000 for leaving customers in the lurch."

In April this year a travel agent in the city was prosecuted by trading standards after failing to arrange visas for his customers and, in one case, leaving a traveller without accommodation or transport.

Able-bodied Muslims who can afford the trip have a duty to make the pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime. An estimated 2 million participated last year.

The department for business is launching a publicity drive in the Asian media to make pilgrims aware that they have legal rights under the package travel regulations and may be eligible for compensation if a tour operator has failed to honour its contractual obligations.

They are urging people to use tour operators who are accredited by the Saudi embassy and belong to reputable trade organisations such as ABTA.

They have also warned them to agree details of their travel itinerary in writing before paying for their trip - after some pilgrims found they had paid for five-star hotels but ended up in poor quality accommodation.

Khalid Pervez from the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK warned that rogue agents were causing distress and hardship.

He added: "We unanimously condemn the fraudulent, illegal activities, corruption, inhumane and degrading treatment from the rogue Hajj & Umrah tour operators who think that rules, regulation, procedure and the law do not apply to them.

"All Hajj & Umrah tour operators and travel agents must abide by the law to safeguard vulnerable British Hajj travellers."

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

http://www.guardian.co.uk/religion/Story/0,,2207476,00.html

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Independent_Logo

Perform Rituals in Orderly Manner, Pilgrims Told
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News —

JEDDAH, 1 December 2007 — Sheikh Saud Al-Shuraim, an imam of the Grand Mosque in Makkah, has called upon pilgrims to perform their Haj duties and other rituals in an orderly manner without causing harm or discomfort to fellow pilgrims.
Delivering Friday sermon to the hundreds of thousands of faithful who packed the mosque complex, the imam also urged pilgrims to keep away from activities that would spoil their Haj, such as rivalry and fighting or blocking pathways.
“During his farewell Haj, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) instructed Omar Al-Farouk (may Go be pleased with him) not to cause harm to others while kissing the Black Stone (at the Holy Kaaba). All faithful must follow this instruction and behave nicely and mercifully with other pilgrims while performing their rituals,” Sheikh Shuraim said.
More than 500,000 pilgrims from different parts of the world have already arrived for the Haj, which is scheduled to begin on Dec. 18. Approximately 2.5 million faithful are expected to perform Haj this year.
“Pilgrims should respect the feelings and rights of others. As the Prophet had once said kindness makes things beautiful and its absence discredits them,” Sheikh Shuraim said, insisting that kindness was essential for worship to attain perfection.
The imam also reminded the faithful that Islam does not force Muslims to do something that they cannot do.
“The Prophet used to advise preachers that they should make things easy for people,” he said, but urged those who give religious rulings (fatwas) with this in mind should base their opinions on sound evidence.
The imam was touching on an important point in his keynote address. Many pilgrims, out of ignorance, perform their rituals in a disorderly manner, pushing other pilgrims and not respecting the feelings of others. This again emphasizes the need for enhancing awareness of pilgrims.
The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) in the United Kingdom, meanwhile, called upon Saudi authorities and Muslim communities across the world that creating an awareness culture among pilgrims was vital to avoid tragedies during Haj.
“They should make education and training programs compulsory for all prospective Haj and Umrah pilgrims to ensure that they all perform the pilgrimage in a safe and best possible manner,” the association said in a statement. Every year about 25,000 British Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Haj and Umrah.
“Unfortunately there is accumulated evidence that the British pilgrims experience significant problems due to ignorance and lack of awareness,” the statement said.

The association recently organized a Haj camp as part of its efforts to promote awareness among British pilgrims.

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Letter from Secretary of State for Health

From the Rt Hon Alan Johnson MP
Secretary of State for Health

 

Mr. Khalid Pervez
General Secretary
Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK
Southside Centre
249 Ladypool Road
Birmingham, B12 8LF

Logo_Secretary of State for Health

Richmond House
79 White Hall
London
SW1A 2NS

27 July 2007

Dear Mr. Pervez,

Thank you very much for your kind letter congratulating me on my appointment as Secretary of State for Health.

It is an privilege-and a dauting one -to take on this great responsibility. But I am delighted to have been given the opportunity by the Prime Minister to build on the reforms put in place by Patricia Hewitt.

Your press release was extremely well judged. Keep up the good work.

Yours Seincerely
Sig. Secretary of State for Health
ALAN JOHNSON

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Hajj Pilgrimage increases Tolerance: Report

BIRMINGHAM: The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH) the only Hajj specific and charitable organization working for the welfare and well being of British Hajj pilgrims welcome the study report ‘Estimating the impact of the Hajj: Religion and Tolerance in Islam’s Global Gathering’ produced by Harvard University – John F. Kennedy School of Government –America.
According to the findings and evidence produced from this report, Hajj pilgrimage increases tolerance amongst pilgrims and these pilgrims return with more positive views towards people from other countries. Contrary to some theories that Hajj may help spread radical views.
The findings also suggest that Hajj makes pilgrims more peacefully inclines, and increased tolerance extends to adherents of other religions. Hajj pilgrims also show more positive views towards other nationalities and social groups.
The findings of the evidence produced in this report suggest that during Hajj, the pilgrim imbibes ethical and educational lessons which reduce his faults. He inquires patience through hardship. He becomes humble, generous and tender. He renounces lying, backbiting, animosity and pride. He learns from his journey through mixing with others. Within him, positive social tendencies grow and morals are refined.

