Muslims protest against no polio certificate for Haj pilgrims

Muslims staged a protest here today against a move by Saudi Arabia authorities making polio immunization mandatory for all inbound Haj pilgrims to Mecca during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Ludhiana, Sep 13 : Muslims staged a protest here today against a move by Saudi Arabia authorities making polio immunization mandatory for all inbound Haj pilgrims to Mecca during the fasting month of Ramadan.

"The Muslims believe that the governments of Saudi Arabia and India have taken this decision under pressure from the European countries," said Maulana Habib-Ur-Rehman, a Muslim clergy.

The decision had outraged the Muslim community, who said that India and Saudi Arabia are acting under pressure from America and European countries.

"American and European countries are trying to put a check on our growth indirectly. They think if they do it directly they will face opposition and so they are doing it indirectly," Rehman said.

The Saudi Arabia has sought an assurance from India that all Haj pilgrims are inoculated against polio.

The Haj involves weeklong celebrations and takes place seventy days after the end of the holy month of Ramadan. It includes several ceremonies, all of which symbolise the essential concepts of the Islamic faith.

ANI