How British Muslims make it to Makkah for Hajj

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London Hajj travel agent Hamdy El-Sawy. (AFP)
Updated 09 August 2018
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How British Muslims make it to Makkah for Hajj

  • Even after 37 years, El-Sawy’s services are as much in demand as ever
  • So quickly did his reputation grow that in 1989 the Swedish ambassador to Morocco, a convert to Islam, asked to join El-Sawy’s group

LONDON: With the approach of Hajj, it is all systems go at the El-Sawy travel agency in London.
Passports need to be taken to the Saudi embassy to be stamped with visas and there are myriad phone calls and emails to be made to suppliers in Saudi Arabia. Those going on their first pilgrimage — perhaps even their first long trip anywhere — will need reassurance while others who applied a little too late and missed out on a place will need placating. But from the start, one thing is obvious: You don’t get to be Britain’s oldest-established Hajj and Umrah travel agency without good people skills.
“I have also been very blessed with luck,” said the Egyptian-born travel agency owner Hamdy El-Sawy.
He organized his first Hajj in 1981 for 37 people. They each paid £325 and stayed in university accommodation. Lots has changed since then: This year he will accompany 150 pilgrims who have each paid £6,450 and will be based at the five-star Al-Safwah Royal Orchid Hotel. “It’s the nearest to the Haram [mosque], right next to it,” he said, pointing to a poster.
Sometimes his work involves performing quite extraordinary feats. Three years ago, an 84-year-old British publisher and convert to Islam, contacted El-Sawy a week before the group was due to leave for Hajj.
Although he was without a booking or visa, El-Sawy suggested he come along anyway to the briefing held before every Hajj.
“An official from the Saudi embassy was present. He arranged the gentleman’s visa right away, out of respect for his age. The package that year cost £4,000 but the publisher had only £2,500. By chance I got a call from another client, a well-known neurologist and convert who had been on Hajj with us. I told her the story and without hesitation she said she would cover the difference.”
Back in 1994 a woman arrived at his agency in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce at 7pm on a Friday. Pulling a huge wad of banknotes from her handbag, she uttered just one word: “Hajj.”
El-Sawy explained: “It was the day before we were due to leave. The Saudi embassy was closed and all the flights were full, but I couldn’t tell her any of this because the lady was from Senegal and spoke only French.”
But by chance — a phrase that crops up a lot in El-Sawy’s stories — a French-speaking client was in the office at the time. “I asked him to tell the lady ‘come tomorrow’ which, as any Egyptian will tell you, actually means ‘don’t come.’ I was fobbing her off, to be honest. But when I came to work next day, she was there again, this time in a Mercedes.
“I didn’t know what else to do so I told her driver to go to Belgrave Square [location of the Saudi embassy] and drive round it seven times and shout ‘Allahu akbar’ every time they passed the Saudi embassy. At least, she would see it was closed. I sent my office boy with her.”
She did as instructed and while she was there the security guard at the Saudi embassy noticed the circling Mercedes and came out to investigate.
“When he heard the story, he gave my office boy the number of the duty officer at the consulate. The duty officer said to bring the lady’s passport at 5pm. He did, she got her visa and went straight to the airport. But the Saudia flight, the last of the day, was full with 10 people on standby. The lady from Senegal was number 11.
“One seat came free in business class and because she was alone and everyone else ahead of her was in couples or groups, she got it, with 10 minutes to go before the flight left. The cost that year was £1,300. She gave me £2,000 in cash and gave the £700 change to the office boy.”
Another client who spoke little or no English was the Senegalese ambassador to London. In his case, El-Sawy decided to contact a client from Gambia who spoke the same African language as the ambassador and soon all the arrangements were made. On arrival in Jeddah, the ambassador received VIP treatment. “The next time we met was at a meeting of the British-Egyptian Society and he embraced me in front of everyone and said what a wonderful time he’d had.” El-Sawy would no doubt say that he came to the travel business too “by chance.” Born “in the oldest street in Cairo,” he studied commerce and law and came to the UK in 1975 and worked in accountancy, as an Arabic tour guide and translator and even, briefly, as a silver service waiter.
In 1980 he organized a day trip to Brighton on the south coast of England, to welcome the new imam at Regent’s Park mosque (El-Sawy’s local place of worship), and introduce him to his congregation.
People on the coach trip brought snacks and drinks, visited a mosque and played football on the beach and a good time was had by all. Over the next weeks, he organized more days out. On the way back from the fourth of these, to Manchester, someone asked him when he was going to do “the big one.”
And so his career as a Hajj tour operator and travel agent began. On the first pilgrimage in 1981, following another chance encounter, his group were guests of the president of King Abudulaziz University. The following year, they were accommodated at Umm Al-Qura University in Makkah. The third year, a major-general in the Saudi police hosted a group of more than 40 people at his home because El-Sawy had helped him track down a Egyptian doctor in London who had previously treated the policeman’s aged mother.
So quickly did his reputation grow that in 1989 the Swedish ambassador to Morocco, a convert to Islam, asked to join El-Sawy’s group. He didn’t want to be treated as a VIP, as he would have been if he had applied in Rabat.
“That year we stayed in military barracks and he was very happy. That gave me confidence. I realized that high-up people can be humble.”
He has frequently witnessed how the spirit of Hajj brings out the best in people, he said. In 2014, a Bangladeshi couple from London were distraught when they realized they had miscalculated and did not have enough money to pay for their 10-year-old daughter.
“I told the mother to call again. She did and by chance there was a Saudi friend of mine in the office. He heard the story and paid the difference. All he asked in return was that she say a prayer for his father.
“The same year, a woman came in and told me she would pay for two strangers to go on Hajj. I had to choose them. Her conditions were that they should be first-timers, one must be an older woman and the other a man and if possible, a new convert. Thanks to that lady an elderly Moroccan woman I knew from mosque was able to fulfill the desire which she could never afford.” Even after 37 years, El-Sawy’s services are as much in demand as ever. He insists on meeting every client face-to-face and holds a get-together a week before every departure “so people can get to know each other and not feel like they are traveling with strangers.” He shows a video of last year’s briefing, and it is clear he knows everyone’s name, job and where they come from.
“His memory is incredible,” said Mustafa, 27, the younger of his two sons. “Ten minutes on the phone with him and he ends up knowing more about you than you do.”
Now 74 and with his two sons working with him, El-Sawy shows no sign of slowing down. He has mastered new technology, has an iPhoneX and continues to work all hours.
As well as the forthcoming Hajj, he is busy with an ambitious new project — a tour tracing the journey of Mary, Joseph and the infant Jesus fleeing to exile in Egypt to escape the clutches of King Herod. “I enjoy serving people,” he said. “The spiritual side of life is important and God has blessed me with a positive outlook. For me, the glass is half full.”


