Identifying the Psychosocial Aspects of Crowd during Pilgrimage: The Experiences of a Group of Pakistani Female Hajj Pilgrims (Mengenalpasti Aspek Psikososial Orang ramai Yang Bersesak Semasa Haji: Pengalaman Kumpulan Jama'ah Haji Wanita Pakistan)

Authors

  • Shukran Abd Rahman Associate Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia.
  • Jasni Sulong Associate Professor, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
  • Zarina Mat Saad Associate Professor, Universiti Utara Malaysia.
  • Nor Diana Mohd Mahudin Assistant Professor, International Islamic University Malaysia.
  • Zulkarnain Ahmad Hatta Professor, Lincoln College University.
  • Intan Hashimah Hashim Associate Professor, Universiti Sains Malaysia.
  • Noraida Abdul Ghani Associate Professor, Universiti Sains Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v16i3.873

Abstract

Hajj is a series of activities which involve the presence of many people of diverse backgrounds in specific sites. It is an annual event which necessitates Muslims from all over the world to travel to Makkah during the Hajj season. The participation in hajj involves a number of remarkable experiences by the pilgrims who encounter various new incidents that involve their physical, psychosocial and social experiences. Despite the widely reported accounts of hajj, less has been conducted to study the experience of people who travel from different parts of the world to Makkah. The objective of this paper is to report the findings from a focus group discussion which examined the experiences of hajj among Pakistani female pilgrims. Data was collected from 11 respondents from Lahore, Pakistan. They were required to state their confrontations in hajj sites; and the reasons for having such experiences. They reported both positive and negative feelings during hajj; highlighted their and others’ pattern of behaviours when performing hajj including commendable and hazardous actions that they observed among pilgrims and hajj service providers. They also reported their concerns over crowd management issues, and the pilgrims’ lack of mental preparation to be with others of different cultural backgrounds. The findings serve as a basis for the development of interventions to help hajj managers, policy makers, and future hajj pilgrims to understand the psychological states and sociological conditions during hajj

Keywords: hajj, crowd, pilgrims, psychology, emotion, cognition, behavior.

Abstrak

Ibadat haji merupakan beberapa siri aktiviti-aktiviti yang melibatkan kehadiran kumpulan manusia yang ramai datang dari pelbagai latar belakang di lokasi haji yang ditetapkan. Ia adalah aktiviti tahunan bila mana jamaah haji dari seluruh pelusuk dunia pergi ke Mekah dalam bulan haji untuk mengerjakan ibadat tersebut. Penyertaan dalam ibadat haji tersebut  memberikan beberapa pengalaman yang luar biasa kepada jamaah di manamereka alami pelbagai pengalaman secara  fizikal, psikososial dan sosial. Walaupun wujud pelbagai pengalaman yang dilaporkan jamaah haji, tidak banyak kajian yang dilakukan untuk mengkaji pengalaman jamaah yang datang daripada seluruh pelosok dunia ketika berada di Mekah, bercampur gaul dengan jamaah-jamaah yang berlainan budaya dan tingkahlaku. Objektif artikel ini adalah untuk melaporkan dapatan kajian hasil daripada perbincangan kumpulan berfokus untuk mengenalpasti pengalaman haji dalam kalangan jamaah wanita Pakistan. Data telah dikumpulkan daripada 11 orang responden dari Lahore, Pakistan. Mereka dikehendaki menyatakan pengalaman mereka semasa berada di lokasi ibadat haji; dan sebab mereka mengalami pengalaman-pengalaman sedemikian. Mereka melaporkan wujud perasaan positif dan negatif semasa menunaikan haji; turut menekankan bentuk tingkah laku mereka dan orang lain ketika menunaikan haji, termasuk memperihalkan tindakan terpuji dan berbahaya yang mereka perhatikan dalam kalangan jemaah haji dan penyedia-penyedia perkhidmatan haji. Mereka turut melaporkan kebimbangan mereka mengenai isu-isu pengurusan sesakan/kerumunan jamaah haji, dan kekurangan persiapan mental para jemaah untuk berhadapan dengan jamaah-jamaah lain yang berlainan latar belakang. Dapatan ini berfungsi sebagai asas bagi membangunkan kaedah-kaedah untuk membantu pengurus haji, pembuat dasar, dan jamaah haji di masa depan untuk memahami keadaan psikologi dan sosiologi jamaah semasa menunaikan ibadat haji. Cadangan kaedah-kaedah untuk menangani kesesakan jemaah haji dihuraikan pada bahagian perbincangan.

Kata Kunci: Haji, kesesakan orang ramai, jamaah haji, psikologi, emosi, kognitif, tingkah laku.

 

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Published

2019-12-30

How to Cite

Abd Rahman, S., Sulong, J., Mat Saad, Z., Mohd Mahudin, N. D. ., Ahmad Hatta, Z. ., Mohd. Hashim, I. H. ., & Abdul Ghani, N. . (2019). Identifying the Psychosocial Aspects of Crowd during Pilgrimage: The Experiences of a Group of Pakistani Female Hajj Pilgrims (Mengenalpasti Aspek Psikososial Orang ramai Yang Bersesak Semasa Haji: Pengalaman Kumpulan Jama’ah Haji Wanita Pakistan). Journal of Islam in Asia (E-ISSN 2289-8077), 16(3), 416–435. https://doi.org/10.31436/jia.v16i3.873