The scholars from The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) emphasise that “During Hajj millions of pilgrims from all over the world, enter into a state of total sanctity that prevents them from violating the life of safety of any human being. Hajj also helps pilgrims to break the barriers of race, language, ethnicity and colour that divide them and helps them to create unity amongst humanity”.

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British Muslims welcome conviction of culprits forging Hajj visas

The Association of British Hujjaj (A.B.H.) U.K welcomes an Egyptian Courts judgement convicting three culprits for their role in forging Hajj visas, and sentenced them for a period of three years with labour. These three were arrested during last year's Hajj season after being accused of forging Hajj visas and selling them to a group of prospective Hajj Pilgrims. These pilgrims were detained while they were making the procedures of their travel to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for performing Hajj.

The Association of British Hujjaj (A.B.H.) express their grave concern that every year a substantial number of prospective Hajj & Umrah Pilgrims suffer extreme hardship, difficulty, mental anguish and financial exploitations at the hands of unscrupulous and rogue Hajj tour and travel operators, throughout the world. The situation has worsened significantly in the last few years, therefore the Association of British Hujjaj (A.B.H) U.K strongly urge all the concerned governments and specifically the government of the kingdom of Saudi Arabia to crack down on those who are responsible for the growing culture of immoral and illegal practices in Hajj/Umrah travel and tour industry.

It is extremely vital not to ignore the plight of pilgrims and to set up permanent arrangements to help and protect them by eliminating the malpractice and fraudulent activities of unscrupulous travel and tour operators in order to let pilgrims perform Hajj & Umrah in peace and harmony.

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U.K. Government Hosts Summit to Stop Exploitation of Hajj Pilgrims

July 16, 2008

The Government is today hosting a summit to tackle problems faced by British Muslims making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Travel operators, community groups and consumer organizations will discuss with the Government how to protect people from rogue travel agents.

In recent years many pilgrims have been ripped off by a variety of scams, including:

* Paying for a five star hotel, but getting a poor quality cramped room
* Visas and flight tickets not arriving
* Last minute changes to flights
* In extreme cases agents are simply disappearing - taking pilgrims’ money with them

Consumer Minister Gareth Thomas said:

“Unfortunately, for some pilgrims what should be the occasion of a lifetime is turning into a nightmare. It’s not acceptable and we want to put an end to it. “We need to help pilgrims avoid booking with rogue travel agents and to get redress when they fall foul of those who break the law.

“Pilgrims who are defrauded by rogue travel operators must complain to the Police or Trading Standards, so we can take action to bring the criminals to justice.

“It is encouraging for the UK’s annual 25,000 Hajj pilgrims that so many people involved have come together today to find solutions.”

Hajj pilgrims from the UK have legal rights under the Package Travel Regulations and may be eligible for compensation if a tour operator has failed to honor its contractual obligations.

To help avoid rogue traders, pilgrims are advised to:

* Check the package operator holds an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL)
* Consider booking with a company that has been independently recommended by friends or family
* Keep documents such as contracts, invoices and letters in a safe place, as this helps with redress if things go wrong

Source: Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Available from: www.netnewspublisher.com

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Warning of rogue tour operators

Muslims making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca - the Hajj - are being warned by Trading Standards to be on their guard for unscrupulous tour operators.

Around 50,000 British Muslims make the Hajj every year. Many save for years to make the journey and more than 80 per cent of travellers are aged over 65.

Trading Standards in Birmingham and the wider Midlands are again working with the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH) to raise awareness of tour companies that operate unfair or illegal practices.

Following a similar warning last year, Trading Standards received a number of complaints which are being investigated.

Councillor Neil Eustace, Chair of the Public Protection Committee, said: "Some unscrupulous tour operators target the Muslim community, claiming they specialise in organising Hajj. They often don't have an air tours operators licence and are therefore breaking UK law and not providing legal protection for travellers.

"It is a disgrace that these rogue travel agents are preying on vulnerable people at such an important time in their lives and we will do everything we can to protect these travellers.

"Our advice to anyone contemplating making the Hajj is that there are many legitimate tour operators providing this service, so if anything does go wrong there are agreed procedures and redress schemes available."

Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of ABH, said: "I welcome the initiative taken by Trading Standards to protect vulnerable, elderly and sick Hajj travellers who have been suffering from extreme exploitation and mental anguish at the hands of rogue tour operators.

"It is vital that all Hajj tour and travel operators are made to comply with Package Travel Regulations 1992, which requires them to provide a written contract of the package detailing travel and accommodation to their clients, and that the tour operators must not supply any misleading information to pilgrims regarding travel, accommodation and other arrangements."

