DUSHANBE, October 23, 2008, Asia-Plus — The first group of Tajik pilgrims will fly to Saudi Arabia on November 17, Saidbek Mahmadulloyev, the head of the directorate for religious affairs (DRA) within the Ministry of Culture (MoC), said in an interview with Asia-Plus
The DRA controls participation in the Hajj, and the government continues requiring air travel for the Hajj. Planes of Tajik national air carrier, TajikAir, will carry them to Saudi Arabia.
Mahmadulloyev said that 5,000 Tajik Muslims would participate in the Hajj this year and the DRA had already prepared a list of 4,500 people from all regions of the country. “138 residents of Gorno Badakhshan, 1,328 residents of Sughd, 1,538 residents of Khatlon, 494 residents of Dushanbe and 1,002 residents of districts subordinate to the center (RRPs) will participate in the Hajj this year, and 500 other persons to participate in the Hajj are heads of groups, medical workers and others,” the DRA head said.
The DRA collects applications and all fees and makes all flight and hotel arrangements. This year, persons that applied for the Hajj deposited approximately US$3,000. They deposited funds in the head office Agroinvestbonk in Dushanbe and its branches in the provinces.
Mahmadulloyev added that the DRA had decided to establish queue of persons wanting to participate in the Hajj starting from the next year.
According to him, such a rule is practiced in many Islamic countries. “Thus, this rule has been practiced in Iran for more than 10 years,” said the DRA head, “We also intend to establish this rule. For example, citizens may apply for the Hajj a year in advance.”
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Mecca. It is the largest annual pilgrimage in the world.
It is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. It is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to Allah.
The pilgrimage occurs from the 10th to the 15th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar used in the Western world, the Gregorian date of the Hajj is eleven days earlier from year to year. In 2007, the Hajj was from December 17 to December 21; this year from the first week of December.
