Minister: It’s ‘normal’ for the hajj queue to grow longer; things are better managed now

Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed told the Parliament on Tuesday that it was normal for the hajj queue to grow longer, adding that hajj-related affairs were better planned and well-organized now.

Shaheem, who was summoned to the Parliament in the morning, was questioned by Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fitte), a lawmaker from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), regarding the long list of people waiting in line to go on hajj pilgrimage.

Shaheem responded that it was only natural for more people to want to perform hajj as Islamic faith grows stronger.

“The hajj queue growing longer is something very normal,” he said.

Shameem said that the long waitlist of expectant hajj pilgrims wasn’t unique to the Maldives, with millions in queue in countries like Egypt, Pakistan, and Indonesia.

He also noted that the state has also changed rules to allow people to tap into the pension fund to perform hajj.

Shaheem said that someone who pays this year may not got to perform hajj next year.

He said that some people now pay even 10 years in advance for hajj.

“Therefore, they now plan it in advance. This is truly very well-organized now. Previously, only the wealthy could perform hajj, and the poor didn’t have the opportunity. Private companies were selling quotas at high prices. We have brought an end to that system now,” he said.

Shaheem said that Saudi Arabia increases the quota for the Maldives whenever it grants any similar concession to another country.

According to the Maldives Hajj Corporation, there are thousands of people on the hajj waitlist, with those who put down their names now expected to need to wait until 2040 to perform the hajj.

The Hajj Corporation charges MVR 69,965 for hajj pilgrimage, with people required to pay MVR 52,500 in advance to secure a spot on the waitlist.

Maldives usually receives 1,000 quotas for hajj. Out of this, 850 are reserved for people in order of the queue at Hajj Corporation, 100 are reserved for officials including aides to sickly pilgrims and cooks, and 50 are reserved for people registered as poor who receive state sponsorship for their pilgrimage.

There have been allegations that government officials, specifically officials from the Hajj Corporation, tamper with the hajj quota to enable them or members of their family to skip the long line of hopeful pilgrims who have been waiting for years to make the holy pilgrimage.

However, these allegations are denied by Shaheem as well as the Hajj Corporation.