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Warning over Hajj pilgrimage rip-offs

The government has warned British Muslims embarking on the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia this year to be on their guard against scams and rip-offs. Up to 50,000 Britons make the pilgrimage each year, but ministers have become concerned with the growing problem of unscrupulous travel agents cashing in on religious devotion.

Hotel and flight deals can cost more than £3,000, and every year hundreds fall victim to a variety of scams: paying for a five-star hotel near the Masjid al-Haram (the mosque that is a focal point of the event), but getting a tiny room far from the centre of Mecca; visas and flight tickets not arriving; and in extreme cases agents disappearing with their money.

Consumer affairs minister Gareth Thomas convened a conference of travel agents, community groups and consumer organisations last month, and told them that the government aimed to 'help pilgrims avoid booking with rogue travel agents, and to get redress when they fall foul of those who break the law'.

The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is planning a poster campaign in community centres and mosques aimed at improving awareness of consumer rights, and stressing the need to check that a tour operator to December's Hajj holds an Air Travel Organiser's Licence (Atol), that any company booked with is a member of a trade organisation such as Abta and to keep all documents such as contracts and invoices in case of later problems.

One of the groups that flagged up the problem, the Association of British Hujjaj, welcomed the move, saying the 'vast majority' of Hajj travel operators were one-man operations and 'simply opportunists who are looking for monetary gain by taking advantage of the vulnerable'. Last year, it handed a petition signed by 5,000 Hajj travellers to the government.

Dr Nadim Nayyar, from Liversedge in West Yorkshire, booked last year through a Luton-based firm, Go4 Hajj. His party of nine paid for a luxury package costing £32,000. Just 48 hours before they were due to depart, Nayyar discovered their Saudi Arabian visas had not been obtained by the company. 'Our Hajj was over. I felt totally devastated,' he said.

'The pre-Hajj seminar, where we were supposed to meet other travellers, kept on getting delayed. Then we found that our flights had been altered from scheduled to chartered, changing in Bahrain. Then we found out they couldn't get the five-star hotels they had promised, and we were being downgraded.'

After learning that their trip was cancelled, Nayyar and 60 other pilgrims who had been let down were told the firm had no assets left to refund them, although he eventually recovered his money through Go4 Hajj's Atol cover.

'This is not just a package holiday, but an obligatory religious visit, so people tend to be far too trusting,' said Nayyar. 'I think that's where we fell down.'

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Pilgrims urged to take preventative measures

By Asian Image reporter

British pilgrims going on the annual Hajj are being urged to take preventative measures against diseases.

Lord Philip Hunt OBE, Government Minister was addressing a Pre Hajj Health & Safety seminar organised by The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK in Birmingham to raise awareness of health and safety issues amongst Hajj pilgrims.

Lord Ahmed of Rotherham was given the Meningitis Vaccination in front of prospective pilgrims to highlight the importance of being vaccinated against Meningitis.

He also urged the prospective Hajj pilgrims “that they must make sure they get vaccinated against Meningitis before leaving for Hajj.”

Senior doctors from ABH, Dr Rashid Bhatti and Dr Sayed Raza Hussain have warned all prospective pilgrims that they should safeguard against the additional risks to their health such as Meningitis, Hepatitis and other communicable diseases due to the over crowding at the ceremonies, accommodation sites and public transport.

Dr Sayed Raza Hussain said, “The communicable diseases can be transmitted through direct person-to-person contact with droplets of nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals.

"Close and prolonged contact (e.g. sneezing and coughing on someone, etc.) facilitates the spread of infection.

"The most common symptoms specifically for meningitis are stiff neck, high fever, and sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting.

"Therefore, it is vital that all travellers must get ‘quadrivalent meningococcal’ vaccine (ACWY vac) before leaving for Saudi Arabia.

"A valid certificate for the Meningitis vaccine from your doctor is compulsory in order to obtain a visa from the Saudi Embassy.”

Dr Rashid Bhatti advised pilgrims “Some barbers around the Holy places pose a risk of spreading diseases such as Hepatitis and other blood-borne pathogens by using the same razors repeatedly.” He also warned pilgrims to be “aware of the risk of using the services provided by these barbers and must insist that the barbers use disposable razors to shave.”

A large number of pilgrims were in attendance along with Steve McCabe MP, John Hemming MP, Lord Mayor of Birmingham, representatives from various Government departments and community dignitaries from all walks of life.

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Hajji Camp For Prospective British Hajj Pilgrims- A Huge Success!!

The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK a national Hajj specific voluntary organisation, held a Hajji Camp over the weekend which was broadcast live throughout the UK and in over 160 countries worldwide. The purpose of this event was to give advice to prospective British Hajj pilgrims and raise their awareness of pre travel health and safety issues to enable them to perform a safe Hajj pilgrim in the best possible manner.

Every year, over 25,000 British Hajj Pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj.  A substantial number of these Hajj pilgrims suffer hardship and difficulties’ including the tragic loss of human lives as a result of stampedes, traffic accidents and outbreaks of Meningitis and other infectious diseases. 

