Loss, deaths and crimes… Demands to require mental health certificates for pilgrims – Al-Hiwar Algeria

Against the background of recording various problems related to elderly pilgrims and those with psychological and mental disorders, a member of the National Office of the Algerian Organization for Consumer Protection and Guidance, Samir Al-Kassouri, called on the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments to enact a law that requires the submission of a certificate of physical, psychological and mental health for those wishing to perform Umrah, especially After the crime committed by an Algerian pilgrims against two other pilgrims in a hotel in Makkah Al-Mukarramah.

And Samir Al-Qasuri said today, Tuesday, in a statement to Al-Hiwar that he had sent an appeal to the National Office for Hajj and Umrah and those in charge of serving pilgrims and Umrah performers from the Ministry of Religious Affairs and Endowments, including confirming the request for a mental, psychological and physical health certificate, given that it is a condition Necessary to find out whether or not a family companion is obligatory, or whether or not a person is eligible to perform Umrah.

And Samir Al-Kasuri added that what he witnesses and experiences of the problems of Umrah pilgrims who were sent by their families to the Holy Bekaa without escorts confirms the need to require certificates of physical, psychological and mental ability to perform Umrah, adding that many Umrah pilgrims were sent to the Holy Bekaa and they are not qualified for that psychologically, mentally or even physically, which is What is considered a “crime”?

The source stressed that the requirement of this certificate does not mean preventing people from performing Umrah, but it may happen that the person performing the pilgrimage is suffering from physical diseases or psychological and mental disorders that neither the agency nor the guide knows, which creates a problem in taking charge of those in the rooms and during the prayers, adding that the guide may take charge of them. On the way to the holy places, but he cannot watch over their cleanliness, their food, or their money. Al-Kasouri confirmed that there are pilgrims who have reached a very old age – 90 years old – and even suffer from psychological and mental disorders, and sometimes Alzheimer’s, who have fallen victim to accidents of loss or death, and even fraud, and their money has been stolen because they are ignorant of managing sums in hard currency from the euro and the dollar in the absence of facilities.

In his appeal, the speaker stressed the need to enact a law that requires a certificate of psychological, mental and physical health, as it is assumed that the companions are guaranteed for those with a slight psychological disorder, while it is forbidden for those with a mental disorder that violates the faith to perform Umrah. He also believes that it is necessary to know the health status of the pilgrims, and he stressed that he encountered pilgrims who lacked the eligibility, and many problems occurred because of that, including their exposure to loss or even accidents and their death while they were without facilities.