· Some Hajj delegations believe they have a diplomatic status when their tasks are only administrative
· Pilgrim numbers must be managed due to space limitations in the holy sites
· Aspects of rituals, health, security, and safety are prioritised on awareness programmes
· Hajj regulations prevent pilgrims from entering into agreement with agencies beyond the Ministry of Haj's supervision
· The KSA deals annually with pilgrims from 180 countries; speaking 200 languages and with different cultural, social, and secular backgrounds
· The Ministry of Haj stresses the importance of complete compliance with the ministry's instructions, and the importance of crowd control for safety
· Those from abroad willing to work as Hajj organisers are obliged to arrive early, and leave after the last pilgrim's departure
· The Ministry of Haj starts preparations for the next year's Hajj immediately after the end of the current Hajj season.
· The projects in Makkah, the holy sites, and Madinah are unprecedented in history in terms of area, quality, and speed of completion.
· The Ministry of Culture and Information's approval is a must for any media activity at Hajj events.
· Pilgrims can subscribe to an authorised freighter service, which allows them to fly home without luggage.
KSA's Minster of Haj, HE Dr Bandar bin Mohammad Al-Hajar, has detailed a number of clarifications and emphases for this year's Hajj.
Duties and responsibilities of the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs
HE Dr Bandar has stated that the Ministry of Haj has recently renamed 'Haj Mission' to 'Office of Pilgrims Affairs' and 'Medical Haj Mission' to 'Medical Office' to clarify the commissioned status and duties of the organisations. Some delegations had believed that they have diplomatic and consular status, and requested more privileges and immunities similar to those enjoyed by their countries' embassies and consulates; the use of the publications of diplomatic delegations in their offices, and the use of consular car number plates for their cars. The ministry considers that such delegations only have administrative duties in the support of their pilgrims, and the supervision of how the pilgrims are organised.
Meetings on the king's instructions
The Minister of Haj revealed that the Ministry of Haj will receive 53 Offices of Pilgrims Affairs, hosted at the expense of the state, over the next three months. These meetings are arranged under the instructions of King Salman Bin Abdul-Aziz, the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, in order to discuss Haj arrangements for each country.
During these meetings, notes on each office's performance will be explored, in addition to the procedures followed to encourage good outcomes while avoiding negative ones. The pilgrim quota from the country will be specified. The offices will also be provided with all the instructions to organise Hajj pilgrims' affairs in the Kingdom. The minutes, including all that was agreed on, will be signed. Each of these minutes will include appendices addressing several topics.
Specifying each country's pilgrim quota
The number is based on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Foreign ministers' resolution of 1987 that specifies 1,000 pilgrims for each million of the Muslim population. Due to the limited space of the holy sites, an in numbers would reduce the space available for each pilgrim, increasing the possibility of overcrowding. Space is especially limited at Mina, which has a capacity of one million, four hundred pilgrims, or one 160 sq cm per pilgrim.
Pilgrim education
The ministry asks that all Islamic countries and those who manage the pilgrims from countries that include Islamic minorities to promote awareness well before arrival to the KSA about the rituals, health, security, behavioural, and environmental aspects of the Hajj, leveraging on programmes prepared by various governmental agencies and private organisations on the best ways to perform the rituals. HE Dr Bandar requested that priority should be placed on:
- Complying with mass movement programmes, and the strict schedules of pilgrims moving from their camps to the Jamaraat Bridge, Al-Masjid Al-Ḥaram (the sacred mosque), and other sites.
- Complying with security and safety initiatives concerning pilgrim movement in the holy sites through specified tracks and roads.
- Emphasising to all pilgrims the importance of wearing wrist bracelets or ID cards that indicate the pilgrim's identity.
- Not sitting in the areas surrounding the holy mosques and sites, and the roads surrounding and leading to the Jamaraat facility.
- Leaving waste only at the specified disposal places.
- The historical sites in Madinah should be visited with the National Adillah Establishment (the guidance office for pilgrims’ stay in Madinah) and according to an agreement with them to organise the service for the required number of people, and to avoid visiting fake historical sites.
The ministry also asks all Offices of Pilgrims Affairs in Islamic countries to emphasise to pilgrims the necessity of complete devotion to performing the rituals, and avoiding all kinds of propaganda including publication distribution; as well as holding seminars, meetings, and demonstrations for political purposes.
HE Dr Bandar stressed that flags or pictures should not be raised, and that the distribution of electronic materials and books, or other works that distract from worship and performing of rituals is not allowed. He also said that the Hajj should not be used for political purposes, disturbing pilgrims' security, and provoking sectarian strife, in accordance with the direction indicated in the Quran that There shall be no intimate approach to a spouse nor veering to sin nor quarrelling amongst one another in the pilgrimage (Al Baqarah 197). He added that those in violation of the rules will be subject to consequences as dictated by KSA's existing systems.
No agreements beyond the ministry's supervision
HE Dr Bandar has indicated that the Ministry of Haj's instructions, delivered to all Offices of Pilgrims Affairs, and signed by both parties, do not allow the pilgrims or their representatives to enter into any agreement beyond the supervision of the ministry, Tawafa Establishments, Adillah Establishment, and The Unified Agents Office; whether these agreements are with hotels, or companies providing services in any field related to their pilgrims. Some Offices of Pilgrims Affairs have occasionally entered into agreements with service providers against the instructions, and have gone to the ministry when disagreements occur. The ministry does try to settle the issues amicably and in an organised manner, but the parties may have to resort to arbitration if talks fail.
