A group of Harvard students and family members recently returned from a Umrah pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina.

Umrah group shot.

According to University Muslim Chaplains Khalil Abdur-Rashid and Samia Omar, who planned and co-led the second such University trip to Saudi Arabia, it was a tremendous success.

Like the Hajj, the grand pilgrimage that all Muslims are expected to complete once during their lifetime, the Umrah is a spiritual journey to the sacred city of Mecca. Dubbed the “minor pilgrimage,” it involves the same core religious rites as the Hajj but requires less time and can be performed at any time of year.

Abdur-Rashid and Omar led 31 participants on Harvard’s inaugural Umrah trip in 2019. Funded by a donor who pledged annual support for 30 students to take the trip, it involved months of coordination with travel and visa agencies, the Schools, central University travel and health offices, and Saudi ministries. The resulting 10-day visit went off without a hitch.

In 2020 things did not go as smoothly. Scheduled for late January, the trip had to be canceled at the last minute as the COVID-19 pandemic began to sweep the globe — a blow for the chaplains and students who were just about to depart.

But for many of them, the opportunity came again this January. The group welcomed 69 participants, including 32 College students and several graduate students, alumni, and family members, many of whom had originally been scheduled for 2020. The opportunity to include family members like her mother, Dina Kobeissi ’24 said, was particularly special: “There aren’t many Harvard memories we share with our families other than maybe parents’ weekend or graduation, so for the trip to have parents and siblings made it so much more valuable and memorable for my Harvard experience.”

Full article:  Harvard group returns from second Umrah trip – Harvard Gazette