06 Thursday, July 8, 2021

Established September 3, 2006 hamad bin suhaim al thani chairman Opinion adel ali bin ali managing director dr hassan mohammed al ansari editor-in-chief

China And Join The Campaign The Nostalgia Of Performing For A Global Minimum Tax Hajj From Qatar onald Trump’s global eco- nomic strategy was to rail Dagainst other nations for rip- ping us off while doing little to A journey that took months in the past now is performed in a few days level the playing field. Indeed, the trade wars he started harmed Mohamed Hammam Fikri During the reign of Sheikh Ali bin Abdul- American consumers and cost tax- lah Al Thani, the fourth ruler of Qatar in the payers billions in subsidies paid to period from 1949-1960, pilgrims’ centers US farmers. eople of Qatar never stopped recall- were opened for the first time on the edge of Joe Biden looks upon Ameri- ing their memories of Hajj, for the ritu- Doha. It was a point of assembly for pilgrims can leadership differently. His and als had always been present in their before they start their journey. Along the way, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s hearts and minds. They were confident mosques were built and services provided, so-far successful campaign to in their return to the House of God to and it was all supervised by Sheikh Abdullah implement a global minimum Pperform the religious duty, and now they are bin Ibrahim Al-Ansari and other sheikhs. 15% corporate tax is an early sign looking forward avidly to visit the holy place Since 1957, the Qatari Department of that there’s a far better way than once again. Medical Services and Public Health has been Trumpian fits of pique. With the announcement by the Ministry of sending a medical mission every year to the We’ve been living with the Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom of Saudi Ara- Holy Land during Hajj, in order to contribute problem for years: American cor- bia to grant permits to perform Umrah and together with the rest of the Islamic countries porations, which paid roughly prayers in the Grand Mosque, and that peo- in their efforts to provide full medical care for one-third of federal revenues in the ple who have received the COVID-19 vaccine pilgrims. The mission works in Mecca, Medi- middle of last century, now pay just since the beginning of Ramadan this year can na, Mina and Arafat, and it performs checkups one-tenth of federal revenues. They visit the Prophet’s Mosque, and in light of the for pilgrims from all over the world. dodge about $90 billion in taxes preparations to host Hajj, pilgrims this year With the inauguration of Qatar Radio, it annually and hold $2 trillion in are facing unprecedented challenges – both in used to send its own reporter with the Hajj profits offshore. Meantime, corpo- terms of the need to follow the precautionary for turning his house into a mosque and host- dition to their safety, as travelling on camels mission to cover the pilgrims news, and record rations and wealthy individuals are measures through modern technology, and ing people in it, as well as the guests for listen- required an extensive knowledge of routes their messages to their families. Later on, tel- estimated to cheat governments of in terms of taking individual responsibility to ing to the Qur’an.” to avoid dangerous situations, such as being evision and newspapers joined the mission, to $427 billion in taxes a year. preserve the health and public safety of pil- At the end of the month, it is the time for robbed of money and belongings by bandits. fully cover the Hajj news. When, about a month ago, grims amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. those intending to perform Hajj to prepare for In all cases, there were many stops for rest In the 1970s, the mission established a Biden and Yellen debuted their The challenges facing today’s pilgrims will it. This is when visits from family and relatives along the road, which provided pilgrims with new system related to Hajj affairs, standard- push to build a firm tax floor below be a memory for future generations, just as become frequent, and the elderly are keen to food and drinks. They used to take the postal izing the prices of contractors, and register- which corporations could not fall, the challenges of yesterday’s pilgrims have be- write their wills, and entrust them with God, road, or what was known as Darb al-Saai, and ing pilgrims at the mission headquarters. It naysayers asked what good it was come a memory we now recall. as they never knew when their hour might in summer they walked at night to avoid the also arranged housing with the contractor, to to leave out China and India. The In this context, we have collected in the come, and so they are prepared in case they heat of the sun and took rest at sites where wa- include water, electricity, fans, and ensuring question has now been answered: book ‘The Hajj from Qatar’s Past: A Collection don’t return home safely. ter was available. They walked for three days that the building was appropriate and safe for The two giants were among 130 of Memories’ (Hamad Bin Khalifa University The first step begins with the pilgrim pay- and rested for one or two days, and so on. Peo- their stay. It also stipulated that they should countries, representing 90% of Press, 2020) a number of narrations told by ing the contractor the costs of his trip, then ple experienced everything through this jour- raise the flag of Qatar on all the housing of Qa- global GDP, that last week okayed Qataris from different