Ministry of Religion Hopes Saudi to Announce Hajj Certainty

Jakarta, MINA – Director General of Hajj and Umrah Administration, Nizar said that until now there has been no official information from Saudi Arabia regarding the implementation of the Hajj 1441 H/2020 M.

Saudi, as Indonesia is currently still focused on accelerating the handling of Covid-19 for the safety and health of its citizens.

“Our coordination with the Hajj Consul of the Indonesian Consulate General in Jeddah, until now there has been no official decision from the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Saudi regarding hajj this year. We continue to monitor developments and await official decisions from the Government of Saudi Arabia, “Nizar said in Jakarta on Wednesday, May 6.

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However, Nizar hoped the certainty of the implementation of Hajj 1441 H / 2020 M had been announced by the Saudis before 20 Ramadan or 13 May. Because, Saudi will soon enter the summer vacation period.

“Our hope is that on the 19th of Ramadan or May 12, a decision has already been made. 20 Ramadan to 10 Shawwal, Saudi enters the summer holiday period. “If it is decided after the holiday, the preparations for it will be too tight because the Hajj operation will start in the month of Zul Qa’dah,” he continued.

Nizar claimed to hear information that the Government of Saudi Arabia will reopen access to the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque for Taraweeh prayer. It also includes community access to Sunnah Tawaf (not Tawaf Umrah).

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“After access is reopened, hopefully the Saudis will immediately announce the certainty of the implementation of the pilgrimage this year, just know or not,” he explained.

Nizar also explained that the preparatory process for the implementation of the pilgrimage in Indonesia continues. Non-face-to-face hajj rituals (online) have been carried out by disseminating videos through social media.

“At the moment we are intensifying the spread of the Hajj ritual video through the social media Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) to make it more accessible to the public,” he said.

The process of paying off Phase I Pilgrimage Travel Costs (Bipih) was also just closed on April 30, 2020. In total there were 179,584 regular pilgrims who had paid off.

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Indonesia’s Hajj Quota in 2020 is 221,000, this number consisting of 203,320 regular Hajj quota and 17,680 special Hajj quota.

“Because there is still a quota remaining, the second stage of the pilgrimage payment will be opened, namely from 12-20 May 2020,” he concluded. (T/RE1)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)