内容摘要：On May 13, just after the end of trade talks in Geneva, the US Commerce Department issued guidance warning American firms against using Huawei’s Ascend AI semiconductor chips, stating that they “were likely developed or produced in violation of US export controls”.

On May 13, just after the end of trade talks in Geneva, the US Commerce Department issued guidance warning American firms against using Huawei’s Ascend AI semiconductor chips, stating that they “were likely developed or produced in violation of US export controls”.

The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and it is the fifth and final pillar of Islam, along with declaration of faith (shahada), five daily prayers, obligatory charity (), and fasting during the month of Ramadan.

The word comes from the Arabic root “h-j-j”, which means “intending a journey” or “to set out for a definitive purpose”.It is obligatory once in a lifetime for all adult Muslims who are physically and financially able to undertake the journey.2. When is the Hajj performed?

The Hajj is performed between the 8th and 12th (or 13th) of Dhul-Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar. The timing falls roughly 70 days after the end of Ramadan, though this can vary slightly depending on the lunar cycle.In 2025, the Hajj will take place from June 4 to June 9, but many start arriving in the days and weeks ahead to prepare for the journey.

Because the Islamic calendar follows a lunar cycle, with months lasting 29 or 30 days, the Hajj shifts 10 to 12 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar. Notably, this year marks the last time for the next 16 years that the Hajj will fall during Mecca’s peak summer heat.

3. Why do Muslims perform the Hajj?The long-term solution to this state of affairs is for ordinary people to become more engaged in localised democratic practices, changing the quality of people who rise up the ranks in politics. Of course, this can be difficult when people are merely trying to survive a hostile political and economic climate, but in the long term, it creates new entry points for civic engagement.

Democracy is strengthened when more people participate in the governance of civic institutions like schools, hospitals, trade unions, cooperatives, neighbourhood associations, and even sports and social clubs – in processes that they can immediately connect to their quality of life.Elections then become the culmination of four or five years of regular exercises of democracy, not a separate process that floats above the reality of people’s lives.

In parallel, the onus is on the legislators of East Africa to find their teeth and their purpose. Their job is not political survival or the pursuit of political careers. Their job is to defend the people who elected them, to rein in the excesses of the executive and to defend the integrity of the constitution.Meanwhile, we, the people, should all heed the call of Nigerian public intellectual Tajudeen Abdul-Raheem: “Don’t agonise, organise,” and seek to rebuild democracy in East Africa from the ground up.