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Hajj ‘lottery’ defined: The random draw for western pilgrims
Mon, 06/13/2022 – 15:48
The Hajj “lottery” for western pilgrims closed on Monday, with potential pilgrims discovering out the standing of their utility over the following two days.
Final week, Saudi Arabia‘s Hajj ministry announced that Muslims from Europe, Australia and the Americas would wish to use to attend Hajj, which is going down between 7-12 July this 12 months, by means of a random draw on the government-backed Motawif web site.
The Hajj pilgrimage is likely one of the largest non secular gatherings on the planet and is taken into account a spiritual obligation to be accomplished throughout the lifetime of each Muslim who’s wholesome and in a position to afford it.
For this 12 months’s pilgrimage, a million worshippers will take part after it had been scaled down due to the Covid-19 pandemic the earlier two years. In 2019, round 2.5 million pilgrims participated.
The choice to vary the method of travelling to Hajj for western Muslims has confused worshippers and travel agents alike, significantly provided that the pilgrimage begins in lower than one month.
The random lottery launched on Friday, and crashed briefly as a result of excessive demand.
Right here’s every thing you should know concerning the new poll system.
Who can apply?
The random draw is relevant to all nations in North America, South America, non-Muslim majority nations in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
All candidates have to be underneath the age of 65, and will need to have accomplished two doses of the Covid-19 vaccination. These attending should submit a destructive PCR take a look at inside 72 hours of departing to Saudi Arabia.
Solely those that haven’t carried out Hajj throughout the final 5 years are eligible to enrol.
The draw is the one approach that Muslims from western nations can take part on this 12 months’s Hajj. Anybody who has pay as you go to do the pilgrimage with a tour operator has been urged to request a refund.
Value and packages
There are three sorts of packages that western pilgrims can apply for: silver, gold and platinum.
The silver package deal begins at $5,986, and consists of flights, a five-star lodge near the Grand Mosque in Mecca, transportation buses, catering providers and camp places at pilgrimage websites Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah.
This package deal covers a complete of 12 days. Notably, it doesn’t seem to incorporate a visit to the holy metropolis of Medina – not formally a part of the Hajj, however a metropolis most pilgrims historically go to both earlier than or after the pilgrimage
The gold package deal begins at $6,296, with “top quality providers from the start until the top of your journey”.
This package deal consists of all the identical providers as silver, with the addition of a keep in Medina in a five-star lodge. The transportation bus is described as “VIP”, and the package deal covers a interval of 21 days in whole.
The platinum package deal begins at $9,768, and is described on the web site as a “luxurious service”. Like gold, it consists of five-star stays in Makkah and Medina, and “VIP transportation buses”.
The important thing distinction is it consists of “superior tenting spots geared up with wonderful amenities and fashionable furnishings”, and the unique use of the Al-Mashaaer metro line to maneuver between holy websites.
A word on the Motawif web site prompts customers that the data offered is simply a “preview of the particular packages” and the providers can solely be chosen in full after an applicant has been efficiently chosen.
Timeframe
The Hajj lottery opened on 10 June, and is because of shut on Monday, with candidates anticipated to have uploaded all their passport and vaccination documentation by then.
An official draw shall be carried out from 15 to 18 June, with eligible candidates randomly chosen.
Those that are profitable will then be notified and shall be anticipated to finish fee by means of Motawif’s on-line portal. As soon as fee is accepted, e-visas shall be issued, ranging from 17 June.
In line with Motawif, the primary arrival of pilgrims from western nations is scheduled for 26 June.
This implies some pilgrims can have simply 11 days between discovering out if their utility was profitable, and making their journey to Jeddah airport.
Pilgrims usually take months to organize for the non secular rites related to the Hajj, attending seminars to make sure the pilgrimage is accomplished appropriately. Beneath the brand new system, western pilgrims can have a matter of simply days.
What about different nations?
In line with the Hajj ministry, overseas pilgrims will make up 85 p.c of the a million individuals.
As with all years, the quota shall be cut up based mostly on the variety of Muslims in every nation.
Indonesia obtained the best share with a quota of 100,051, whereas Pakistan got here second with 81,132 and India third with 79,237.
Like western pilgrims, home Saudi individuals have been additionally topic to a random draw organised by the dominion. Over 390,000 functions have been obtained, with precedence given to those that haven’t accomplished Hajj earlier than. Profitable candidates have been notified by textual content message on Sunday, and now have two days to finish their funds.
In different Muslim majority nations world wide, the system of choice varies.
In Pakistan for instance, 60 p.c of locations are granted based mostly on non-public tour operators, whereas 40 p.c of locations are organised by a Pakistani authorities scheme that includes a computerised poll.
In Turkey, the 37,770 individuals attending this 12 months have been chosen through an utility system which prioritised those that have by no means been. Many Turks have been making use of for a number of years, if not many years, ready for his or her names to be chosen.
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