Reza Mahmud :
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is going to allow foreign Muslims to perform Hajj this year with the fall of the corona infection and people being vaccinated worldwide.
Sources said that Saudi Arabia invited Muslim countries religious ministers to join a five day ‘Hajj and Umrah conference and fair’ to be organized in March 19 in Jeddah. The kingdom will discuss about how the holy hajj festival could be performed generating everyone’s safety, sources said.
Stakeholders expressed their optimism that a positive decision may come from the conference after discussing the matter.
A delegation led by State Minister for Religious Affairs Faridul Haque Khan will leave the country on March 17 to join the conference.
The State Minister Faridul Haque Khan told media that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is yet to declare any decision about allowing foreign Muslims of performing Hajj this year.
“If the Kingdom allows foreign Muslims than which conditions they would set on this regard it is not clear yet,” he said. When contacted, Haab President M Shahadat Hossain Taslim told The New Nation on Friday, “About allowing foreign Muslim pilgrims is totally dependent in the concern authority of the Kingdom.” “If the corona infections reduce across the country before the Hajj then the Kingdom may allow foreign pilgrims to perform the holy religious event,” the Haab President said.
He said that in such cases, the agencies could send pilgrims within a short notice.
Officials from the Religious Affairs Ministry said, they had have many functions and programmes over preparations of Hajj seven to month before the event.
The Hajj preparations remained suspended for last two years on account of corona thrust..
With the fall of corona worldwide, the Hajj will be held this year between July 7 and 12 subject to the appearance of Moon. The country withdrew temporary ban on Hajj last year.
In this view, the ministry organized meeting with concern officials and agencies last November for taking necessary preparations so that the country can send pilgrims within short time notice.
Sources said, private hajj agencies and Biman Bangladesh Airlines were deprived of revenues in the past two years as hajj could not be held due to corona.
Around 1,250 members of private Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (Haab), lost about Tk 2,500 crore. Biman Bangladesh Airlines lost about Tk 800 crore due to the pandemic, officials said.
Only Muslim residents of Saudi Arabia were allowed to perform hajj in last two years, compared with about 2.5 million Muslims from around the world in 2019.
