Mauritius is an island-state
situated in the Indian Ocean with a population of over a million, belonging to numerous ethnic/religious/linguistic
groups, including the Hindus, Christians and Muslims. After centuries of colonial
mercantile interests that caused and brought about waves of immigration from
South Asia and elsewhere, the country today has the Hindus as the largest
ethno-linguistic and religious group while the Muslims (at around 2,00,000) constitute
a minority with around 17 per cent of the national population. With the
attainment of independence from Britain in 1968, the country adopted a secular
and democratic Constitutional framework and all social groups, thus, enjoy full
freedom of worship and performance of religious rites and rituals. As the
dominant community, the Hindus, however, continue to occupy important political
and administrative positions and enjoys certain other privileges. On the
contrary, the minority Muslim community remains to be on the social periphery with
many grievances yet to be addressed. 
In his Friday Sermon of June 07,
2013 the Khalifatullah Hadhrat Munir Ahmad Azim Sahib (atba) of Mauritius has called attention to
the several problems and legitimate grievances of the Muslims of Mauritius,
including on the twisted Hajj policy of the Mauritius Government. The spiritual
pilgrimage to Makkah (in Saudi Arabia) for the performance of Hajj is one of
the fundamental religious obligations of Muslims, wherever they are. In our
times, thanks to improvement in transportation linkages and communication
facilities, millions of Muslims engage in the preparation (of a life time) to
make that august journey to Makkah. The Saudi Arabian Government has thus been
constrained to delimit the number of believers assembling at the Holy City at
this most important period of time due to logistical and accommodation/space-
related concerns. Thus, countries have been allotted Hajj-quota (limiting the
number of persons who will get visa to perform the Hajj in a specific year) and
the opportunities to receive the visa are limited.
In the case of Mauritius, it is observed that influence-peddlers and
other vested interests exercise undue influence to bear on who gets the
recommendation for Hajj visa under the national quota. The politician-ministers
tilt the scales in favour of their own cronies and other elite sections,
leading to the unjust deprival of the opportunity to perform the Hajj to common
Muslims who may be saving all through their lives for the purpose. Thus, year
after the year, the same set of people-who are highly connected and politically
influential- manage to get the visa and go for the Hajj, though it is not
mandatory to perform Hajj more than once. On the contrary, most poor Muslims
who may save for many years to go and perform the Hajj may not be able to get
even the visa. The political leadership in the country essentially seeks to
manipulate and exploit the divisions within the minority Muslim community and
has virtually ignored or put on cold storage the important concerns of the
Muslim community, including the need for an embassy in Saudi Arabia, which
would facilitate the negotiations for an increase in the Hajj quota as well as
in seeking trading and other labour market opportunities.
Even at the risk of being labelled “communal”, one may have to warn that
both secularism and democracy in Mauritius are under threat from racist
vultures in its body politic, feels the Khalifatullah (atba). When the minority
Muslim community’s religious rights- to go on pilgrimage to Makkah for Hajj-
and their social, administrative and economic progress within the country are
being thwarted surreptitiously, it points to the presence of communalism on the
body politic, points out the Khalifatullah (atba). Further, the Sermon provides
illuminating guidance to the Muslims to come out of their predicament by paying
attention to their community identity and the responsibilities of solidarity
being conveyed through the Divine Messages available in their midst.
Read the Extracts from the Friday
Sermon:
