Better to die than not go on haj pilgrimage<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Sandiwi slit his throat and bled to death when
\nhe found out that he might fail to reach the Holy Land again this
\nyear because he lacked the necessary documents.<\/p>\n
The 35-year-old, illiterate villager from Sampang, Madura
\nIsland in East Java, was first dropped from the haj pilgrimage
\nregistry last year. He was placed on a waiting list, along with
\n40,000 other people, because the government of Saudi Arabia set a
\nquota of 196,000 pilgrims for Indonesia.<\/p>\n
Sandiwi and the others on the waiting list were given priority
\nto go this year, but late visas and other documents created
\nuncertainty and anxiety.<\/p>\n
And Sandiwi felt the shame of failing to go again would be too
\ngreat to bear.<\/p>\n
Though their reactions are not as extreme, there are people
\nwho understand and share Sandiwi's frustration. A great number of
\npilgrims who were supposed to leave on earlier flights but could
\nnot do so because of lack of visas, chose to stay for days in the
\ndormitories rather than returning home and waiting in comfort.<\/p>\n
\"Everybody back home has bid us farewell in ceremonies. We're
\ntoo ashamed to go home,\" a prospective pilgrim said.<\/p>\n
Why the shame? One of the reasons, one can surmise, is the
\nrespected status usually accorded to people who have gone on the
\npilgrimage.<\/p>\n
People, especially those who have not gone, greet the
\nreturning pilgrims politely, calling them Pak Haji or Ibu Hajjah.<\/p>\n
Certainly, not everybody goes on pilgrimage because they crave
\nthe honor. In fact, most people leave for Saudi Arabia praying
\nthat they will die in the Holy Land and become syahid (martyrs).<\/p>\n
A leader of the Nahdlatul Ulama Moslem organization, for
\ninstance, was known to have gone on pilgrimage 10 times because
\nhe really wanted to die there. He died at home.<\/p>\n
Wati, a 17-year-old servant working in Rempoa, South Jakarta,
\nsaid that in her small hometown in Central Java, \"The haj are
\nvery respected persons.\"<\/p>\n
\"I respect them because I believe they are better than me,
\nreligiously,\" she said. \"I don't know how, exactly, but I think
\nthey are different from Moslems who have not gone on the
\npilgrimage.\"<\/p>\n
\"Back home, only the elderly go on the pilgrimage,\" she said.
\n\"They usually have to save for years to be able to pay their way
\nto the Holy Land. The fee is very expensive, you know. Not many
\npeople go, because most people in my village are poor.\"<\/p>\n
\"In Jakarta, I see many young people go on the pilgrimage.
\nThere are many rich people here,\" she said. \"I also respect them,
\nbecause they can go and do the religious duty at such a young
\nage.<\/p>\n
\"If I were rich, the first thing I would do is send my parents
\non the pilgrimage,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Parjo, 22, a pedicab driver in Tangerang, said being a pilgrim
\nmust be very special. \"I respect them very much. It's difficult
\nto describe, but I feel it,\" he said. \"I respect them very much.
\nWhy? Because they are rich but religious. It is rare to find such
\na combination in people: rich but pious.\"<\/p>\n
\"Usually rich people gamble away their money, or commit sins,\"
\nhe said.<\/p>\n
\"I wish I could go on the pilgrimage. But not now. I can't.
\nIt's impossible for me. I am only a pedicab driver.\"<\/p>\n
Udin, a 43-year-old garbage collector in Ciputat, South
\nJakarta, said almost the same thing. \"The people who have gone on
\nthe haj pilgrimage should be respected because they have adhered
\nto the Islamic tenet, and not everyone can.\"<\/p>\n
\"I dream of going on the pilgrimage because it's something
\nthat Moslems have to do once in a lifetime,\" he said. \"But for me
\nit's only a dream because I cannot afford it.\"<\/p>\n
\"Unless I won a lottery, of course. But will Allah bless me if
\nI go on the pilgrimage with money from gambling?\" (01\/swe)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/better-to-die-than-not-go-on-haj-pilgrimage-1447893297",
"image": ""
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