COVID: Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah Suggests Not To Send Pilgrims From India This Year
New Delhi:
The government has decided that Muslims from India will not travel to Saudi Arabia for the Haj 2020 after the kingdom announced that pilgrims should not be sent this year following the coronavirus pandemic, said on Tuesday Minister for Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi.
The decision was made after Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Mohammad Saleh bin Taher Benten, called last night and suggested not to send Hajj pilgrims this year, he said. told reporters.
Saudi Arabia said on Monday that it has banned international visitors from making the Islamic pilgrimage in an effort to control the coronavirus pandemic.
Naqvi said that 213,000 applications had been received for the Haj 2020 and that the process of refunding the total amount deposited by the candidates without any deduction had been started immediately.
The money will be refunded via the direct transfer of online benefits to the candidates’ bank accounts, said the Minister for Minority Affairs, adding that it will be the first time since independence that Indian pilgrims will not leave for the Haj due to the unprecedented situation posed by the pandemic.
More than 2,300 women had requested to perform Haj without a mehram (male companion) this year and now they will be allowed to go for Haj in 2021 based on their request this year. Besides them, more women, who will ask to fetch Haj without Mehram next year, will also be helped, he said.
A total of 3,040 women performed Haj after Narendra Modi’s government assured that Muslim women could perform Haj without a mehram in 2018, said Naqvi, adding that a total of 2 Indian Muslim lakhs had performed the Haj in 2019, about 50% of them will be women.
In a statement, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Haj and Umrah said that due to the coronavirus pandemic and the risks of its spread in overcrowded spaces and large gatherings, it was decided that the Haj for this year will be held under which a “very limited number” of pilgrims of various nationalities already resident in Saudi Arabia could do so.
“This decision is made to ensure that the Haj is performed in a safe manner from a public health point of view while observing all necessary preventive measures and social distancing protocols,” said the statement.
Naqvi said that by honoring the decision of the Saudi government due to the serious challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and keeping in mind the health and well-being of the people, it was decided that Muslims from India would not travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the Haj this year. .
The whole world is facing the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and Saudi Arabia has also been affected by it, he noted.
Haj 2020 is offered between late July and early August.
Haj is one of the five pillars of Islam that every Muslim must accomplish at least once in his life if he is healthy enough and has the means to do so.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