China helped Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ in conflict with India, Indian Army deputy chief says

Updated 9 sec ago
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China helped Pakistan with ‘live inputs’ in conflict with India, Indian Army deputy chief says

  • India earlier noted no visible Chinese support for Pakistan during the four-day ​standoff
  • Pakistani officials have also denied claims of receiving active assistance from Beijing

NEW DELHI: China gave Islamabad “live inputs” on key Indian positions during Pakistan’s deadly conflict with its neighbor in May, the deputy chief of India’s army said on Friday, calling for urgent upgrades to the country’s air defense systems.

The nuclear-armed rivals used missiles, drones and artillery fire during the four-day fighting — their worst in decades — triggered by an April attack on Hindu tourists in Indian-administered Kashmir that New Delhi blamed on Islamabad, before agreeing to a ceasefire.

Pakistan has denied involvement in the April attack.

India fought two adversaries during the conflict, with Pakistan being the “front face” while China provided “all possible support,” Lt. Gen. Rahul Singh said at a defense industry event in New Delhi.

“When the DGMO (director general of military operations) level talks were going on, Pakistan ... said that we know that your such and such important vector is primed and it is ready for action ... he was getting live inputs from China,” he said.

Singh did not elaborate on how India knew about the live inputs from China.

The Chinese foreign and defense ministries, and Pakistan army’s public relations wing did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

India’s relationship with China was strained after a 2020 border clash that sparked a four-year military standoff, but tensions began to ease after the countries reached a pact to step back in October.