Lord Phil Hunt OBE, Deputy Leader of the House and Government Minister, during his address to the prospective pilgrims paid “tribute to the Association of British Hujjaj.” He further went on to say that “so much progress has been made very much due to the Association and the tremendous work it has done. First of all for raising the attention of government to the issues that have to be faced but secondly its campaign on health and safety awareness amongst many pilgrims going back to 1998.” He also said that “I find it outrageous that on what should be a profoundly significant event in anyone’s life going on pilgrimage, should be undermined by a small minority of unscrupulous tour operators.” He urged the prospective pilgrims to report any violation of tour and travel legislations by unscrupulous tour and travel operators and send their complaints to the local trading standards for further investigation.

The Patron of The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK, Lord Nazir Ahmed of Rotherham during his address at the event expressed “how proud I am to be here again supporting the work of The Association of British Hujjaj. This is a unique conference.  This is probably the only type of conference in the whole of the Western World, when you have got Government Departments, politicians, the local community, the imams, the scholars and doctors who come and give advice to the community and they don’t just do it once.  They do it from the House of Lords and House of Commons. They remind the community and prospective pilgrims annually on the responsibility that they have.” He thanked the Government and its department for their support and he strongly condemned unscrupulous and rogue tour and travel operators and said, “When you are paying the best price, you should also expect the highest standards from those people as well!” Lord Ahmed was given the Meningitis vaccination by Dr Sayed Raza Hussain from ABH in front of prospective Hajj pilgrims to highlight the importance of getting vaccinated against Meningitis before going for Hajj.

The event turned out to be a huge success with a large number of prospective pilgrims along with community dignitaries from all walks of life were in attendance. Lord Mayor of Birmingham Cllr Abdul Rashid, Steve McCabe MP Hall Green, Birmingham, John Hemming MP Yardley, Birmingham also addressed the prospective Hajj pilgrims and assured their support on the issues that were raised. Senior officials from Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Trading Standards also briefed the participants through their presentations on the ‘Package Travel Regulations (PTRs) 1992’ and participants were urged to keep all their documents provided by their tour operators and to make photographic evidence in case their tour/travel operator does not comply with their contractual commitments.  Maqsood Ahmed from the Race, Faith and Cohesion Directorate, Communities and Local Government department also participated at this event and ABH on behalf of the community acknowledges all its help and support.

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Hajj scam sends shockwaves

The Asian News

A HAJJ tour operator has left 300 prospective pilgrims out of pocket after fleeing with over a million pounds it has been claimed.

The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK said the London based tour operator has left people angry and distraught following the scam and have said they have been "disgusted" that someone could take advantage of vulnerable and innocent people including the sick and elderly.

The Association has written to the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and Members of House of Lords and MPs strongly urging them to help the distressed victims and protect prospective British Hajj pilgrims by taking decisive action to crack down and eradicate unscrupulous rogue tour and travel operators from the Hajj travel industry.

A spokesperson said: "We strongly urge all community organisations to make every effort to protect the sanctity of Hajj and Umrah.

"The pilgrims need to be protected from the worsening situation of exploitation and fraudulent activities by unscrupulous and rogue travel/tour operators."

The Metropolitan Police have set up a helpline for all those who have been a victim of this crime. To report an incident or to gain updates call 0208 217 4947 or contact The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK on 0121 440 1700 for further help and advice.

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British Muslims Congratulate Ummah and Pilgrims on a Safe Hajj

The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK (ABH), a National Hajj specific organisation working for the welfare and wellbeing of Hajj/Umrah pilgrims, congratulates the Muslim Ummah and millions of pilgrims from all over the world on performing a safe Hajj this year. The Muslim community expresses its delight and satisfaction that there have been no major incidents or tragedies reported during this year’s Hajj.

“All the credit goes to The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah and the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for all their hard work by providing the best level of services to ensure the safety and welfare of the Guests of Allah.” Said Khalid Pervez, General Secretary of ABH.

 Unfortunately there is accumulated evidence that Hajj pilgrims experience significant difficulties and problems due to ignorance, lack of awareness of pre-travel Health & Safety precautions and understanding the needs of good preparation for the journey to perform Hajj & Umrah. Therefore, it is vital to avoid any future tragedies; we must make every effort to promote an awareness culture amongst prospective Hajj/Umrah pilgrims.  

A Hajj training course can be devised in consultation with Religious Scholars and Health & Safety experts from the Muslim world. This training course should be made compulsory for every prospective Hajj pilgrim. All relevant Governments/Authorities must ensure that all prospective pilgrims from their country are being trained and educated to the requirements of this course in order to enable them to perform the Hajj in the safest and best possible manner.

ABH expresses its grave concern about the dismal situation of unprofessional conduct by certain Hajj tour and travel companies from many countries during pre Hajj arrangements for prospective Hajj pilgrims. ABH also condemns in the strongest terms the growing culture of fraudulent and illegal activities which cause severe hardship and difficulties to the prospective Hajj pilgrims.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and relevant governments all over the world are strongly urged to take appropriate action to protect the vulnerable and innocent including the sick and elderly from being exploited and suffering from pain and misery. There is a desperate need to set up a independent, international organisation under the umbrella of Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) to address these Hajj related issues that are affecting millions of people from all over the world every year.

