The Hajj, a pilgrimage for Muslims and one of the largest human gatherings on Earth, begins in Saudi Arabia on June 26 and ends on July 1.
The number of other people participating in the pilgrimage to the Kaaba, or House of God, in Mecca has been particularly reduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, it will return to normal, with an estimated 2. 6 million Muslim pilgrims expected to make the journey.
The functionality of the Hajj is a vital component of the Islamic faith. Just as a practicing and physically capable Muslim will have to pray regularly, give alms and fast during the month of Ramadan, performing pilgrimage, i. e. performing the Hajj is thought to be one of the five pillars of the fiduciary system.
Hajj is held each and every year in a prescribed manner for six days of the 12th month of the Islamic calendar.
However, there are around 2 billion Muslims in the world and given the number of Muslims involved, it would be Saudi Arabia to welcome all who wish to perform Hajj at any given time. For this reason, the Saudi government assigns other countries a quota that indicates how many other people from that country can come to Mecca each year.
Generally speaking, the rule is about one pilgrim consistent with 1,000 Muslims in Muslim-majority countries. This is all that was agreed at the Organization of the Islamic Conference in 1987.
For example, in Indonesia, an estimated 88% of the approximately 276 million inhabitants are Muslim. This year, Indonesia’s quota for the Hajj barely exceeds 230,000.
While the Saudis specify quotas, the real is regularly provided within the country. Many countries have their own internal lottery or qualification formula and quotas for figuring out how to distribute Saudi Hajj visas.
Some, such as Indonesia, require applicants to pay a payment to participate in a lottery or, if they are not drawn, to be placed on a waiting list. Quota systems in Indonesia and elsewhere mean that many Muslims around the world would have to wait years. , decades, to carry out the Hajj.
Other countries, such as Jordan, can request the date of birth of pilgrims on a registration website. They can also make sure that the user has not performed the Hajj before. This is so that older Muslims can perform the Hajj before they die, and those who never had the chance to go.
In the past, domestic systems have given rise to all sorts of controversies as well as accusations of corruption, mismanagement and favouritism.
For example, senior Indian officials have been accused of giving more than the Saudi quota to some local tour operators in exchange for bribes. In Pakistan in 2014, politicians were implicated in a corruption investigation similar to the mismanagement of a fund to which pilgrims aspired. Make a contribution to securing your position on a waiting list. Potential pilgrims have also speculated that Saudi embassy staff make money by promoting Hajj visas.
The scenario is different in countries where Muslims constitute a devout minority. Until recently, Muslims living in countries such as the United States, Canada, Australia and the European Union did not have to deal with a quota formula and tended to go on pilgrimage more or less as they wished.
Travel is regularly facilitated through local travel agencies, connected with Muslim network organizations or mosques, which specialize in preparing consumers for the Hajj. Many travel agencies are licensed through Saudi Arabia, providing them with a number of Hajj visas to distribute. to purchase a package of excursions (this includes visa, flight, accommodation and other facilities that Hajj missions usually adopt) for travel. These agencies tended to sell Hajj travel packages on a first-come, first-served basis.
All of that replaced in early June 2022, when the Saudi government introduced its own online platform called Motawif. Unexpectedly, he asked pilgrims from 57 countries, most commonly in the so-called West, to cancel all pre-existing bookings and register. your interest in the Hajj separately on the website. In fact, it has also eliminated specialized tour operators who in the past served as intermediaries.
The number of Muslims in the West who can perform the Hajj has since declined. Some complained about the loss of this privilege, but other observers noted that the declines are roughly in line with the ratio of one consistent with 1000. For example, the UK is home to some 3. 8 million Muslims. Before the pandemic, some 25,000 British Muslims performed the Hajj, but the new formula only grants 3,600 Hajj visas to the UK.
The Saudi government has claimed to have made adjustments to crack down on Hajj scams and travel company contractors, but some analysts the move was more economical in nature. Religious travel and tourism is a vital component of the Gulf oil-rich state’s attempts to diversify its domestic revenue stream away from oil. The country earns between $8 billion and $12 billion (€10. 9 billion) from a general Hajj season and needs to temporarily increase the number of normal pilgrims and tourists.
Last year’s sudden change by the Saudis has caused a great deal of complaint, with would-be pilgrims not even knowing if they would be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia until some time before their departure. They had paid for a Hajj package. Others are still waiting for their money.
This year, Saudi Arabia introduced the website, Nusuk, for the same purpose. However, would-be pilgrims have already reported problems, with one hashtag on social media, #nusuked, compiling a litany of complaints.
Most of those affected by adjustments to the formula this year and last year said they had not gotten any reaction from the Saudi government to their requests.
“The kingdom chooses to keep the quota formula as opaque as you can imagine to exploit it as a political tool to praise its allies and punish its opponents,” said Turan Kayaoglu, a foreign relations professor at the University of Washington. in a 2020 editorial for The Brookings Institution. ” In addition, Saudi Arabia would possibly facilitate or save the issuance of visas. For example, under the Saudi blockade, Qatari pilgrims were denied Hajj functionality because many had difficulty obtaining visas. “
Kayaoglu argued that it would be better if the Hajj quota formula and logistical control were entrusted to a more foreign body, than to allow the Saudis to use it for their own political purposes. It is a vital ritual that deserves to belong to all Muslims, he said. saying.
Ihsan Yilmaz, a professor at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia, sees Saudi Arabia’s control over Hajj visas as a form of comfortable power, to convince more Muslims of the Saudi version of Islam.
“The Saudis have used this comfortable force as much as they can,” Yilaz, who chairs the university’s department of Islamic studies, wrote in a 2022 article for the Australian Institute of International Affairs. “They knew that the Hajj represents a wonderful opportunity to win the hearts and minds of millions of pilgrims. “
Saudi Arabia also hosts Muslim elites (academics, journalists, political leaders) for the Hajj, Yilmaz added. “In fact, many opinion leaders in Muslim countries have been reluctant to criticize the Saudis, for fear that they will not be allowed to travel to Saudi Arabia to carry out the Hajj,” he suggested.
For Muslims who miss the Hajj, there is also some other option known as Umrah. This forces the pilgrim to take the same route, but this shorter adventure can be done at any time of the year. About 19 million Muslims adopt this adventure year and Saudi Arabia grants those visas much more freely.
Edited by: Martín Kuebler