Imagine that while filling in an application form you come across a question with a YES/NO tick box which asks "Are you black?" or "Are you a Jew?" You would be right to view the question as offensive and assume it had probably been included for discriminatory purposes.

The same can be said of the form presented to Pakistanis wishing to travel to Saudi Arabia for this year's hajj, which asks: "Are you Shia?"

It's a particularly sensitive question at a time when Saudi Arabia has been whipping up anti-Shia sentiment for political reasons, and some Muslims also feel it's inappropriate considering that the hajj is supposed to be open to all believers regardless of sect.

On Thursday the Express Tribune, a Pakistani newspaper, reported that the question had been included at the behest of the Saudi authorities. It quoted officials responsible for Pakistan's hajj arrangements as saying: "Saudi Arabia will not entertain any hajj application from aspirants that fail to specify whether the applicant is a Shia or a Sunni."

Officials at the religious affairs ministry told the paper there had been no written request from the Saudis but "the decision to insert the question was taken at a high level". The Saudi authorities had also "slightly amended the new hajj visa form requirements".

When I wrote about this in a blog post yesterday, several Twitter users immediately claimed that images of the form posted on the internet were forgeries and @HezbollahWatch said the Saudi embassy in Beirut had denied the story (which is scarcely surprising, because the embassy in Lebanon could not be expected to know about a Pakistani government form intended for use by Pakistanis).

Intentionally or otherwise, the Express Tribune's report implies this is the first time the "Are you Shia?" question has appeared on the forms. That is incorrect; it's now clear that the question has been asked for some years. For example, a copy of the 2012 hajj application form can still be found on the religious affairs ministry's website and it also asks "Are you Shia?"

It's not uncommon (at least in the west) for forms to ask questions about religion and ethnicity. This isn't objectionable when it's done for statistical purposes and monitoring of equal opportunity policies, and when the questions allow people a full range of options for describing themselves.

But it's hard to see any reason for the "Are you Shia?" question that is not discriminatory in some way. Several different explanations have been given so far:

1. Security profiling. According to "a senior official" of Pakistan's hajj mission quoted by the Express Tribune, the Saudis are trying to avoid a repeat of the 1987 hajj clashes when more than 400 people were killed – most of them Shia pilgrims. If that is the real reason it amounts to sectarian profiling by treating all Shia Muslims from Pakistan as a potential security risk. And if security is the concern, why not ask applicants if they support al-Qaeda, ISIS, the Taliban, etc?

2. Sectarian quotas. Shia Muslims are a minority in Pakistan. The exact number is not known but it may be around 20% in a population of 185 million. There have been suggestions on social media that the "Are you Shia?" question is about meeting quotas – either negatively to keep down the numbers of Shia pilgrims, or positively to ensure they are fairly represented. 

However, there is no firm evidence of such a quota system and the declared practice of the Pakistani authorities is to deal with hajj applications on a first-come first-served basis. Anecdotally, though, there are claims that Saudi Arabia has tried to restrict the numbers of Shia Muslims entering the kingdom in some of its other dealings with Pakistan.

3. Enforcement of mahram rules. According to a spokesman for the religious affairs ministry (quoted by the Express Tribune), the "Are you Shia?" question is to determine whether female pilgrims need to be accompanied by a mahram (male guardian) – since Shia women are allowed to perform the hajj without one. If that is true, then the purpose is to discriminate against Sunni women (rather than Shia) by forcing them to have a male guardian whether they want one or not.

Of course, this doesn't explain why male applicants for the hajj are being asked if they are Shia. If the question is of no relevance to men, why do the Pakistani authorities say their applications will be refused if they fail to answer it?

Furthermore, it seems that the answer given by women does not necessarily determine their mahram status. A letter from the religious affairs ministry dated April 29 appears to say that Shia women can perform the hajj with or without a mahram. So, even if the intention is to comply with Saudi Arabia's ridiculous mahram rules, asking "Are you Shia?" is not a very effective way of doing it.

If this is not about sectarian discrimination the Saudi authorities can clear the matter up once and for all – and very simply. All they need to do is state, unequivocally, that Pakistanis wishing to join the hajj are not obliged to declare whether they are Shia.
  
   
Posted by Brian Whitaker
Saturday, 2 May 2015