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Hajj Pilgrims (UK Tour Operators)

rg

Roger Godsiff MP
Member of Parliament for Birmingham Sparkbrook and Small Heath
House of Commons, London SW1A OAA

25 Mar 2009

Mr. Roger Godsiff (Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath) (Lab): I am grateful to have the opportunity to raise this issue, which is of particular importance to many Muslims in my constituency. I extend a warm welcome to my good friend, my hon. Friend the Member for Watford (Claire Ward), who has been asked by the Government to respond to the debate.

The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world. Making the pilgrimage—the Hajj—is the fifth pillar of Islam, and an obligation rests on all Muslims to carry out that pilgrimage at least once in their lifetime, providing that they are fit enough to do so and can afford to. For Muslims, the Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people. It takes place over a four-day period in late November or December, depending on the Islamic calendar.

Every year, more than 150,000 British Muslim pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia as part of the 1.7 million Muslims who go there from all over the world. The Hajj pilgrimage is greatly looked forward to in the Muslim world and should be a time of enjoyment and self-fulfilment. However, for some British Muslims, the experience turns into an expensive disaster due to the activities of rogue travel operators, who either fraudulently take money from clients and disappear, or promise a five-star package pilgrimage that turns out to be nothing of the kind. Sadly, many of the people who have been ripped off by rogue travel agencies come from my constituency.

For example, in November 2008, one of my constituents handed over a cheque for £4,500 to the owner of Qibla travel. The cheque was cashed and my constituent, who was paying for his mother and father to go on the Hajj, was told that they would fly out on a specific flight. Just before they were due to leave, they were told that the owner of Qibla travel had disappeared with the money and passports, which he said he needed in order to get the visa put in them. No flight existed and no visa applications were made. Although that incident has been the subject of a police investigation—I am pleased to say that the passports have been returned—it is not an isolated incident. Another example is that of a company that was paid £10,000 by a family to make arrangements for them to go on the Hajj pilgrimage. Again, the flights and bookings never materialised.

The Foreign Office has set up a special unit to deal with British pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj festival, which is greatly appreciated by the Muslim community. It has worked with organisations such as the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK, whose general secretary, Khalid Pervez, operates from offices in my constituency. Advice is offered to would-be pilgrims by the Foreign Office, by the association and by officers from Birmingham city council’s trading standards department, who have been particularly helpful in giving advice to pilgrims and in trying to assist victims of rogue travel operators.
The problem, however, is that many people who go on the Hajj pilgrimage feel more comfortable dealing with travel agencies run by members of their own community, whom they believe, as Muslims, will understand more clearly what the pilgrimage is about and what is required. The average cost of a pilgrimage is £2,500 per person, so there is a strong inclination to look for the cheapest deal on offer.

The Package Travel Regulations 1992 oblige any operator who offers a package tour combined with air travel to have an air traffic organiser’s licence—ATOL. That provides some protection so that passengers whose travel agent goes into liquidation or defaults on its obligations can be refunded or flown home. The Association of British Travel Agents—ABTA—is a trade organisation. Although it offers a degree of protection for customers and travel agents that are members of ABTA should they go bust, there is no obligation on travel agents to be a member of that organisation.

Many of the clients who seek to go on the Hajj pilgrimage are not aware of the Package Travel Regulations and do not know the rules and regulations regarding air traffic organiser’s licences. They are unaware of the status of ABTA. Furthermore, if the accommodation that is allegedly being booked is separate from a scheduled flight, there is ambiguity as to whether the flight and separate accommodation are covered by ATOL. The loophole allows rogue travel operators not only to default in terms of promised scheduled flights, but also to give inflated promises about the quality of the accommodation that will be provided during the stay in Saudi Arabia. The pilgrims are in a position to complain only once they return to the United Kingdom, but by then, the rogue travel operator has often ceased trading or disappeared.

A feeling exists within the Muslim community that, although the Foreign Office is trying to be helpful in looking after the interests of Hajj pilgrims and liaising with the Saudi Arabian Government to ensure that British Muslims are properly treated while in that county, the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has a “soft” approach to the problem.

The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK has made clear its belief that all travel agents should be members of ABTA and should be required to provide a bond to that organisation to be used as compensation for travellers who are given inferior accommodation or arrangements to those promised when the booking was made. It is aware that a large number of small tour operators in Birmingham—and in other parts of the country, such as Watford—might have difficulty in meeting the stringent requirements laid down by ABTA. However, it believes that if such stringent regulations result in a number of small tour operators going out of business, it will be a price worth paying to ensure that some of the most blatant abuses that pilgrims have suffered are no longer tolerated. If such abuses do happen, compensation could be paid and the operator can be deregistered by ABTA, which, in effect, would mean that it was forced out of business. Although the voluntary approach of encouraging tour operators and travel agents to become members of ABTA has resulted in more Hajj tour operators registering, there are still many who have not done so. Rogue elements who intend to deceive trusting clients will obviously not seek to register.

