Malaysia decides not to send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia amid COVID-19 pandemic
Malaysia, an important Islamic country, announced that it would not send Pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj. 60% of the population of Malaysia is Muslim. More than 30000 Malaysians go to Saudi Arabia to offer Hajj every year. The total population of Malaysia is approximately 12500000. Indonesia, the most populated Islamic country, also announced last week that it would not send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.
The Indonesian government announced on June 2 that more than 225000 pilgrims from Indonesia would not be able to perform Hajj this year due to the coronavirus threats. After one week, the Malaysian government has now announced that it was suspending the Hajj plans for this year. Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, the minister of religious affairs of Malaysia, confirmed that no Malaysian would go to Saudi Arabia for the Hajj.
According to AFP, an international news agency, Al-Bakri said that the Hajj plan had been suspended by the Malaysian government due to the coronavirus threats. According to him, more than 31000 pilgrims will not be able to perform Hajj this year. He confirmed that the made the decision to save their citizens from the coronavirus threats.
Al-Bakri said that they would prefer these pilgrims next year to perform Hajj. The Malaysian government suspended the Hajj plan as a preventive measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. After Indonesia and Malaysia, other Muslim countries are expected to make a similar decision related to the Hajj this year. More than 2 million pilgrims travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj from all across the world.
The Hajj has huge importance in the life of every Muslim. It is the obligation of every Muslim to perform the Hajj at least once in his life. However, it is the religious obligation of Muslims who can financially and physically afford to travel to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Arabian government also announced last week that they could limit the Hajj this year.
