umrah

Saudi Evaluates Plans for Hajj, Umrah this Year Amid Pandemic

Saudi Evaluates Plans for Hajj, Umrah this Year Amid Pandemic

After assessing the COVID-19 pandemic situation, Saudi Arabia will announce this year’s Hajj and Umrah preparations, acting Saudi minister of media Dr. Majid Al Qasabi told the media in Riyadh on June 6.

The existence of COVID variations, according to Dr. Al Qasabi, highlights the importance of a detailed assessment of the virus’s spread since “we don’t want this year’s Haj to be an epicentre for the spread of the disease in the Kingdom or the Muslim world.” He stated that the Hajj, Umrah, and health ministers would make a decision soon.

Saudi Evaluates Plans for Hajj, Umrah this Year Amid PandemicSaudi Arabia Reviews Plans for Hajj, Umrah this Year Amid Pandemic

Meanwhile, Eng. Hesham Abdulmonem Saeed, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah Services for Haj and Umrah performers, told the media that the safe Umrah model emphasized protection by managing pilgrim crowds going to the Grand Mosque through booked time slots, as well as improving services for their personal needs using the most up-to-date modern techniques, the Khaleej Times reported.

He added that the Eatmarna app established by the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority (SDAIA) also verifies the health of permission applicants, noting that this is a cooperative effort including the governmental, private, and voluntary sectors.

He noted that the Hajj and Umrah Ministries, as well as the Ministries of Interior, Health, and the General Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques, are working together to make Hajj and Umrah easier for pilgrims and tourists.

Only after the construction of a safe model that highlighted current technologies, including digitizing procedures to offer pilgrims with needed services through multiple options supplied by the ministry, was the Haj and gradual reintroduction of Umrah allowed in October of last year.

The Eatmarna application, which allows users to seek permission (prayer permissions, Umrah permits, and Rawdah praying permissions) at Makkah and Madinah’s mosques, is highlighted in the tech-focused models.

Around 20 million people downloaded the app, and over 30,000 people employed the services of Inaya (care) centers in Makkah and Madinah to aid pilgrims from other countries.

The Hajj and Umrah Ministry also established four transportation sites to convey worshippers and pilgrims to and from Makkah’s Grand Mosque.

READ NEXT: Saudi Arabia to Require COVID-19 Vaccination for Hajj 2021

Saudi Arabia Bars GCC Citizens from Entering Mecca, Medinah

Saudi Arabia Bars GCC Citizens from Entering Mecca, Medinah

On Friday (February 28), Saudi Arabia has announced that it will deny entry of GCC citizens to two of Islam’s holiest cities amid fears over the new coronavirus.

The decision to halt access to Mecca and Medinah comes a day after the kingdom suspended visas for the year-round “umrah” pilgrimage, an unprecedented move that has left hundreds of thousands of Muslim pilgrims around the world in limbo.

Saudi Arabia Bars GCC Citizens from Entering Mecca, Medinah
Credits: Wikimedia Commons

Saudi Gov’t Suspends Entry of GCC Citizens to Mecca, Medinah

According to the foreign ministry, “the temporary suspension of entry of (GCC) citizens to the cities of Mecca and Medina,” as shared in a report by Gulf News.

The GCC states include Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar.

However, the ministry announcement did not specify whether this suspension extended to Saudi citizens, as well.

On the other hand, the ministry statement said the decision excludes “GCC citizens who have been in the kingdom for 14 consecutive days and did not show signs of coronavirus infection.”

So far, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has reported no coronavirus cases but there are mounting concerns over a spike in infections across the Middle East, including neighboring Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE.

Meanwhile, GCC citizens are allowed to enter the kingdom with their national identity document. But on Thursday, the government said they could only enter using their passports and not IDs.

In a report by the pan-Arab daily Asharq al-Awsat, the move is designed to check the travel history of the GCC citizens, including any recent visits to countries impacted by the virus.

On Thursday, the Kingdom also suspended visas for tourists from countries affected by the virus as fears of a pandemic deepen.

According to state media, electronic tourist visas for people arriving from seven countries, including China, Italy, Japan, South Korea and Kazakhstan, have all been suspended.

And while Saudi Arabia said the suspensions were temporary, it did not provide any time frame for when they will be lifted.

The announcements have also triggered speculations and uncertainty over the annual hajj pilgrimage scheduled for July.

In a statement, the foreign ministry shared: “The government of Saudi Arabia… is closely following developments in the spread of the virus and its repercussions on an ongoing basis, and that the precautionary measures are being reviewed according to any new developments.”

Every year, Saudi Arabia hosts millions of pilgrims in the cities of Mecca and Medina, and this has become one of the Kingdom’s major source of revenue since the decline in demand and production of oil globally.

