By DPA
Singapore : Muslim women under the age of 45 will be barred from making the annual haj pilgrimage to Mecca unless accompanied by a close male relative starting next year, news reports said Monday in Singapore.
The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore said it would no longer appeal to Saudi Arabian authorities on behalf of women who wish to make the month-long pilgrimage unaccompanied.
“We should respect the laws they have laid down,” The Straits Times quoted Minister-in-Charge of Muslim Affairs Yaacob Ibrahim as saying.
The decision was reached after two consecutive years of failed appeals, he noted.
Under the rules in place for years, female pilgrims under 45 must be accompanied by their “mahram”, a close male relative such as the father of a single woman or husband of a married woman.
Older Muslim women are not subject to the restriction.
Seventy women from the city-state were denied the annual pilgrimage last year after appeals to Saudi authorities failed, the report said. Another 56 applicants were unsuccessful this year.
Muslims from around the world congregate each year in Mecca.
“It is better to stop the appeals as it avoids complications with being unable to go,” a council spokesman said. “We do not wish people to get disappointed at the last minute.”
Singapore’s predominantly Chinese population includes 14 percent who are Muslim Malays.