Looking at the title, you're probably thinking I'm gonna write a fictional story about the swine flu, and how it went around Makkah, and everyone went crazy, bla bla bla, etc. Well, if that's true, you're wrong.
As you all probably (and should) know, the swine flu is an infectious disease that must be protected against. One of the most common methods is to wear a mask. Well, as it turns out, the whole world is freaking out so much about swine flu, they wear masks in every public place. Yes, that includes Haram. If you do one 'Umrah and stay in Makkah for two days, you'll have physical contact with thousands, possibly tens of thousands of people. But you can't wear a mask in Ihram. So, people started wearing masks (after their 'Umrah was over) to, um, protect themselves. First, it started out with the security guards.
The guy on the right doesn't seem to care:
Then, even the people started getting scared.
There's a guard in this one, too. And the Niqab lady has nothing to fear.
Hey, dude in the Ihram! You're not supposed to cover your face!
Talk about a close-up:
Blacks, whites, reds and browns, they're all freaking out!
Even the Saudis are getting scared...
Is that a beard? Doesn't look like it.
So, we can tell that people are freaking out over nothing. These above images are from half a night of Taraweeh! Seriously, people. Just wash your hands and face when you get to your hotel room. No need to invalidate your Ihram over some stupid virus.
Salaam,
Yousuf (and not scared of the swine flu)
