OPEN LETTER/ Come to the dialogue and listen to me speak, otherwise I will cut off your scholarships, you will rot in prison. Please!

 Kliko këtu për të tjera
Voxpress:

Billions after the Hajj, Saudi Arabia collects 6 billion dollars from the faithful

2023-06-28 12:48:08Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Billions after the Hajj, Saudi Arabia collects 6 billion dollars from the
Illustrative photo

About 1.8 million Muslims from around the world reached Mount Arafat in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday to mark the most important day of the Hajj. But due to rising global prices, the pilgrimage is becoming increasingly financially unaffordable for believers.

Prices range from $3,000 to $6,000 for each pilgrim, which means Saudi Arabia has collected $4 to $6 billion from pilgrims in just a few days. In Egypt, the most populous Arab country, the cheapest government-sponsored pilgrimage currently costs about $6,000, double last year's value.

The rise in prices has been fueled by the sharp devaluation of the Egyptian pound, which has lost more than 50 percent of its value against the US dollar since March 2022. As a result, the cost of living has also risen, with core inflation annual up to 40 percent in May.

Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims are required to make the journey to Mecca at least once in their lifetime, if they are physically and financially able to do so.

The Hajj begins on the eighth day of the Islamic lunar month, which this year corresponded to June 26 according to the Gregorian calendar, and lasts five to six days. The Hajj usually attracts between 1.5 million and 2 million pilgrims, but this is the first time since the pandemic that Saudi authorities have allowed it to run at full capacity.

Saudi Arabia assigns each country an annual visitor quota based on the number of Muslims living there.

The biggest bookings go to Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, with a population of 270 million. This year, Indonesia had 221,000 pilgrims booked.

Indonesian authorities decided this year to cut the pilgrimage subsidy to 50 percent from 60 percent, meaning each Indonesian pilgrim had to pay $3,320. In 2022, the package cost $2,660.

While the financial cost may be a deterrent for many Muslims around the world, for those in Yemen, Saudi Arabia's southern neighbor ravaged by an 8-year civil war, the situation is much more complicated.

This month, Yemeni pilgrims flew directly from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. These were the first such commercial flights in about seven years.

Those traveling had to pay about $3,000 - a significant sum in a country where more than 21 million of a population of 30 million people need some form of humanitarian aid and 17 million are at risk of starvation.


Në përputhje me standarded JTI

Video

SHIKO KANALIN NE YOUTUBE
×