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Article: Saudi Embassy reverses course for U.S. Muslim girls.
- Article from:
- Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL)
- Article date:
- May 6, 2007
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Chicago Tribune. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Deborah Horan
CHICAGO _ Until this year, the answer from the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C., was always the same: No.
A group of American Muslim high school girls could not enter the kingdom to make a sacred pilgrimage called Umrah to the holy city of Mecca. No, they could not enter Saudi Arabia, even under the supervision of adult female chaperons.
They could only make the journey to Islam's holiest sites accompanied by a male relative, called a mahram. This was tradition, observed since the days of the Prophet Muhammad.
In March, without explanation, the Saudi Embassy reversed its decision. Two days later, a group of 15 ...