Saudi Arabia Loosens Rules, Animo Of Mataram NTB Residents Managing Umrah Passports Increases Drastically

Illustration: Office of the Ministry of Religion of Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara Province (ANTARA)

MATARAM - The Office of the Ministry of Religion of Mataram City, West Nusa Tenggara Province, said that requests for recommendations for making passports for prospective Umrah pilgrims began to increase after the easing of health protocol rules from the Government of Saudi Arabia.

"Alhamdulillah, after the easing of health protocol rules from the Government of Saudi Arabia, requests for recommendations for making Umrah worship passports have begun to increase," said Head of the Mataram City Ministry of Religion (Kemenag) HM Amin in Mataram, Antara, Friday, March 25.

The increase, he said, could be seen from the recommendation submission service for making Umrah passports every day, which reached an average of 10 people. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Religion has never again issued recommendations for making Umrah worship passports.

"But after the easing of health protocols, requests began to come, both from individuals and collectively from the Umrah travel agency. If the COVID-19 condition continues to improve, requests for recommendations have the opportunity to increase again," he said.

According to him, the public's interest in carrying out the Umrah pilgrimage will be even higher, moreover, until now there is no certainty regarding the departure of Hajj candidates who have been delayed for two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Umrah can be an alternative for Muslims to go to the Holy Land, before performing the pilgrimage," he said.

Moreover, Amin continued, the waiting list for Hajj departures in Mataram City is currently getting longer, reaching 35 years.

"This means that people who register this year are predicted to leave for the Holy Land in 35 years, or around 2057," he said.

The waiting list for Hajj departures has increased compared to data around 2019, which is 31 years. One of these conditions was triggered by the delay in the departure of the Hajj pilgrimage due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The two-year postponement of the hajj pilgrimage, namely the 2020 and 2021 hajj seasons, affects the length of the waiting list," he said.