The sacred Hajj pilgrimage is one of the five Pillars of Islam, which form the basic foundations of a Muslim’s beliefs. Every Muslim is expected to undertake the pilgrimage at least once in their lives provided they have the physical and financial capacity.
But thousands of Maldivians have waited for years to perform this sacred pilgrimage, as the island nation receives an annual 1,000 quota from Saudi Arabia for local pilgrims.
According to the Maldives Hajj Corporation, there are currently 9,115 people on the waiting list for Hajj pilgrimage. Of these, 8,623 people are seeking their first Hajj pilgrimage.
Most of these people, especially the elderly have almost given up hope of performing the spiritual duty of a Muslim.
But on Sunday, incumbent President Dr Mohamed announced the decision to revise the present Hajj quota policy to give precedence to first time pilgrims, giving renewed hope for the people on the long wait list.
The decision was taken to revise the policy to offer a solution for the long list of people waiting to perform the sacred Hajj pilgrimage for the first time.
The Managing Director of Maldives Hajj Corporation, Mohammed Shakeel said the President's decision will put an end to the long wait of many elderly people to perform the Hajj pilgrimage.
"The President's decision to change Hajj quota policy will provide a solution to the people who have been waiting for a long time to perform Hajj. It is a monumental decision for the people,” Shakeel described.
However, this decision is part of a series of steps taken by President Muizzu’s Administration to finally clear the backlog of the Hajj waiting list.
In September 2023, as the then presidential candidate, President Muizzu had announced plans to convince the Saudi Arabian government to double its quota for the Maldives.
He had also pledged to send 1,000 people without financial means to Hajj on State funds during his five year term. True to his presidential pledge, the State has sponsored 50 Hajj pilgrims during the first year of President Muizzu’s term.
The President had also dedicated the entire 1,000 Hajj Quota to the State owned Hajj Corporation to make the pilgrimage affordable to the people.
In line with his electoral pledge, during his first year, President Muizzu had initiated discussions with the Saudi Arabian government to increase Hajj quota for the Maldives.
On September 24 last year, President Muizzu met the Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan Al Saud. During the meeting, the Saudi government expressed its readiness to initiate discussions towards increasing the Hajj quota for the island nation.
In addition, the government is making every effort to improve the quality of services provided to Maldivian Hajj pilgrims. In January last year, the Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dr Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed met with the Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah to discuss the improvement of the quality of services provided to Maldivian Hajj pilgrims.
During these discussions, it was agreed to arrange better accommodation for last year's pilgrims from Maldives in Arafat and Mina.
President Dr Muizzu has set sights on clearing the entire backlog of people waiting to perform the sacred pilgrimage before the end of his five year term. Make the pilgrimage more convenient and affordable for Maldivians.