India had earlier said that although Pakistan is closely allied with China, there was no sign of any actual help from Beijing during the conflict.

Regarding the possibility of China providing satellite imagery or other real-time intelligence, India’s chief of defense staff had said such imagery was commercially available and could have been procured from China or elsewhere.

Pakistani officials have previously dismissed allegations of receiving active support from China in the conflict, but have not commented specifically on whether Beijing gave any satellite and radar help during the fighting.

Beijing, which welcomed the ceasefire in May, has helped Pakistan’s struggling economy with investments and financial support since 2013.

The Chinese foreign minister also vowed support to Pakistan in safeguarding its national sovereignty and territorial integrity when he met his Pakistani counterpart days after the ceasefire.

Singh said that Turkiye also provided key support to Pakistan during the fighting, equipping it with Bayraktar and “numerous other” drones, and “trained individuals.”

Ankara has strong ties with Islamabad, and had expressed solidarity with it during the clash, prompting Indians to boycott everything from Turkish coffee to holidays in the country.

Turkiye’s defense ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.


Former Labour MP Sultana claims she will launch new party with ex-leader Corbyn

Updated 16 sec ago
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Former Labour MP Sultana claims she will launch new party with ex-leader Corbyn

  • Sultana accuses government of being ‘active participant in genocide’ in Gaza
  • Talks held with pro-Palestine Independent Alliance MPs, but Corbyn yet to confirm role in new movement

LONDON: Former Labour MP Zarah Sultana has claimed she is set to start a new political party with Labour’s ex-leader, Jeremy Corbyn, after accusing the government of being “an active participant in genocide” in Gaza.

Sultana made the announcement on the social media platform X on Thursday evening, a day after Corbyn told the political TV show “Peston” on ITV that “there is a thirst for an alternative” in British politics. 

In her post, Sultana claimed the Westminster political system was “broken” and that the new movement would focus on social justice in the UK and abroad.

“Labour has completely failed to improve people’s lives. And across the political establishment, from (Reform leader Nigel) Farage to (Prime Minister Sir Keir) Starmer, they smear people of conscience trying to stop a genocide in Gaza as terrorists.

“But the truth is clear: This government is an active participant in genocide. And the British people oppose it.”

She added that the choice before voters at the next general election would be between “socialism or barbarism” and claimed, in relation to the vote earlier this week on changes to benefit rules, “the government wants to make disabled people suffer; they just can’t decide how much.”

Sultana continued: “Jeremy Corbyn and I will co-lead the founding of a new party, with other independent MPs, campaigners and activists across the country.”

Corbyn has yet to confirm whether he will be involved in the new party but admitted on “Peston” that he had been in discussions with the four Independent Alliance MPs elected in July 2024 on a platform of opposing the war in Gaza — Shockat Adam, Ayoub Khan, Adnan Hussain, and Iqbal Mohamed — about forming a party based on “peace rather than war.”

The BBC’s “Newsnight” program confirmed Sultana had held talks with Corbyn and the Independent Alliance earlier this week, but that the idea of co-leadership had not been received well by Corbyn.

Sunday Times journalist Gabriel Pogrund posted on X that a source told him Corbyn was “furious and bewildered” that Sultana made her announcement without consulting him first.
Israel denies it is committing genocide in Gaza.

Starmer has repeatedly demanded a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, describing the situation as “appalling and intolerable,” but has stopped short of accusing Israel of genocide.

Alastair Campbell, the former Labour director of communications, told the BBC that the “government’s handling” of the war in Gaza was a thorn in the side of the party, affecting people’s perception of Labour’s values.

Sultana was suspended by Labour last year for rebelling against the government in a vote on child benefits.

She has been a vocal critic of her former party, including last week, when the government sought to ban the group Palestine Action after activists broke into a Royal Air Force base and vandalized military aircraft.

Sultana posted “We are all Palestine Action” on X ahead of a vote to proscribe the group as a terrorist organization, which passed with just 26 MPs opposing the motion.