generations, recalling the contractor takes care of all the travel ar- ney: sickness, death, and even birth. tari pilgrims, and this made it easier for them the concept as a means to tackle their memories of Hajj. Some of them are rangements and sets the departure date. Hajj Camels remained the only method for Qa- to visit to check on each other. chronic tax avoidance by multina- related to the preparations that preceded the caravans begin to gather in a square in Doha, taris to perform Hajj until the beginning of the Upon their return, pilgrims were always tional firms. Hajj journey, and some are related to memo- near the Amiri Diwan at Al Koot fort. Where 1930s, from Doha to Salwa to Hofuf, Al-Ahsa, celebrated for completing this religious ritual An agreement in principle is ries of the road, its troubles, and the difficul- the pilgrims flock from the outskirts of the Riyadh, Mecca, and back by the same route. safely. People would raise the flags in their not a final deal; definitions are ties they faced on the way back and forth, until country, at this point pilgrims feel their spirit- In case of any danger on the land route, homes called ‘Al-Nushur’ to inform others notoriously slippery. And even if they returned safely to their home and fami- ual journey had started, and in between dawn people from the Gulf used to perform pil- that the owner of the house was performing every last nation purported to sign lies, as if they were reborn once again to live (Fajr) and noon (Duha) prayers they become grimages through sea on ships that sailed to Hajj, and then they awaited their arrival to an ironclad agreement to prevent moments of joy by meeting family and loved fully prepared, so the contractor starts to lead Pompeii, then Jeddah, passing through Abu greet and congratulate them on their safe re- tax avoidance, it’s a certainty that ones after God blessed them to perform this the way and announces the beginning of the Shahr, Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai, Bandar Abbas, turn. When the return of pilgrims approached, many governments will be unwill- great duty. journey by land towards ‘Salwa’. Muscat, and Karachi. The duration of the trip people gave sacrifices to rejoice at their return, ing or unable to resist the lure of People of Qatar used to welcome Hajj On the way, many other pilgrims’ convoys to Pompeii was 10 days, followed by a stay of and feasts were held to celebrate this occasion providing breaks, incentives and season with the advent of the Holy Month of join them, some of which are for well-off Qa- over a week, awaiting the ships departing to in the house of the leader of this Hajj journey, direct investments that undermine Ramadan every year. Youssef bin Abdul Rah- taris. The convoy continues on its path until it Jeddah’s port, passing by Oman, then Mukal- where they would give souvenirs and celebrate the new regime. man Al-Khulaifi describes to us the atmos- reaches Abu Samra on the Saudi border. Some la, Aden and Berbera on the African coast, and with them. But every step forward is one phere of Ramadan, saying: “With the advent of those saying goodbye to pilgrims accompa- finally reaching Jeddah after a 10-day journey. It is absolutely impossible to compare the in which the wealthiest and most of the blessed month of Ramadan, there were ny them to the checkpoint and, when the pil- They often suffered from nausea and diseases pilgrimage in the past with now, after the huge powerful economic interests on reflections of an overwhelming generosity and grims cross the border, they return to Doha. they never knew about before. technological revolution of security, services, Earth come a bit closer to paying giving, joy spread and filled the air, people In Abu Samra, the Saudi authorities verify As for travelling to Hajj by car, the fare means of transportation, roads and travel, their share to governments, which opened their doors and welcomed the poor pilgrims’ papers and health vaccination cards, during the 1940s was about one hundred ri- which have spared a lot of time and efforts. can then do their part to invest in to their Iftar table with an open heart and and perform a safety check for pilgrims - ex- yals. The owner of the car took the pilgrims in A journey that took months in the past now helping the disadvantaged, and in shared their food with the needy. As nights of cept for women - in honor of them. It was ap- a two-floor lorry, where the upper floor was -al is performed in a few days. Indeed, each time which US policymakers can levy the blessed month were commemorated with plied until the early 1980s. located to men and the women took the lower in history of Hajj holds special and eternal reasonable taxes on our richest prayers to God and reading Qur’an, people Hajj contractors were aware of the best floor. In the 1960s, I remember cars used to memories. conglomerates without worrying gathered in one of their houses to recite and roads leading to the holy sites; they knew take three days or even more from Riyadh that they are engaging in an end- complete reading the full. By the first day of which roads to take, and usually the avail- to Hijaz, depending on the roughness of the (Mohamed Hammam Fikri, Author, less game of whack-a-mole. Keep Eid when they have completed their Qur’an ability of wells and food were the main criteria road, where a lot of cars broke down along the and Heritage & Rare Books Advisor at it up. reading; the owner of the house gets rewarded which determined the preferred roads, in ad- journey. QNL)

