# 3513
While the hajj is still 4 months away, during the summer months many Muslims make minor pilgrimages (Umrah or omra) to the holy cities of Mecca and Median.
In recent weeks there have been calls by some countries and clerics to suspend or at least curtail umrah and the hajj this year due to concerns over spreading the H1N1 virus.
Two recent posts on this topic include:
Those At Greatest Risk Urged To Skip Hajj This Year
Tunisia Suspends `Lesser Pilgrimages' to Mecca
All able bodied Muslims are required to make at least one major pilgrimage to Mecca during their lifetime, at the time of the hajj. This is known as the fifth pillar of Islam, and is one of the duties incumbent upon all Muslims.
Today, one of Lebanon’s most influential clerics has issued at fatwa that allows Muslims who are concerned about the flu to skip the hajj this year.
This report from AP.
Shiite cleric says Muslims can skip hajj over swine flu
BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon's most influential Shiite cleric issued a religious edict Sunday saying Muslims who have serious concerns about contracting swine flu while performing the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia may stay away this year.
However Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah, who is widely respected among Lebanon's 1.2 million Shiites and many others in the Muslim world, said the entire pilgrimage should not be canceled under any circumstances because it is a "divine duty."
The fatwa comes as some in the Muslim world have raised questions about the risk posed by swine flu to the millions attending the Muslim pilgrimage, which takes place this year in December.
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