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Mecca, Saudi Arabia - In the midst of overlapping murmurs of prayers in a
sea of white-cloaked worshipers, a woman's voice interrupts the collective
trance as she asks: "Are you single?"
For hundreds of years, Mecca has been the sacred meeting point of millions
of Muslims from across the world. They come to perform the hajj, the annual
major pilgrimage, or umrah, a minor pilgrimage that can be performed
anytime.
Matchmaking is a profession that's at least as old as Mecca. But until now,
say Saudi scholars, it hasn't been practiced at Islam's holiest site.
"These days, practicing Muslim men are having a hard time finding practicing
Muslim women," explains Um Mohammad matter-of-factly. She's carrying a tiny
blue notebook to jot down personal information about potential brides that
she meets inside the Haram Mosque where Muslims circumambulate the holy
cubed structure, the Kaaba.
Dressed in a black abaya - including the face covering known as niqab - and
sporting black gloves, Um Mohammad (who declined to give her full name) is
one of several matchmakers who can be seen approaching "pious" young Muslim
women as they pray or perform rituals.
"Devoted Muslims come here, and so there is a better chance of finding a
good match," says Um Mohammad, standing no taller than 5 ft. 2 in. She says
she makes a minimum of 1,000 riyals ($268) plus gifts, such as perfume, from
grateful mothers.
Um Mohammad says she's working for several mothers to find "chaste" wives
for their sons in a place that's annually visited by around 3 million people
for hajj. This year, the pilgrimage begins Dec. 18.
Aayesh Masri, a 22-year-old Saudi woman who was approached by one of the
matchmakers, isn't troubled by the mixing of matchmaking and prayer.
"Why not? It is done under sincere intentions and it is no different than
when potential suitors come to your home to meet your family," says Ms.
Masri.
Saudi historian Omar Tayeb isn't surprised, either. "Matchmakers are
everywhere in Saudi. They find brides in supermarkets, malls, and mosques.
Why not near the Kaaba?" he asks.
Modern pilgrims have also grown accustomed to seeing a variety of
not-so-sacred activities near the sacred Kaaba, the cube that every Muslim
on the planet faces during the five daily prayers. Worshipers often scramble
and push to touch it. Some even rip off a piece of the kiswa - the black
silk cloth with gold-embroidered calligraphy covering the rock - as a
religious souvenir.
Other Mecca mementos can be obtained more easily. Local entrepreneurs, for
example, have long worked the holy marbled white grounds.
"Scissors! Tissue! Prayer book! Only one riyal [about 27 cents]," cries out
a boy of 6 struggling in the white sea of pilgrims. One of the rituals of
the pilgrimage involves cutting one's hair. Tissues are used for wiping off
sweat from the arduous walks between sacred sites.
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1205/p01s01-wome
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