http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=104825&d=20&m=12&y=2007&pix=kingdom.jpg&category=KingdomSiraj Wahab, Arab News
"You are right, we are neither men nor women. 'Hamara dono me shumar nahi hota.' We are born this way," he said. "This is my second Haj. I was here in 1998. That is why I have added the title 'Haji' to my name. I am revered in my community and they look up to me with awe and whatever I say is taken as a command."
Back in India, however, Haji Saleem is actually known by a female name, Salma. The other three gave their names as Abdul Rasheed (better known as Mumtaz), Abdul Shabbir (Sanno) and Haji Zahoor (Zohra). They laugh and grin sheepishly when giving their actual community names. "We are known in Bhopal's Islampur-Bhudhwara area as Salma, Mumtaz, Sanno and Zohra. Those are our real names," said Haji Saleem.
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What does Islam say concerning eunuchs and the pilgrimage? Prominent scholar and Arab News' Islamic Affairs Editor Adil Salahi said: "If the eunuch is a man who has been castrated, all the rulings concerning men apply to him. If it is a question of a person being created thus, then whatever the person appears to be applies to him. If the eunuch says he is a man, or if he says he is a woman, Islam accepts this from him in things which do not give him material advantage. As far as pilgrimage, the eunuch is required to offer the pilgrimage just as everyone else. If the eunuch's form suggests he is a man, such as having hair in the face, then he is a man. If the form suggests a woman, such as having breasts, then she is a woman."
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Translation of the Urdu sentence quoted above:
'We are not included in either of the two.'
