In a move forced by fears of spreading the dreaded influenza A (H1N1) virus, Arab health ministers have agreed to bar from this year's hajj those pilgrims from 65 years old and pre-teens, but the Royal Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has yet to make a decision.

Observers said the move, if accepted and enforced by the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, is bound to break the hearts of tens of thousands of Muslims around the world, including in the Philippines, who are even hoping to die in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, during the religious rites participated yearly by over two million people.

The Manila Bulletin learned on Wednesday that the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), through Assistant Secretary Shulan Primavera, head of DFA's Office on Middle East and African Affairs (OMEAA), called the attention of the Office on Muslim Affairs (OMA) on the decision of the Arab health ministers.

"I wish to inform your good office that Arab health ministers convened a meeting in Cairo, Egypt, on July 22, 2009, in an effort to contain the spread of AH1N1 flu virus. They decided to exclude senior citizens above 65 years old and children 12 years old, including those with chronic illness to participate (in) the Hajj and Umrah 2009," said Primavera in a letter to OMA Undersecretary Datu Ali B. Sangki.

"The department would appreciate it if the Office on Muslim Affairs could inform the pilgrims who will be participating in the Hajj and Umrah 2009 on this new regulation," the DFA official added.

Umrah or the minor pilgrimage is presently ongoing while the five-day hajj or the main pilgrimage, one of the five pillars of Islam, will occur in the latter part of November this year.