Through the consumer affairs Minister, the Government have made it clear that they want to help pilgrims avoid booking with rogue travel agents. They have said that pilgrims should book with “a member of ABTA or other recognised trade organisation.”

However, the rip-off continues and for some, a once-in-a-lifetime experience is turned into a huge, expensive disappointment. The DBERR website claims that it leads the better regulation agenda; I contend that this area needs better regulation. The Muslim community in this country would strongly welcome a Government commitment to considering what further regulation and legislation could be enacted to address the problem of unscrupulous travel agents.

Some people might say that individual would-be pilgrims should take responsibility for whom they booked with, and that further regulation would be another step towards a nanny state, but I would remind them that the Government commendably introduced a scheme in response to widespread concern within the Muslim community about rogue immigration advisers who were misleading people about immigration matters and ripping them off. The Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 forced anyone who was taking money for giving immigration advice to be registered with the newly created Immigration Services Commission. Section 91 of the Act made it a criminal offence, punishable by a fine and/or imprisonment, to provide immigration advice or services in contravention of the scheme. The Government then were able to recognise that the growing Muslim population in the UK was vulnerable to being ripped off by rogue immigration advisers, and took welcome steps to address that problem, so why can this Government not recognise the vulnerability of the Muslim community to rogue travel agents, and take steps to strengthen the regulations and laws?

The Under-Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, my hon. Friend the Member for Dudley, South (Ian Pearson), who should have replied to the debate, has more pressing affairs of state to attend to today. However, this short debate will be enhanced by his absence, because his most intelligent, charming and delightful replacement, my hon. Friend the Member for Watford, knows this issue well, as she, too, has a sizeable Muslim community in her constituency. I therefore hope that she will take this unusual opportunity to liberate herself of the departmental brief that she has been given and to speak from the heart about the problems being caused in her Muslim community by rogue travel agents. I hope that she will agree with—or perhaps be persuaded or even enticed by—me and the Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK regarding how this problem should be addressed. If she consigned the departmental position to the waste bin, abandoned her brief and bravely spoke out, she would rightly earn the thanks and continued support of the Muslim community in Watford and the rest of the country.

11.13 am

Vice-Chamberlain of Her Majesty's Household (Claire Ward):
I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath (Mr. Godsiff) on securing the debate and on taking this opportunity to raise awareness in the House about problems within this sector. As he has said, I know about the issue from my constituency work. I know that he has raised concerns about the matter in the past and that he fights hard for his constituents—not only his Muslim constituents, as in this case, but those across the board.

I am grateful to have this opportunity to outline the action that the Government have taken in the two years since they learned of the problems being experienced by Hajj pilgrims. The Government take this matter very seriously, and we have been saddened to learn of the suffering and inconvenience experienced by Hajj pilgrims at the hands of rogue tour operators in the UK. My hon. Friend has mentioned one incident concerning Qibla travel, which is, as he has said, under police investigation—and rightly so. We hope that there will be a good outcome for most of his constituents who have suffered in that case.

The problem is particularly pernicious given that the Hajj and Umrah are a religious obligation on Muslims, for many of whom those journeys are the trip of a lifetime and cost a considerable amount of money. In the past two years, my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Development and Consumer Affairs and his officials have been working with colleagues from other Departments and the trading standards service with a view to encouraging better practice in the Hajj travel industry. Importantly, they have also been raising pilgrims’ awareness about what they should expect of package organisers, about their rights of redress under the law and about who to complain to if things go wrong. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath is right to express concern that until now the Muslim community has not generally been aware of its rights or about where to go to express concerns.

The Government’s view is that problems in the sector are not due to a lack of regulation, as Hajj trip organisers are as liable to regulation as any other package organiser and Hajj pilgrims have exactly the same rights as anyone else going on a package trip. In many cases, people who have used organisers’ services have not understood the true extent of their rights. Under package travel regulations, tour operators must ensure that all descriptions on brochures and internet sites are accurate, that the customer is given information about passports, visas and health and security issues, that the customer is informed in good time about significant changes to the trip, such as changes to flight details or itineraries, and that the customer receives a written copy of the terms of the contract for the trip. The operator must also be able to show that it has in place measures for the protection of consumer payments. In these cases, protection would be in the form of an air travel organiser’s licence, which ensures that customer pre-payments are protected and that customers can be repatriated if the tour operator suffers financial collapse. Local authority trading standards departments have day-to-day enforcement responsibilities for the regulations, and the ATOL system is run by the Civil Aviation Authority.

Enforcement activity is generally driven by consumer complaints. Previously, it seemed that only a few of the Hajj pilgrims who had suffered at the hands of rogue operators were informing the relevant authorities. I would be interested to hear how many cases were brought to my hon. Friend longer ago and whether people believed that they simply had to put up with what had happened and thought that there was nowhere for them to go. Clearly, many people now know to go their Member of Parliament or to trading standards. It was clear, previously, that the key to improving the situation lay with raising consumers’ awareness about their rights and about what to do when things go wrong.

