Radio Islam News | 01 Safar 1438/03 November 2016

Nigerian Muslims have added their voices to a growing chorus of believers globally, standing in opposition to massive visa fee hikes imposed by the Saudi authorities on repeat Hajj and Umrah pilgrims. The move from Muslims in the West African powerhouse comes as protests against the new fee regime continue to gather steam in Pakistan, Indonesia and Jordan.

A Nigerian civil society organisation, Independent Hajj Reporters, IHR, is spearheading the call to Saudi Arabia to reduce the tax imposed on the pilgrims

A statement by the society’s national coordinator, Ibrahim Muhammed and publicity secretary, Abubakar Mahmoud on Monday said that the application of the new tax will triple the cost of going for Umrah as each pilgrim will have to pay additional SR2 000 to the Umrah package which includes the cost of return ticket, accommodation, transport and royalty.

Independent Hajj Reporters said that an estimated 1.1 million Nigerian Muslims perform Umrah while 76 000 people perform Hajj every year.

It said if the new fee is not withdrawn, at least 40 percent of potential pilgrims from Nigeria would be deprived of Hajj and Umrah.

IHR indicated that the imposition of the new fee would also have a negative impact on Saudi Arabian economy because with a decrease in the number of Umrah pilgrims, “hoteliers, airliners, vendors, car syndicates services, shopkeepers, caterers would also lose substantial income.

“While we appreciate the Kingdom’s effort in making hajj a memorable and comfortable exercise for Muslims, we would like them to consider the global economic challenges confronting the Muslim dominated countries,” the statement said.

Concerns for Hajj support staff

Meanwhile, reports from the world’s most populous Muslim nation indicate that Indonesian Minister of Religious Affairs Lukman Hakim Saifuddin has written to the Saudi government to clarify its policy of imposing new visa application fees on hajj and umrah pilgrims, including those from Indonesia.

The Religious Affairs Ministry said it was still awaiting a reply from the Saudi government in this regard.

Director General of Hajj and Umrah Affairs at the Religious Affairs Ministry, Abdul Djamil stated that the policy, applicable to all non-Saudi nationals, came into effect this month. The policy will no doubt lead to a hike in hajj pilgrimage costs since more than three thousand hajj support staff officers will have to pay the visa application fee every year, he explained.

Most hajj officers, who form the backbone of the massive Indonesian Hajj contingent each year, have travelled to Saudi Arabia more than once, he added. “So far, we have been sending hajj officers with an experience in serving hajj pilgrims. With this new policy, such hajj officers who have travelled to Saudi Arabia this year will be required to pay visa application fees if they are sent to the country next year,” he noted.

Pakistan and Jordan

Dissent on the new tariff has also continued to gain traction in Pakistan. Travels Agents Association (TAA) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has rejected the imposition of additional tax of Rs56000 on visas of Umrah and Hajj by Saudi Arabia and urged Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to play his role for the withdrawal of this tax.

Speaking at a joint press conference at Peshawar Press Club on Saturday, Travel Agents Association provincial Chairman Shamsher Ali said that in the past the tax was just 650 Riyal, which was subsequently increased upto 2650 Riyal for those applying for Umrah or Hajj from Pakistan.

Flanked by office bearers and scores of members of the association, Shamsher Ali said the increase in tax would keep millions away from the pilgrimage annually, adding that stopping anyone from a visit to the holy places was against the doctrine of Islam.

Sharing data about people performing the religious rites, he said that every year 1.2 million Pakistani citizens perform Umrah while 184 000 people were performing Hajj every year. He said if the decision on the new tax was not withdrawn, at least 40 per cent of prospective Pakistani pilgrims would remain deprived of Hajj and Umrah.

Ali said that 36 airlines were operating from Pakistan and in case of the increase in tax being cast in stone, thousands of employees in the airlines would lose their jobs.

The travel agents, he said were major regular tax payers as about one thousand travel agents were dealing in Umrah, and Hajj. An unintended consequence of the Saudi policy, he suggested would be a huge loss to be incurred by the Pakistani economy as well.

Besides, Ali said that the imposition of the tax would also cause an implosion in the economy of Saudi Arabia because a decrease in the number of faithful from across the world would impact Saudi hoteliers, vendors and shopkeepers, inevitably building pressure on the government.

Criticizing Pakistani federal government for its weak foreign policy, Shamsher said the country’s foreign minister portfolio remained unoccupied, citing that as a potential reason for the confusion in Pakistan’s international relations.

He said that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had personal relations with Saudi government and it was his duty to take up the issue with relevant counterparts to iron out the problems.

In Jordan – one of the first countries where citizen’s raised alarm on the change in regulations – owners of buses and Hajj and umra companies again appealed on Sunday to King Abdullah to take action regarding the fee hike.

They gathered in front of the Abdali Bus Terminal, raising slogans to implore the monarch to intervene and resolve the issue.

The Saudi government took the decision to raise the entry visa fees early in October prompting the affected parties, including the Truck Owners Association, to urge the government to contact Saudi Arabia and ask it to exclude Jordan from the decision.

Performing the lesser Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca used to cost JD150 through travel agencies that cover transport and residence costs, but now it costs an additional JD400 for visa fees, Kamal Abu Thiab, the spokesperson of the religious tourism committee at the Jordan Society of Tourism and Travel Agents, told The Jordan Times.

Around 500000 Jordanians perform umra annually in over 3,000 buses, said the treasurer of the Bus Owners Association, Odeh Abu Hassan.

“After the hike, no more than 10 per cent [of the 500,000 Jordanians] will go to umra,” Abu Hassan told The Jordan Times, adding that this caused their business to decrease by about 90 per cent.

The visa hike would lead to closing 220 Hajj and umra companies, and damage aviation and overland transport companies, Abu Thiab said.

Royal Jordanian (RJ) said that umra flights would decrease by at least 40 per cent compared to last year and the visa hike would greatly impact the company, according to Basel Kilani, RJ’s spokesperson.

RJ operates two flights to Jeddah and one to Medina Munawara daily, said Kilani, noting that the umra flights are arranged through travel agents.