DUSHANBE, September 20, 2010, Asia-Plus — Applications from Tajik nationals for performing the Hajj are accepted until October 1, Mavlon Mukhtorov, the deputy head of the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA), said.
“There is no stir this year,” said Mukhtorov, “We have even a shortage in Khatlon province; 400 pilgrim seats are still vacant there.”
We will recall that this year’s Hajj will take place in November and Saudi authorities have allocated a quota of 5,500 hajjis to Tajikistan this year, which is 500 more than last year. This year, Tajik pilgrims will have to pay 3,191 U.S. dollars (this amount includes travel expenses, board and lodging, and purchase of animal for sacrificing during the Hajj), which is 151 U.S. dollars less than last year.
In the meantime, CRA has introduced age restrictions on those who want to perform the Hajj this year. Only citizens aged 18 to 80 will be able to perform the Hajj.
The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar. Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year. As of 2009, about two million pilgrims participate in this annual pilgrimage.
