STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (RNS and NPR) — Juber Ahmed, a pharmacist, and his mother, Shamima Akther, are preparing for a trip to Mecca in Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj pilgrimage — a once-in-a-lifetime experience that’s considered a sacred obligation for Muslims. The Sterling Heights, Michigan, residents found out their applications to go were accepted in January, after months of waiting.
“Honestly, that feeling, I still can’t find the words to express,” he said. “I was in tears, did sajdah as-sukr (offered gratitude) and then I hugged my mom, and both of us just were in tears.”
Akther, 63, said she waited nearly 30 years to make the journey and wants to do it while she’s still physically able. “I was waiting for my kids to grow up so I can go with my oldest son,” she said.
They are among a few thousand pilgrims from the United States who will join the estimated 1.5 million people from around the world performing Hajj this year. Hajj is performed on the eighth through 13th days of the Islamic month of Dhu’l-Hijjah, which follows a lunar calendar, this year from May 25 to May 30.
But in April, the U.S. State Department asked Americans to reconsider traveling to Saudi Arabia because of the ongoing war between Iran and the U.S., noting safety concerns. The war and its …