DUSHANBE, November 10, Asia-Plus — The Committee on Religious Affairs has received more than 250 Hajj (the holy journey made by Muslims to Mecca) applications from its branches in Rasht Valley (eastern Tajikistan).
Idibek Ziyoyev, the head of the department for international ties of the Committee on Religious Affairs, said that of them, 100 are residents of the Nurobod district, 80 residents of the Rasht district, 73 are from Tojikobod and five are from Roghun. The majority of them are elderly people over the age of 60, according to him.
This year, Tajikistan’s pilgrims have to pay US$2,500 for the Hajj, US$200 more than last year. According to the Committee, the price increase is linked to a decline in the number of hotels willing to accept Tajik pilgrims; other hotels have raised their prices.
Under a quota determined by Saudi Arabia, 3,600 people from Tajikistan made the Hajj to Mecca in early 2006. This time, there are no restrictions on the number of pilgrims and anyone over the age of 18 who wishes may make the journey, according to the committee source.
Tajik pilgrims will travel by planes. They will fly to Saudi Arabia both from Dushanbe and Khujand.
In 2004, Tajik authorities banned private firms and travel agencies from handling the Hajj process. They transferred the right to deal with potential pilgrims to the Committee on religious Affairs. Bus tours to Saudi Arabia were also banned, leaving the state air company as the only carrier of pilgrims.
“If the number of pilgrims will be not fewer than 3,5000, we will start flights on December 10,” Ziyoyev said, noting that the pilgrims will return home in January 2007.
The Hajj, a journey to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, is one of the five pillars of Islam. The pilgrimage is conducted during Zul-Hijjah, the last month of the lunar calendar used by Muslims.