In her announcement about forming her new party, she said: “Westminster is broken, but the real crisis is deeper. Just 50 families now own more wealth than half the UK population. Poverty is growing, inequality is obscene, and the two-party system offers nothing but managed decline and broken promises.”

She continued: “We’re not an island of strangers; we’re an island that’s suffering. We need homes and lives we can actually afford, not rip-off bills we pay every month to a tiny elite bathing in cash. We need our money spent on public services, not forever wars.”

The announcement elicited mixed responses from Labour MPs.

John McDonnell, the former shadow chancellor who was also suspended at the same time as Sultana, posted on X: “I am dreadfully sorry to lose Zarah from the Labour Party.

“The people running Labour at the moment need to ask themselves why a young, articulate, talented, extremely dedicated socialist feels she now has no home in the Labour Party and has to leave.”

Dawn Butler, the MP for Brent East, said she could “understand (Sultana’s) frustration”

But Neil Coyle, MP for Bermondsey and Old Southwark, told The Times: “The hard left (is) seeking to damage Labour while the far right are on the march. As shabby as they ever were.”


French air traffic controllers’ strike disrupts flights for second day

Updated 1 min 34 sec ago
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French air traffic controllers’ strike disrupts flights for second day

Civil aviation agency DGAC told airlines to cancel 40 percent of flights at the three main Paris airports
Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, were also affected

PARIS: A strike by French air traffic controllers entered its second day on Friday, leaving many passengers stranded at the start of Europe’s peak travel season.

Civil aviation agency DGAC told airlines to cancel 40 percent of flights at the three main Paris airports on Friday because of the strike, which the air traffic controllers say is over staff shortages and aging equipment.

Up to half of flights at France’s other airports, mostly in the south, were also affected, DGAC added.

“We are hostages of Paris,” said Mariano Mignola, an Italian tourist stranded in the French capital’s Orly airport with two young children.

“Today we had to go home and the first available flight is July 8. We have no flat, we can’t find a hotel, we can’t find a car, we can’t find a train, we can’t find anything,” he said. “We are in a panic, the children are scared and we don’t know what to do.”

French transport minister Philippe Tabarot called the strike unacceptable as did Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary, who branded it “another recreational strike by French air traffic controllers’ unions.”

On top of the cancelations, DGAC warned that passengers could be affected by delays and significant disruption.

The Airlines for Europe (A4E) lobby group said late on Thursday that 1,500 flights had been canceled over the two-day strike, affecting 300,000 passengers and causing cascading delays.

Germany in talks to buy Patriot missiles for Ukraine after US pause

Updated 31 min 24 sec ago
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Germany in talks to buy Patriot missiles for Ukraine after US pause

  • “There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,” the spokesperson said
  • Germany has sent three of the US-made systems from its military stocks to Ukraine

BERLIN: Germany is in talks on buying Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine to help it counter some of the heaviest Russian attacks since the war began in 2022, a government spokesperson said on Friday.

The US has paused shipments of certain critical weapons to Ukraine including 30 Patriot air defense missiles, sources told Reuters this week, due to low stockpiles, prompting warnings by Kyiv this would weaken its ability to defend itself.

“There are various ways to fill this Patriot gap,” the spokesperson told a news conference in Berlin, adding that one option being considered is buying the Patriot missile batteries in the United States and then sending them on to Kyiv.

“I can confirm that intensive discussions are indeed being held on this matter,” he said.

Germany has sent three of the US-made systems from its military stocks to Ukraine, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius last month launched an initiative to chase down more of them at the Ramstein group of some 50 nations.

Pistorius will travel to Washington later this month for talks with his US counterpart about his initiative as well as production capacities, said a defense ministry spokesperson.

“Of course these issues will also be on the agenda,” said the spokesperson.

The US Embassy in Berlin was not immediately available for comment.

Pistorius has floated the idea of buying Patriot systems that could be freed up to bypass long industrial delivery times and ensure they get to Ukraine quickly.

Ukraine is increasingly desperate for the systems that it relies on to destroy fast-moving ballistic missiles.

Russia pummelled Kyiv with the largest drone attack of the war, injuring at least 23 people, just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke to Russia’s Vladimir Putin on Thursday.