The Saudi Project for Utilization of Sacrificial Animals (ADAHI)
The minister said that he will ask the heads of the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs to meet the officials of the Islamic Development Bank for ADAHI and build awareness of ADAHI services. ADAHI can provide pilgrims with sacrificial animals and sells sacrificial coupons online, for example.
Transport and crowd management requires the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs' cooperation
The Minister of Haj noted that the KSA receives pilgrims, mostly aged people, from 180 countries annually. They speak some 200 languages; and come from different cultural, social, and secular backgrounds. These pilgrims move in a limited space, over difficult terrain, in high temperatures. The circumstances underscore the importance of organising crowds and their movements between the holy sites and to all of the sites of pilgrimate as well as possible.
Consequently, the success of the transportation and crowd management programme requires cooperation from the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs and the pilgrims themselves, and complete compliance with all relevant instructions. These instructions include not bringing children, not carrying luggage nor using wheelchairs when going to the stoning ritual as these practices endanger the pilgrims themselves as well as others. It is also important to follow the shari'ah authorisation that allows aged people, the handicapped, and women to commission others to perform this ritual. Pilgrims should not go directly from Muzdalifah to the stoning, but should instead return to their camp, going to the stoning according to prepared schedules.
The minister said: "We asked the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs to postpone the movement from Arafat to Muzdalifah for 50% of each countries' pilgrims till the 13th day of the Islamic-calendar month Jumada al-Thani. All service providers shall make themselves available till the 13th of Jumada al-Thani. We stressed to them that transportation services must include a definite specification of the number of buses to be agreed on between these offices and the General Cars Syndicate, for the holy sites visit and the movement from Arafat to Muzdalifah. These should be distributed between the 12th and the 13th of Jumada al-Thani, moving 50% of pilgrims on each day. In addition, housing contracts should be arranged for about 50% of pilgrims in the sites in order to meet the needs of the remaining people in Mina on the 13th of Jumada al-Thani night and day."
The ministry, through the transportation programme, arranges the pilgrim arrival to the sacred mosque after the end of Hajj rituals, in numbers that can be accommodated by the Tawaf area (area for circumambulation) and the sacred mosque. This allows pilgrims to perform the ifadah and Farewell Tawafs easily, avoiding crowding.
Licences for organisers
The Minister of Haj also clarified that there are two kinds of organisers: those working under the control of Offices of Pilgrims Affairs in Islamic countries, and those working in Islamic-minority countries such as in Europe, the US, Australia, and others. The ministry provides licences to those organisers which have fulfilled requirements, and after coordination with the Foreign Ministry.
HE Dr Bandar has added that the Ministry of Haj requires the organisers to
- Arrive early, to complete procedures on agreed services and ensure that all services can be delivered
- Leave the country only after the departure of their last pilgrim
The ministry may cancel the licence of organisers which cannot fulfil these conditions, on a case by case basis. The ministry has established a call centre to handle enquiries, comments and complaints of Hajj and umrah pilgrims and visitors. The hotline can be reached within the KSA by dialling the toll-free number: 800 430 4444, or from overseas by dialling +966 92 000 2814.
The two Holy Mosques expansion projects
The expansion projects in Makkah, the holy sites, and Madinah aim to increase the capacity of all the sites where Hajj and umrah pilgrims, and other visitors go, and are unprecedented in area, quality, and speed of completion. They include the two Holy Mosques expansions, the Masaa (the way between the Al-Safa and Al-Marwah hills), the Mataf (the area surrounding the Ka'abah), construction of the Jamaraat facility, roads and tunnels, public transport projects, the holy sites train, the two Holy Mosques train, in addition to new airports in Jeddah and Madinah.
Domestic pilgrim numbers have been reduced by 50% whereas international pilgrim quotas have been cut by 20% while the projects are being carried out. The minister stressed that cutting Hajj pilgrim quotas is temporary, to ensure safety till the projects are complete, and previous numbers are likely to be reinstated then.
Approved media activities
Prior approval from the Ministry of Culture and information is a must before any country practices any media activity at Hajj events. The country must provide a detailed statement of the number and names of media professionals, the authorities they are subordinate to, the photographic equipment and devices they will bring, three months before their arrival.
Facilitating pilgrim departures
HE Dr Bandar also introduced a new mechanism to facilitate pilgrim departures. An authorised freighter service will give pilgrims the option to go to the airport with no luggage. Their luggage will be forwarded by authorised housing companies in Makkah and Madinah, with regulated inspection, housing, and freight procedures all occurring on the plane.
A separate agreement can be made by the state and the Offices of Pilgrims Affairs on Zamzam water, under which the aircraft leaving KSA after delivering pilgrims can take on Zamzam water. This arrangement allows pilgrims to receive a share of Zamzam water back in their country, instead of carrying it with them on the airplane. The ministry requires provision of a suitable place in the pilgrim's country for storage that ensures that the water properties do not change.
Interested?
Read the Suroor Asia blog post about the Kyrgyzstan visit to the Ministry of Haj
