ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — Rep. Habib Tupay Loong (1st District, Sulu) and senior officials of the National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) jointly conducted a symposium here with Muslim sheiks of Zamboanga Peninsula and the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) in an effort to find solutions to common problems that might be encountered again by Muslim Filipino pilgrims attending the annual pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia this year.

Loong said the symposium is also aimed at soliciting vital advice and solutions from sheiks of what the government can contribute to eliminate problems that most Filipino pilgrims encounter on their way to Mecca.

“Our meeting here is more of trying to analyze what the government can contribute to make our pilgrims’ trip to the Holy Land trouble-free,” Loong, chairman of the Committee on Muslim Affairs at the Lower House, said.

“And since the NCMF office is in-charge of our brother Muslims in sending them to the Holy Land, they too are here to listen to the problems and to find appropriate solution or solutions to their problems,” Loong added.

About 50 respected sheiks or Muslim elders coming from Muslim-dominated cities and provinces in Region 9 and ARMM attended the symposium that is jointly conducted by Loong and NCMF Commissioners Ediwasif T. Badiri and Sharif Julasiri J Aberin.

During the forum, the sheiks presented several common problems that Muslim Filipino pilgrims encountered during their travel to the Holy Land annually, including some problems they encountered while in the performance of their pilgrimage in Mecca.

Badiri, who represents the Tausig youth sector, and Aberin, representing the Tausig Ulama sector, also gave their individual opinions on the issues presented during the forum.

The issuance of passport by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DAF), which is taking a long time for the agency to process, was also discussed during the meeting.

The pilgrimage, called the Hajj in the Islamic month of “Dhu al-Hijjah” in the City of Mecca, is being attended and performed by thousands of Filipino Muslims every year.

Dhu al-Hijjah is the 12th month in the Islamic calendar and considered very sacred and it is in this month in which the Hajj Pilgrimage takes place.

Rituals of the Hajj include walking seven times around the Kaaba, touching the black stone if possible, walking or running seven times between Mount Safa and Mount Marwah, and symbolically stoning the Devil in Mina.

“Dhu al-Hijjah” literally means “Possessor of the Pilgrimage,” and it is during this month that pilgrims from all around the world congregate in Mecca to visit the Kaaba.

The Hajj is performed on the eighth, ninth, and the tenth of this month. Day of Arafa takes place on the ninth of the month. Eid ul-Adha, the “Festival of the Sacrifice,” begins on the tenth day and ends on the 13th.