Haj instructors reject city's selection process<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): About 2,000 haj instructors staged a rally
\nyesterday, demanding that the municipality revoke its decision to
\nnumerically select Jakarta pilgrims.<\/p>\n
The group, mostly women in Moslem clothing, rejected offers to
\nengage in talks with the head of the religious affairs office,
\nchoosing to stand in front of the building on Jl. D.I. Panjaitan
\nin East Jakarta.<\/p>\n
"We have been faced with a lot of problems in the past few
\nmonths," a woman, with a microphone in her hand, said.<\/p>\n
"Forest fires, a prolonged dry season, monetary crisis and now
\nyou people intend to make it difficult for people to carry out
\ntheir religious obligations."<\/p>\n
She ended her speech by shouting Allahu Akbar (Allah is great)
\nwhich prompted the crowd to repeated her words.<\/p>\n
The protesters, who represented the city's five mayoralties,
\ncalled their group the Communication Forum of Instructors and
\nConsultants for Haj Pilgrims.<\/p>\n
According to Suryani Qoidir, a spokesman for the forum, the
\nnew city regulations mean that pilgrims are grouped based on
\ncomputer data.<\/p>\n
"It's an absolutely unfair decision which we can't
\nunderstand," she said.<\/p>\n
"Even spouses can be separated even though they enroll at the
\nsame bank. I just don't understand."<\/p>\n
The woman next to her said: "Don't do this to us, please ...
\nunless you want to see elderly and confused pilgrims left alone
\namong the sea of people there."<\/p>\n
In a written statement, the group said if the administration
\nrefused to meet their demands they would go to Mecca on their own
\nterms as long as they could go together.<\/p>\n
By being in a familiar group, the members would not be
\nconfused and the pilgrimage would go ahead smoothly, they said.<\/p>\n
"This the first time that the grouping of pilgrims has been
\nbased on enrollment entry numbers from the banks and applied
\nexclusively to Jakarta pilgrims," Luthfie, the group's spokesman,
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Luthfie said the group had relayed their objections to the new
\nsystem to Jakarta's vice governors but no answer had been
\nforthcoming.<\/p>\n
"No, we don't want to boycott the pilgrimage but please work
\non some principals, such as handling the haj tents in Medina and
\nthe health management in Mecca, rather than changing the grouping
\nsystem which has already been operating for many, many years," he
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Enforcers<\/p>\n
The head of the city's religious affairs office, Bidawi Zubir,
\nsaid that his office was merely enforcing the regulation issued
\nrecently by the Directorate General of the Guidance of the
\nIslamic Community and Haj Affairs, part of the Ministry of
\nReligious Affairs.<\/p>\n
"We hope that we can do something to help them, but we are
\njust the enforcers."<\/p>\n
"We do what we've been told to do," he told the protesters.<\/p>\n
But Zubir promised to raise the issue with officials in the
\nministry.<\/p>\n
According to the office secretary, Damiri Mahdin, there are
\n250 bank branches in Jakarta that have been assigned to list the
\npilgrims.<\/p>\n
"This is applied in Jakarta because the number from here is
\ngreater than in other areas of Indonesia," he said.<\/p>\n
The group expressed dissatisfaction with the office's response
\nand pledged to find a solution to the problem. (04\/bsr)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/haj-instructors-reject-citys-selection-process-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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