For two years in a row, my hon. Friend the Minister for Trade, Development and Consumer Affairs has written to hon. Members asking them to contact their local mosques and Muslim community groups. He has also issued a number of press releases, which have received good coverage in Muslim national and regional press. Trading standards departments have also issued warnings to the public about the risk from rogue tour operators. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has also produced two well-received information leaflets—one for pilgrims thinking of booking a Hajj or Umrah trip, and one for Hajj travel organisers. If my hon. Friend the hon. Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath would like access to more such leaflets to provide his constituents with information, officials from the Department will assist with that.

Mr. Godsiff:
I am grateful for that offer, but I am not short of leaflets. Will my hon. Friend clarify something for me? If a travel agent books a scheduled flight for a customer who wants to go to Hajj and books the accommodation separately, is it covered by ATOL regulations?

Claire Ward:
If a travel agent books a package that includes a scheduled flight, it must be an ATOL member. In that instance, therefore, the consumer—the constituent perhaps in my hon. Friend’s case—would be covered by the protections offered by ATOL.

As my hon. Friend has said, the Hajj period is slightly flexible and tends to be around the end of the year. Officials from DBERR and the Civil Aviation Authority attended several regional events organised by pilgrim groups to talk about pilgrims’ rights and protection. The cross-Government group recently met with the two main groups representing UK Hajj pilgrims—the Association of British Hujjaj and the Council of British Hajis—to take their views on Government action this year. Both those organisations do valuable work to help pilgrims to enjoy fulfilling and safe trips. The Minister for Trade, Development and Consumer Affairs will shortly be writing to all UK mosques and other Muslim organisations to continue to raise awareness of the law both for pilgrims and the smaller Hajj travel organisers. We will also look at the best ways of raising awareness in the weeks preceding Hajj.

Trading standards departments have also been involved in raising awareness, and Birmingham trading standards has been particularly active in issuing press releases and talking to local pilgrims’ groups and operators. There are signs that the overall message is getting through. The numerous complaints received last year by Luton trading standards after the collapse Go4 Hajj seem to indicate that our work to publicise the issue has had some impact on members of the Muslim community.

As well as raising the awareness of pilgrims, the Government have begun to engage with the Hajj travel industry. There are many good operators, but there is clearly an element that is disorganised and unprofessional. This is not an easy business to be in. There are many unpredictable elements to the relatively complicated arrangements for Hajj in Saudi, but that does not explain the fact that, in many cases, pilgrims are simply misled about the nature, quality and facilities of the trip that they have bought—usually for several thousands of pounds. Last year the Minister for Trade, Development and Consumer Affairs, hosted a summit for Hajj travel organisers. That was held to deliver our message about their responsibilities and to hear their views on how they believe the sector can improve its reputation and achieve greater consumer confidence.

Since that event, the Civil Aviation Authority has reported that it has received an increasing number of applications for air travel organisers’ licences from Hajj trip organisers. Many licences have now been granted, which extends the financial protection of pilgrims travelling to Hajj. My hon. Friend the Member for Birmingham, Sparkbrook and Small Heath asked whether the travel operators should be members of the Association of British Travel Agents. There is no legal requirement for them to be a member of a trade association, which is essentially what ABTA is. However, they should be members of ABTA, and membership is encouraged by the industry. In essence, the bonding that ABTA provides would not necessarily improve the quality of service or compensate for the poor services that are perhaps provided by some travel operators. However, as I have stated, membership of ATOL would give some financial protection where scheduled flights are part of an overall package.

As I mentioned, Birmingham trading standards has been actively engaged in discussions with local travel operators and, last week, Tower Hamlets trading standards invited local operators to an awareness-raising seminar. There is a greater awareness, and trading standards are taking up the issue and promoting it within communities. This year, we are pressing ahead with engagement with the industry and hope to explore the possibility of achieving a degree of effective self-regulation. We hope that the responsible tour operators can help to banish the poor image and the poor operators from the sector by setting out for pilgrims their commitment to proper behaviour and standards.

Over the past year, we have also forged links with the Saudi embassy in relation to the issue. The embassy is responsible for issuing entry visas to UK Hajj pilgrims. Visas are only available via certain Saudi approved Hajj tour operators and travel agents. The Saudi embassy has agreed to ensure that the list contains only ATOL registered companies in the future. I hope, again, that my hon. Friend sees that as a significant step forward in providing some protection to his constituents, as well as to my constituents and others throughout the country.

I hope that I have shown that the Government take the issue seriously. We appreciate that some UK pilgrims continued to be subject to unacceptable behaviour at the Hajj last year and that that is a continued cause for concern. There is no quick answer to that, but we have seen some signs of progress. In initiating the debate, my hon. Friend has yet again put the issue on the agenda and ensured that, where it is relevant, there is an opportunity for trading standards across the country to promote the importance of protection for Hajj pilgrims. He has also ensured that the issue of an improvement in the service and quality of the tour operators has been raised.

