Source: Houston Chronicle/Chicago Tribune
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/religion/4817058.html
CHICAGO — Until this year, the answer from the Saudi embassy in Washington, D.C., was always the same: No.
A group of American Muslim high school girls could not enter the kingdom to make a sacred pilgrimage called Umrah to the holy city of Mecca. No, they could not enter Saudi Arabia, even under the supervision of adult female chaperons.
They could only make the journey to Islam's holiest sites accompanied by a male relative, called a mahram. This was tradition, observed since the days of the Prophet Muhammad.
In March, without explanation, the Saudi embassy reversed its decision. Two days later, a group of 15 students and five women from the all-girl Al-Aqsa School in Bridgeview, Ill., boarded a plane to Jeddah, blazing a trail that they pray will be followed by other girls.
"It was like a visa from God," said Maai Shaker, a student who went on the trip. For the girls, who are anticipating graduation in June, the trip has become the highlight of their senior year.