Germany, Ukraine’s second largest donor after the United States, has sought to take on more of a leadership role in ensuring backing for Kyiv as US support has been thrown into question under Trump.

While Europe could sustain Ukraine’s resistance without US military support, according to a senior German military official, the challenges would be immense.

Germany has provided a total of 38 billion euros ($43 billion) worth of military aid to Ukraine, including funds earmarked for the coming years, according to the defense ministry.

A Bloomberg News report on Friday said Germany is preparing a 25-billion-euro tank order to ramp up its NATO brigades. The defense ministry had no immediate comment.


Regulators warned Air India Express about delay on Airbus engine fix, forging records

Updated 04 July 2025
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Regulators warned Air India Express about delay on Airbus engine fix, forging records

  • India’s aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India’s budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320
  • Air India has been under intense scrutiny since Boeing Dreamliner crash, killing all but one of the 242 people onboard

NEW DELHI: India’s aviation watchdog reprimanded Air India’s budget carrier in March for not timely changing engine parts of an Airbus A320 as directed by European Union’s aviation safety agency, and falsifying records to show compliance, a government memo showed.

In a statement, Air India Express told Reuters it acknowledged the error to the Indian watchdog and undertook “remedial action and preventive measures.”

Air India has been under intense scrutiny since the June Boeing Dreamliner crash in Ahmedabad which killed all but one of the 242 people onboard. The world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade is still being investigated.

The engine issue in the Air India Express’ Airbus was raised on March 18, months before the crash. But the regulator has this year also warned parent Air India for breaching rules for flying three Airbus planes with overdue checks on escape slides, and in June warned it about “serious violations” of pilot duty timings.

Air India Express is a subsidiary of Air India, which is owned by the Tata Group. It has more than 115 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, with 500 daily flights.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency in 2023 issued an airworthiness directive to address a “potential unsafe condition” on CFM International LEAP-1A engines, asking for replacement of some components such as engine seals and rotating parts, saying some manufacturing deficiencies had been found.

The agency’s directive said “this condition, if not corrected, could lead to failure of affected parts, possibly resulting in high energy debris release, with consequent damage to, and reduced control of, the aeroplane.”

The Indian government’s confidential memo in March sent to the airline, seen by Reuters, said that surveillance by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) revealed the parts modification “was not complied” on an engine of an Airbus A320 “within the prescribed time limit.”

“In order to show that the work has been carried out within the prescribed limits, the AMOS records have apparently been altered/forged,” the memo added, referring to the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Operating System software used by airlines to manage maintenance and airworthiness.

The mandatory modification was required on Air India Express’ VT-ATD plane, the memo added. That plane typically flies on domestic routes and some international destinations such as Dubai and Muscat, according to the AirNav Radar website.

The lapse “indicates that the accountable manager has failed to ensure quality control,” it added.

Air India Express told Reuters its technical team missed the scheduled implementation date for parts replacement due to the migration of records on its monitoring software, and fixed the problem soon after it was identified.

It did not give dates of compliance or directly address DGCA’s comment about records being altered, but said that after the March memo it took “necessary administrative actions,” which included removing the quality manager from the person’s position and suspending the deputy continuing airworthiness manager.

The DGCA and the European safety agency did not respond to Reuters queries.

Airbus and CFM International, a joint venture between General Electric and Safran, also did not respond.

The lapse was first flagged during a DGCA audit in October 2024 and the plane in question took only a few trips after it was supposed to replace the CFM engine parts, a source with direct knowledge said.

“Such issues should be fixed immediately. It’s a grave mistake. The risk increases when you are flying over sea or near restricted airpsace,” said Vibhuti Singh, a former legal expert at the India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau.

The Indian government told parliament in February that authorities warned or fined airlines in 23 instances for safety violations last year. Three of those cases involved Air India Express, and eight Air India.

The Tata Group acquired Air India from the Indian government in 2022 and the Dreamliner crash has cast a shadow on its ambitions of making it a “world class airline.”

While Air India has aggressively expanded its international flight network over the months, it still faces persistent complaints from passengers, who often take to social media to show soiled seats, broken armrests, non-operational entertainment systems and dirty cabins.