Hajj 2022, Ministry Of Religion: Completely Under The Authority Of The Saudi Arabian Government

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Religion is still waiting for the certainty of the implementation of the Hajj 1443 Hijri / 2022 AD from the Government of Saudi Arabia, although the implementation of the Umrah pilgrimage has been opened.

"Certainty about whether or not there will be a pilgrimage in 1443H/2022 AD is fully under the authority of the Saudi Arabian government," said Deputy Minister of Religion Zainut Tauhid Sa'adi, quoted on Sunday, January 16.

Zainut said the Indonesian government had carried out a series of coordination with the relevant authorities in November 2021 to obtain certainty regarding the implementation of the hajj.

From 20 to 23 November 2021, the Ministry of Religion met with a number of top Saudi Arabian officials, such as the Minister of Islamic Da'wah and Counseling Abdullatif Al Sheikh, the Governor of Mecca and Chairman of the Central Hajj Committee Prince Khalid bin Al Faisal, and the Minister of Hajj and Umrah Tawfiq bin Fauzam Al Rabeah. .

From the results of the meeting, he said, the royal authorities have not been able to confirm whether the hajj will be opened or closed for prospective foreign pilgrims.

"Until now, there is no certainty about whether or not there will be a hajj pilgrimage in the year 1443 Hijri/2022 AD," he said.

From the meeting, said Zainut, in addition to discussing the certainty of hajj, it is also about quotas if the implementation of the hajj pilgrimage is opened. Because one of the stages of preparation for the implementation of the hajj is the MoU regarding the number of hajj quotas.

"The Saudi Arabian government said that it has not been able to hold talks related to organizing the hajj," he said. He explained that based on normal assumptions, the estimated departure schedule for the first batch of pilgrims will depart on June 5, 2022.

This condition, according to him, shows that the time remaining for the preparation of the Hajj is only about five months.

"Given the wide scope of services for organizing the pilgrimage, the time remaining is very limited. So various preparations must be made immediately," he said.

Although there is no certainty regarding the hajj, the Ministry of Religion asks Commission VIII and the government to immediately start various preparations given the limited time.

"Among them are preparations for discussing the costs of organizing the hajj pilgrimage in 1443H/2022M," said Zainut, as quoted by Antara.