Latest news with #barbers
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Inside Saudi's hajj-only barbershop, shaving thousands of heads in a day
Near the holy city of Mecca, men in white robes stand quietly in a long queue, waiting for the next important act of their hajj pilgrimage: a haircut. Shaving or cutting the hair comes near the end of the hajj, and marks the moment when pilgrims can change out of the Ihram clothing that signifies purity and devotion. The barbershop, strategically positioned by the Jamarat complex in Mina, where the "stoning of the devil" ritual took place on Friday, opens exclusively for the annual hajj and does a roaring trade. On the pilgrimage's third day, which coincides with the major festival of Eid al-Adha, its barbers typically handle 6,000 customers, said manager Imad Fawzi, an official employed by the hajj organisation. Inside, men in plastic aprons wield electric clippers and cut-throat razors, shearing scalps on an industrial scale for 60 riyals ($13) per head. Despite the rush -- there are so many customers that an usher is required -- Ahmed, a 28-year-old barber from Egypt, is happy in his work. "This is a very simple thing to do, but it brings us so much joy," he says. "We're happy to serve the pilgrims... and to be able to work in a holy place," he said. Fawzi, who grew up in Mecca, called himself a "child of the hajj". "I've been working in hajj since I was seven," he says. - 'This outfit is exhausting' - The once-a-year hairdresser is not the only place for a cut: parts of Mecca and the plain of Mina, on its outskirts, turn into an open-air barbershop at this stage of the hajj. Leaving the Jamarat, a southeast Asian man took out a razor and started scraping the back of his head as he walked. Further down the street, a group of African men were shaving each other with clippers. In Mecca, entire streets are lined with barbershops doing brisk business. While men shave their hair, women trim theirs by a fingertip-length. About 1.6 million pilgrims have gathered in and around Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this year's hajj, which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once. Outside the Jamarat barbershop, Hani Abdel Samih is looking forward to changing out of the wrap-around skirt and shawl he has been wearing for the past three days. "The stoning of the devil at Jamarat requires great effort and we've been wearing these clothes all day," he said. "We wanted to wear our everyday clothes and be comfortable, so we went to the nearest barbershop we could find after the Jamarat," said the Egyptian. Yet his face was beaming with joy. He said he did not mind the wait for a haircut that bears a special place in his spiritual journey. "I'm excited, of course! Because this is Sunnah from the Prophet, peace be upon him," he said, referring to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. "We like (this ritual) and we cannot break it," he said. The hajj retraces the Prophet's last pilgrimage, with rites at Mecca's Grand Mosque and Mount Arafat before "stoning the devil" -- throwing pebbles at three giant walls at Jamarat. aya/th/jsa
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
A sacred shear: Pilgrims line up for the Haj's humble finale
MINA, June 7 — Near the holy city of Mecca, men in white robes stand quietly in a long queue, waiting for the next important act of their Haj pilgrimage: a haircut. Shaving or cutting the hair comes near the end of the Haj, and marks the moment when pilgrims can change out of the Ihram clothing that signifies purity and devotion. The barbershop, strategically positioned by the Jamarat complex in Mina, where the 'stoning of the devil' ritual took place on Friday, opens exclusively for the annual Haj and does a roaring trade. On the pilgrimage's third day, which coincides with the major festival of Eid al-Adha, its barbers typically handle 6,000 customers, said manager Imad Fawzi, an official employed by the Haj organisation. Inside, men in plastic aprons wield electric clippers and cut-throat razors, shearing scalps on an industrial scale for 60 riyals (RM55) per head. Despite the rush — there are so many customers that an usher is required — Ahmed, a 28-year-old barber from Egypt, is happy in his work. 'This is a very simple thing to do, but it brings us so much joy,' he says. 'We're happy to serve the pilgrims... and to be able to work in a holy place,' he said. Fawzi, who grew up in Mecca, called himself a 'child of the Haj'. 'I've been working in Haj since I was seven,' he says. 'This outfit is exhausting' The once-a-year hairdresser is not the only place for a cut: parts of Mecca and the plain of Mina, on its outskirts, turn into an open-air barbershop at this stage of the Haj. Leaving the Jamarat, a southeast Asian man took out a razor and started scraping the back of his head as he walked. Further down the street, a group of African men were shaving each other with clippers. In Mecca, entire streets are lined with barbershops doing brisk business. While men shave their hair, women trim theirs by a fingertip-length. About 1.6 million pilgrims have gathered in and around Mecca, Islam's holiest city, for this year's Haj, which all Muslims with the means must complete at least once. Outside the Jamarat barbershop, Hani Abdel Samih is looking forward to changing out of the wrap-around skirt and shawl he has been wearing for the past three days. 'The stoning of the devil at Jamarat requires great effort and we've been wearing these clothes all day,' he said. 'We wanted to wear our everyday clothes and be comfortable, so we went to the nearest barbershop we could find after the Jamarat,' said the Egyptian. Yet his face was beaming with joy. He said he did not mind the wait for a haircut that bears a special place in his spiritual journey. 'I'm excited, of course! Because this is Sunnah from the Prophet, peace be upon him,' he said, referring to the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed. 'We like (this ritual) and we cannot break it,' he said. The Haj retraces the Prophet's last pilgrimage, with rites at Mecca's Grand Mosque and Mount Arafat before 'stoning the devil' — throwing pebbles at three giant walls at Jamarat. — AFP
