Arab health ministers in an attempt to curb the spread of swine flu banned children, the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from attending the hajj.  

The hajj is the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca and a duty for all Muslims in their lifetime. This year, the hajj is expected to draw about 3 million people from more than 160 countries to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, in late November following peak flu season.

The debate over whether Muslims should cancel hajj plans due to fears that the mass gathering could speed the spread of swine flu had been building in the Arab world for weeks.

The announcement was made Wednesday at a Cairo summit, at which Egypt hosted health ministers from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Bahrain, and Yemen, as well as representatives from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Hussein Gezairi, regional director for the World Health Organization in the Eastern Mediterranean told reporters, “The Saudi government will make [these conditions] a requirement … [and then] no one will get their visa unless these requirements are fulfilled.”  

Saudi Arabia assigns each country a certain number of visas for pilgrims going on hajj each year. “We did not change the percentage of any country, we changed certain rules,” said Saudi Health Minister Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz Al-Rabeeah. He said that each country would retain the same number of allotted spots, but would be responsible for making sure none of those went to applicants who should be barred.

Restrictions also apply to umrah, or “the lesser pilgrimage,” which can be done at any time of year but which is popular during the holy month of Ramadan, which begins in August.

Enforcing the ban on adults over the age of 65 and children under 12 the ministers hope that by excluding those most vulnerable to swine flu would reduce the possibility of contagion during the hajj.

According to the country's official Middle East News Agency, Egypt's highest religious authority, Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, said Thursday that anyone who disregards the ministers' decisions will be considered a "sinner."

One of Sunni Islam's highest authorities, Grand Sheik Mohammed Sayyed Tantawi of Al-Azhar, also backed the ministers, saying "they are the specialists and have the final say over this issue," according to MENA.

There were however those who opposed the restrictions and Sheik Abdul-Mohsen al-Obaikan, an adviser to the Saudi royal family, was quoted by Okaz newspaper Thursday as saying it is unIslamic to ban people from the hajj.

Saudi Arabia's Grand Mufti, Sheik Abdul-Aziz Al Sheikh, has said the fear about swine flu exposure at the hajj is "exaggerated."

In Lebanon, the widely respected Shiite Grand Ayatollah Mohammed Hussein Fadlallah described hajj as a "divine duty" and dismissed the idea of canceling it altogether and said Muslims who have serious concerns about contracting swine flu while performing pilgrimage may stay away this year.

Swine flu took a new meaning for Egypt, a poor country with little public health infrastructure when a young woman diagnosed with the disease died just days after completing umrah in Saudi Arabia and as a result Egypt has decided to put all returning pilgrims into quarantine.

“That young woman’s death accelerated this decision,” says Diaa Rashwan, an expert in Islam and politics at Cairo’s Ahram Center.

 “The government is taking good precautions and showing some progress in terms of public health and globalization,” says Rashwan. “In the past when there were outbreaks, a decision like this would not be considered, but now we have more progressive tools to work with.”

An editorial in the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi daily Thursday, however, still called on Saudi authorities to take the initiative and cancel it.

"Mecca receives millions of pilgrims and worshippers 24 hours a day, shoulder to shoulder ... and if one person carries the virus, he can spread it to a ten thousand others," the paper said.