This year, Hajj will cost Tajik Muslims at 33,410 somoni (equivalent to 3,712 U.S. dollars), according to the Tajik Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA).
“This year, Hajj cost is 89 U.S. dollars higher than last year. The price hike has resulted from increasing prices for services provided by the service company,” CRA spokesman Afshin Muqim told Asia-Plus in an interview.
The amount paid by Tajik pilgrims reportedly includes travel expenses, board and lodging, suitcases and hand bags with Tajikistan symbols, purchase of animal for sacrificing, guide services, medical insurance, vaccinations, etc.
“This year, pilgrims will receive four meters of fabric each for clothing instead of special clothing with the national flag. The price for the fabric is also included into the general amount,” Muqim added.
More than 6,000 Muslims from Tajikistan are expected to will perform the Hajj this year.
Recall, the CRA in 2011 designed a new Hajj uniform; men don two-piece suits, while women wear long-sleeved dresses complete with headscarves. The Tajik Hajj uniform was embroidered with the country’s symbols.
In 2016, Tajik authorities introduced new age restrictions for those who want to perform the Hajj. Citizens under the age of 40 are no longer allowed to perform the Hajj. The aim of the decision to introduce new age restrictions is reportedly to give older people an opportunity to achieve their dream to perform the Hajj.
The new age limit of 40 has been raised from the limit of 35 that was instituted in April 2015.
For the first time the CRA introduced age restrictions on those who want to perform the Hajj in 2010. Only citizens aged 18 to 80 were able to perform the Hajj.
Each year, Saudi Arabia welcomes millions of Muslims from abroad traveling on Umrah and Hajj.
Hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, is a pilgrimage to Mecca which adult Muslims must make at least one in their lifetime, provided they are physically and financially able. 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. This year, the Hajj is expected to fall between August 19, 2018 to August 23, 2018.
