p dir=ltrThe government is to be commended for its refusal to allow preferential treatment of applicants wishing to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca this season./p
p dir=ltrAccording to the Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs, no exceptions were made this year for those who applied for Hajj, as was the case in previous years. That means that this year, all Jordanians who will be performing the ritual, which is to start next week, have been selected in accordance with the set criteria and under fair conditions./p
p dir=ltrThese conditions came into being after the Saudi authorities introduced a quota system for each Muslim country to limit the number of pilgrims, who usually exceed two million every year, to prevent incidents like stampede which, over the past decades, killed scores of pilgrims in Mecca./p
p dir=ltrUnder the quota system, Jordan is allowed to send several thousand pilgrims yearly; that means that the number of applicants exceeds the number of individuals allowed to perform the rite. The Ministry of Awqaf and Islamic Affairs was therefore compelled some years ago to introduce criteria according to which those most entitled are allowed to perform the pilgrimage./p
p dir=ltrThe most important requirement was the age of the applicant, which is crucial since each Muslim is required to perform pilgrimage once in his/her lifetime; hence the older the more entitled. But as some people are eager to perform the ritual sooner, they are prompted to use connections to try to break the regulation, aware that they are usurping the right of someone else./p
p dir=ltrThat citizens would want to break the regulation may pass easier, but to have the complicity of the authorities in doing so is unacceptable. Even more improper was to do so in collusion with deputies, the very individuals who are supposed to defend people’s right to equality. Each deputy, Muslim or Christian, had the right to give preferential treatment to five applicants, encouraging nepotism and favouritism./p
p dir=ltrIt is ironic that preferential treatment in a spiritual matter was accorded to serve very worldly political purposes./p
p dir=ltrNow that the current government abolished this practice, it is hoped that no future government or parliament will reinstate it./p
p dir=ltrIt is also hoped that the principle of justice will expand to include other aspects of life, like university admittance and filling vacant posts in both public and private sectors./p
p dir=ltrIt is incumbent on all, officials and citizens, to show respect for the laws of our country. One is the constitutional principle that emphasises equality among all./p