Dilip , ’s ‘tragedy king’, dies aged 98

dpa New Delhi

ne of India’s most famous actors , known for his tear-jerking roles in cinema, died on Wednesday at the age of 98. ODilip Kumar’s death was an- nounced by family friend Faisal Farooqui on the veteran actor’s Twitter handle. Kumar died at Hinduja Hos- pital in , after he was ad- mitted last week complaining of breathlessness. File photo of Bollywood actors Dilip Kumar (left) and People pray for late Bollywood actor Dilip Kumar outside Born in 1922 in , now . (AFP) his ancestral home in Peshawar on Wednesday. (AFP) in , as Muhammad Yusuf , the actor changed his name a year. later went to Egyptian actor Omar enthralled audiences across gen- to Dilip Kumar when he began his His acting was styled yet natu- Sharif. erations. Bollywood career in 1949. ral and had a distinctive quality, In his later years he would play Kumar won many Indian film Kumar has acted in over 60 eminent film critic Khalid Moham- the role of the patriarch, often put- awards, served as a member of par- films in a six-decade long career, Dilip Kumar and his wife . (File photo) (AFP) ed wrote in a 2012 article titled ting in shadow younger stars like liament and the . with his biggest hits between 1949 “The magic of Dilip Kumar” in the Amitabh Bachchan. In 2015, he received the Padma and 1961 - some of them all-time of “Andaz” (1949) and “” roles ranging from a struggling Deccan Chronicle newspaper. “An institution has gone .. Vibhushan, India’s second-highest classics of Bollywood. (1955). farmer, politician, trade unionist, “Dilip Kumar’s diction, dia- whenever the history of Indian civilian award. In “Mughal-e-Azam” (1960), The mood is lighter in the to a refined gentleman and more. logue delivery (oh those killer Cinema will be written , it shall al- He was also honoured by Pa- Kumar played the handsome, be- top-grossing film “Azaad” (1955) Dilip Kumar put in tremen- pauses), fluid body language and ways be ‘before Dilip Kumar, and kistan with the country’s highest sotted Prince Salim trying to stand where he plays a bandit posing as dous effort to get into the skin of a face capable of limitless expres- after Dilip Kumar’,” Bachchan civilian award, the Nishan-e-Paki- up for his love against a larger- a wealthy man, and in “Ganga Ja- his characters, according to his au- sions are unchallenged,” Moham- wrote on Twitter. stan. than-life father in Bollywood’s muna” (1961), woven around social tobiography “The Substance and ed wrote. In a message of condolence, Dilip Kumar is survived by his most lauded period film. issues and class divides. the Shadow,” published in 2014. Kumar is said to have passed Prime Minister Narendra Modi wife Saira Banu, whom he married His other memorable roles in- He was known for his sensitive For a movie where he had to play over a lead role in ’s wrote the actor will be remem- in 1966 when he was 44 and she clude the intense lovelorn heroes portrayal of other male leads, with the sitar, he took lessons for nearly “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) that bered as “a cinematic legend” who was 22. They have no children.

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