Interestingly, the pilgrimage forms a crucial source of revenue for the government, which has said it aims to attract 30 million religious visitors annually to the kingdom by 2030.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Haj and Umrah has informed that the Saudi government is closely following developments in the spread of the virus and its repercussions on an ongoing basis and that the precautionary measures will be reviewed according to any new developments, and additional measures shall be taken if the need arises.

ALSO READ: [VIDEO] Here’s How Muslims Celebrated Eid on Final Days of Haj in Saudi Arabia

[VIDEO] Here’s How Muslims Celebrated Eid on Final Days of Haj in Saudi Arabia

[VIDEO] Here’s how Muslims Celebrated Eid on the Final Days of Haj in Saudi Arabia

This year, there were close to 2.5 million pilgrims who took part in a symbolic stoning of the devil in the final days of the Haj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia as Muslims around the world marked the start of the Eid Al Adha celebrations.

The symbolic act was performed by pilgrims in Mina by throwing pebbles at a pillar in a symbolic casting away of evil during the final days of Haj.

[VIDEO] Here’s how Muslims Celebrated Eid on the Final Days of Haj in Saudi Arabia
Credits: Saudi Press Agency / Twitter

[WATCH] Muslims Celebrate Eid on Last Days of Haj in Saudi Arabia

Muslims around the world commemorated the end of Haj with Eid celebrations, including distributing food to the poor.

Owing to the Kingdom’s reputation as the cradle of Islam, and the guardianship of Islam’s holiest sites, in Mecca and Medina, and organizing the world’s largest annual Muslim gathering which retraces the route Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago, Saudi Arabia deployed tens of thousands of security forces and medics alongside modern technology including surveillance drones to maintain order.

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The arrival of nearly two and a half million pilgrims, mostly from abroad, is part of the religious duty once in a lifetime for every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it.

The people are asked to carefully follow and observe schedules for each stage of Haj, but with so many people, panic is a constant danger.

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Under close supervision and dressed in white garments signifying a state of purity, the faithful converged on Jamarat to perform the stoning ritual from a three-storey bridge erected to ease congestion after stampedes in previous years.

The pilgrims will then return to the bridge over the final two days for more stoning before returning to Mecca to pray at the Grand Mosque at the end of Haj.

The Haj and year-round Umrah create billions of dollars in revenue from pilgrims’ lodging, transport, fees, and gifts.

The authorities aim to increase the number of Umrah and Haj pilgrims to 15 million and 5 million respectively by 2020 and hope to double the Umrah number again to 30 million by 2030.

Similarly, Muslims from all over the world observe the Eid Al Adha – the annual Feast of the Sacrifice. Hundreds attend a morning prayer gathering at mosques. The holiday commemorates Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son to God and marks the end of the Haj pilgrimage to Mecca.

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Saudi Arabia Introduces Special Website for Qatari Hajj Pilgrims

Saudi Arabia Introduces Special Website for Qatari Hajj Pilgrims

August will mark a special time for Muslims all over the world as this is related to the annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, known as hajj.

That being said, movement is expected among pilgrims in the region and from the rest of the world. However, with the on-going tension happening in the Middle East, involving key countries such as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, even religious practices such as the annual pilgrimage to Mecca are being affected as early as now.

Saudi Arabia Introduces Special Website for Qatari Hajj Pilgrims
Credits: Wikimedia Commons

Saudi Launches New Website for Qatari Hajj Pilgrims

In preparation for the hajj, Saudi Arabia has set up a special website to facilitate Qatari Hajj pilgrims this year – after Qatari authorities have reportedly blocked electronic links, hindering their citizens from applying for Hajj, as shared in a report by the Khaleej Times.

As per the instruction by the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, the ministry of Haj and Umrah has completed all necessary arrangements to serve Qataris intending to perform Hajj this year, through a special website to enable them to register their data and choose the service that suits their needs.

In line with this, ministry authorities called on Qatari authorities to stop blocking electronic or online links, and, instead cooperate with Saudi Arabia to enable their citizens to perform Haj comfortably, as part of their commitment to the faith.

Furthermore, Qatari pilgrims can now book Umrah packages upon their arrival in Saudi Arabia, and will not to have to do so while in Qatar or online.

Qatari pilgrims will be able to do this at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport which is the main port of entry for most of them.

The decision to open new avenues for Qatari pilgrims to perform Hajj this year, reflects the Kingdom’s openness to welcome Qatari nationals to perform pilgrimages to the Kingdom, even as there’s a diplomatic rift between the two nations.

In Islam, Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam, and all able-bodied Muslims are required to perform it at least once in their lifetime. The pilgrimage is seen as a chance to wipe clean past sins and start anew. Many seek to deepen their faith through the Hajj, with women taking on the Islamic hair covering known as “hijab” upon returning from this journey.

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