I am sure that all the parties concerned are hopeful that the various initiatives in which we are involved will help us to reach the point where the Hajj becomes a memorable and, as far as possible, trouble-free occasion for all. That is certainly something that my hon. Friend would like for his constituents, and I can assure him that it is something that I would like for mine—in fact, the Government wish to ensure that that is the case for all those who wish to take part in that important event within the Muslim calendar.
11.26 am

Sitting suspended.

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Birmingham MP Slams Rogue Hajj Travel Agencies

26 March 2009

Birmingham MP, Roger Godsiff, has severely criticized the activities of rogue travel operators who either fraudulently take money from clients and disappear, or promise a five-star package pilgrimage that turns out to be nothing of the kind.

Mr Godsiff, who secured a Commons debate to highlight this matter which affects a great many of his own constituents commented; “Every year, more than 150,000 British Muslim pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia as part of the 1.7 million Muslims who go there from all over the world. The Hajj pilgrimage is greatly looked forward to in the Muslim world and should be a time of enjoyment and self-fulfilment. However, for some British Muslims, the experience turns into an expensive disaster due to the activities of rogue travel operators”. 

He praised the work that the Foreign Office has undertaken in setting up a special unit to deal with British pilgrims travelling to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj festival which is greatly appreciated by the Muslim community but went on to say:  “The problem, however, is that many people who go on the Hajj pilgrimage feel more comfortable dealing with travel agencies run by members of their own community, whom they believe, as Muslims, will understand more clearly what the pilgrimage is about and what is required.

Mr Godsiff believes however that  what is really needed is better regulation. He said: “The Muslim community in this country would strongly welcome a Government commitment to considering what further regulation and legislation could be enacted to address the problem of unscrupulous travel agents”

The Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK has made clear its belief that all travel agents should be members of ABTA - The Association of British Travel Agents -  and should be required to provide a bond to that organisation to be used as compensation for travellers who are given inferior accommodation or arrangements to those promised when the booking was made..

For further information contact: 07732 469082

Ian Hughes
Researcher to Roger Godsiff MP
Tel 0207 219 5191
Fax 0207 219 2221
hughesi@parliament.uk

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World Meningitis Day Warning To Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims, UK

Every year over 125,000 British Hajj/Umrah pilgrims along with millions of people from all over the world, including pilgrims from countries in the traditional african meningitis belt, travel to Saudi Arabia to perform pilgrimage. In such environments British pilgrims are at risk of infections including meningococcal disease because of crowded conditions at ceremonies, accommodation sites and on public transport.

As a result of an outbreak of meningococcal infection during Hajj pilgrimage there was a tragic loss of over 20 innocent lives amongst British Hajj pilgrims in recent years in the UK. Therefore the health experts from Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK in support of the first world Meningitis Day on 25th April 2009, issues a strong warning to all prospective Hajj/Umrah pilgrims that they must be vaccinated against meningococcal meningitis before travelling to Saudi Arabia.

The health experts warn the pilgrims that meningitis is a real and serious disease which is transmitted through direct person to person contact with droplets of nasal or throat secretions of infected individuals. Close and prolonged contact (e.g. sneezing and coughing on someone, etc.) facilitates the spread of infection. The most common symptoms are stiff neck, high fever, sensitivity to light, confusion, headaches and vomiting.

Health experts also remind pilgrims that Meningitis vaccination is mandatory legal requirement by the Saudi authorities to issue them entry visa for Saudi Arabia.

Further advice and information about Meningitis is available from Association of British Hujjaj (Pilgrims) UK, which is the Hajj specific National voluntary organisation and a registered charity working for the welfare and wellbeing of British Hajj/Umrah pilgrims and overseas travellers.

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Take The Swine Flu Threat Seriously - British Hajj/Umrah Pilgrims Are Warned

Saudi Arabia's warning to elderly Muslims, pregnant women and children against undertaking Hajj/Umrah pilgrimage this year in view of rapidly spreading swine flu worldwide sent a shock wave amongst Muslim community in Britain.

However Health Experts from Association of British Hujjaj a National Hajj specific organisation UK offer their support to the precautionary measures taken by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and strongly urge elderly, pregnant women and children from UK to defer their pilgrimage until the availability of the Swine flu vaccine. British pilgrims have always been at high risk of infections due to the crowded conditions at ceremonies, accommodation sites and on public transport. Therefore pilgrims must follow the guidelines issued by the authorities and they should be vaccinated against the Swine Flu virus once this vaccine is available at least two weeks before their departure to perform pilgrimage.

Association of British Hujjaj also urge British Muslims community that they should be aware of symptoms of the swine flu disease and in case of fever, cough or shortness of breath, headache, sore throat, tiredness, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose or loss of appetite they should stay at home, call your GP and do not go into your GP surgery or emergency departments unless you are advised to do so, because you might spread the illness to others.

People are reminded to use clean tissues to cover their mouth and nose when they cough and sneeze and bin the tissues after use and also wash their hands with soap and hot water and this good hygiene practice should also be implemented while they are performing the pilgrimage.

"Take the swine flu threat seriously, be safe than sorry and contact your doctor before travelling" said the Health Experts in their joint statement.

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