Government around the world in coordination with the Ministry of Haj, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, try their utmost to make the pilgrimage easy for the pilgrims.

The number of pilgrims has steadily gone up over the years. In certain cases it is because of prosperity, while in others it is because of religious awakening. And both have added new vigor in the young Muslim, who wants to fulfil the religious obligation as soon as he can.

With an average stay of around 40 days, and an average travel package costing SR 6,500, it is important for anyone who wishes to fulfil this highly exceptional duty to know the details of what to do, when to do it, and what to avoid.

Countries try to outdo others by providing better facilities and services to their respective nationals. While Indonesia has a special Haj Section to look after Haj affairs, Britain – a non-Muslim European country – sets up temporary Haj Delegation in Makkah to serve its nationals, and India has introduced a special email service for individual Pilgrims, which they say is fast and efficient.

Indonesia, the country with the largest Muslim population, had a contingent of 204,584 Pilgrims coming for Haj this year. They had been given guidance in Haj rituals, health guides and training in Arabic language.



The Holy City of Madinah

To cater to the needs of such a huge number of pilgrims Jakarta had set up a Haj section in Jeddah. Although it falls under the Embassy of Indonesia, the Section has a separate building and a staff of 45 personnel which works throughout the year to support and serve the pilgrims during the Haj season.

Dr Muslim Nasution, Haj Consul, Indonesia, speaking about Haj and Umra, said the government of Indonesia is basically being a partner in conjunction with the Saudi Ministry of Haj.

They have selected 649 buildings in Makkah and 388 buildings in Madina. The first Haj flight arrived on January 9, 2003, and the last flight taking the Pilgrims back departed on March 14, 2003.

Malaysia on the other hand sent 49,500 pilgrims this year. They claim to be the most disciplined pilgrims. In Kuala Lumpur training on various pilgrimage requirements is imparted to those going for Haj.

The general view that emerged after talking to Singapore’s top Haj official, was that the effects of recession and an economic slowdown over the past two years may once again prevent some Singaporean Muslims from being able to fulfil their wish of performing Haj in February next year.

“The online registration for the Hegira 1423 Haj is still on, and we have not received many requests for withdrawals,” said Abdul Halim Mohammed Amin, head of Haj services at Majlis Ugama Islam Singapura (MUIS), or the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore – the government body which administers Muslim affairs in this island republic of four million people, 16 percent of them Muslim. He said that an average of 4,000 Muslims from Singapore go for Haj every year. “However, this time we expect 3,500 people to proceed for the pilgrimage as against 4,022 the last time. This is mainly because of the economic difficulties faced by the people in general and a lack of extra money which Muslims earn in normal economic circumstances and utilities for Haj.”



Millions of Muslims gather in The Holy City of Makkah Every year to perform the Hajj.

But many other travel agents are upbeat, saying not many people have cancelled booking. “Our group of 150 pilgrims is all set to fly on February 4 by Saudia,” said Zainal Abidin, director of Primula Travel & Tours, one of the principal travel agents approved by MUIS.

The economic downturn has, however, taken its toll on the Thai pilgrims. The number has dropped from 21,000 in 1993 to around 7,000 now.

Somsakdi Suriyawongse, Charge d’Affairs at Royal Thai embassy in Riyadh said the Thai Haj delegation has already visited the Holy Land twice to finalise arrangements for the forthcoming Haj.

He said the imams of mosques in every village guide Muslims about the pilgrimage rituals. Muslims comprise six percent of the 62 million population of the country.

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In the Name of Allah, the Compassionate, the Merciful

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He said the Central committee has established a number of sub-committees at provincial level for better coordination between prospective pilgrims and administrative offices.

A group of 38 pilgrims attended from Taiwan this year. Ten students were also accompanying the delegation.

Younus Ma, Information Officer at Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in Riyadh said there were around 160,000 Muslims in Taiwan. The Taiwanese government subsidises the pilgrimage to the tune of SR200,000 every year, he pointed out.

Ma, a Master’s degree holder in Tafsir from the Makkah-based Umm al-Qura University, said five pilgrims made the first Taiwanese Haj delegation 50 years ago.

The Haj Terminal at King Abdul Aziz International Airport opened on January 4, 2003 for the annual pilgrimage. The first to come were the Indian pilgrims from the northern Indian city of Lucknow. As before, around 120,000 Indian pilgrims would be performing Haj this year. According to Syed Akbaruddin, Consul General, the number of Indian Pilgrims has tripled during the last 10 years.

The Indian Consulate in Jeddah has opened 10 Internet-based information centres in Makkah, besides one in Madina. One such centre will open in Mina to facilitate Indians during their five-day stay in the tent city. A new feature of providing e-mail services to Indian Pilgrims has been added wherein arrangements have been made to receive and distribute e-mail messages to individual Pilgrims on a dedicated e-mail messages (pilgrim@cgijeddah.com). Akbaruddin said the service is an instant success.