Indonesian Hajj Committee urges pilgrims to forgo selfies in front of holy Kaaba

At a time when thousands of Muslims from all four corners of the globe are beginning to flock to Mecca to perform the Hajj, forming long processions that wind through the high holy places of Islam, the concern to see the madness of selfies taking hold of the Holy Land again is emerging.

Very contagious, this fever of self-portraits spread, in a short time, to the outskirts of inviolable sacred enclosures, winning an increasing number of pilgrims, to the great displeasure of the Saudi authorities that this narcissistic, compulsive mania and not at all “Islamically correct” exasperates to the highest point, even deeply shocks.

Among those who fear that, again this year, many of the faithful will grab their smartphones all the time, unable to resist the temptation to immortalize themselves during the great rituals that punctuate the Hajj, the Pilgrimage Organizing Committee of the Indonesian Ministry of Religious Affairs (PPIH) raised his voice.

From Jakarta where he spoke at a press conference, Akhmad Fauzin, his spokesperson, urged his fellow citizens, leaving for Mecca, to refrain from taking excessive and inappropriate selfies, especially in front of the holy Kaaba.

” Taking too many selfies in front of the Ka’bah will disrupt the solemnity of your rituals as well as other pilgrims “, he hammered. ” With this in mind, the committee cannot recommend highly enough that pilgrims stay focused on the Hajj ritual while in the Holy Land, especially during activities at the Grand Mosque. Please refrain from doing too many activities unrelated to worship insisted Akhmad Fauzin, hoping not to preach in the desert.

At the same time, Sheikh Abdul Razzaq Al-Badr, a Saudi scholar from Medina, warned against the abuse of incongruous photo-taking during Hajj, recalling the wise words of Prophet Muhammad (saws): When the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) attained the Miqaat, he would say: ‘O Allah, make it a Hajj without ostentation (riya) and without seeking to be heard’.

A sign of old times, the selfie craze has not spared the Holy Land, and like millions of other users across the wide world, Muslims are clutching their smartphones as if they were an extension of themselves. themselves.

Will the resonant words of the Messenger of God be enough to dissuade the myriad of pilgrims, who are currently converging on Mecca, from turning the lens on themselves, without regard to the sacredness of the place and the intensity of the moment? The days to come will tell…