RNZ News
28-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Hairdressing changes should focus on staffing shortage, hairdresser says
David Seymour getting a haircut at Rodney Wayne in New Market, Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Marika Khabazi Minister for Regulation David Seymour has taken a razor to regulations in the hairdressing industry but the changes have been dismissed as a waste of time by some. From July, barbers and hairdressers will be able to decide things like the distance between salon seats, the brightness of the lights and whether you can have a cup of tea with your cut. The changes follow a review - carried out by the Ministry for Regulation along with the Ministry of Health - that looked at the regulations the industry needed to follow and whether any of them were deemed to be unnecessary or holding the industry back. But owner of Matt Forsman Hair in Wellington Matt Forsman told Midday Report the changes were a unnecessary. "I believe everyone has been ignoring a lot of these rules for quite some time. "Not particularly the spacing of seats or number of lumium required at each station, but the whole, you know, cup of tea coffee thing and also the dog thing. It seems like everyone serves their clients refreshments already and clients are typically aloud to bring their pooch in as well." He said he didn't disagree with the minister that regulations were a "waste of time", but said the attention could be better focused towards other issues facing the industry. "Pre Covid we used to enjoy a really good supply of talented, articulate and clever hairdresser coming from places like the UK, and post Covid we just have not had that. "I don't know whether the immigration standards or regulations have changed or whether we are not a priority, but pretty much every salon owner I know is looking for staff - we have a shortage of people in the industry." Earlier, Minister for Regulation David Seymour said "pointless bureaucracy" was being cut back, and it would save the industry about $1 million a year. "Some will say 'what's a million dollars in the context of the whole economy', I say how many times do you see a government actually removing rules that aren't needed, actually saving money year after year to make it easier to get on with our lives." Seymour said it was critical "people up and down this country who run small businesses can spend more time doing what they want to do and spend less time complying with pointless rules and regulations". Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Arab News
10-05-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Gunmen kill two barbers among three, set police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan's southwest
QUETTA: Gunmen killed three people, including two barbers from the eastern Punjab province, and set a police vehicle ablaze in Pakistan's restive Balochistan province in the southwest, police and paramilitary Levies officials said on Saturday. Balochistan, Pakistan's most impoverished province, has been the site of a decades-old insurgency, where separatist militants often target security forces, police, foreigners and ethnic Punjabi commuters and workers, who they see as 'outsiders,' by wresting control of highways and remote towns. In this first attack, gunmen shot dead three people and injured another one inside a barber shop in Lasbela, a district adjacent to Pakistan's commercial capital of Karachi, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Atif Amir. 'Two of the deceased hailed from Bahawalpur (Punjab) and one from Quetta,' the official told Arab News. 'Hunt for the attackers is underway.' In another incident, dozens of armed men entered the Panjgur district late on Friday night and attempted to seize control of the Panjgur city and nearby areas. 'The armed men set a police vehicle and record of the Panjgur police station on fire,' Abdullah Baloch, an official at the Panjgur Levies control room, told Arab News. 'No casualty was reported despite an exchange of fire between security forces and armed men in Panjgur city and Goran, another area located 15 kilometers from Panjgur.' No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, but Baloch separatists have carried out similar assaults on law enforcers and ethnic Punjabis in the past. The separatists accuse Islamabad of exploiting the province's natural resources, such as gold and copper, and accuse foreigners and people from other province of backing the Pakistani state. Successive Pakistani governments have denied the allegations and said they only worked for the uplift of the region and its people. The latest attacks come at a time, when Pakistan is fighting another insurgency by religiously motivated militant groups in its northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, while the country's eastern border with India has also flared up in recent weeks over an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists last month. Islamabad has variously accused Afghanistan and India of supporting the Pakistani Taliban and Baloch separatist groups, an allegation denied by Kabul and New Delhi. In March, the Baloch Liberation Army separatist group hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan's Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed, according to officials. Late last month, police killed nine suspected militants in an intelligence-based operation in Balochistan's Pishin district.
