Bangladesh has applied for 20,000 more Hajj quota slots for next year, 2027. Religious Affairs Minister Mr. Kazi Shah Mofazzal Hossain (Kaikobad) said the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah gave a positive assurance on this.
He spoke yesterday, Sunday, at the Secretariat in reply to a question at a press conference on the refund of medical costs for Hajj pilgrims held up in Saudi Arabia. In the 2026 Hajj season, Saudi authorities kept 3,091,243 Saudi riyals (about Tk 10.23 crore) in the name of medical costs for 340 Hajj pilgrims.
Through the Ministry of Religious Affairs, the Saudi government has returned the Tk 10.23 crore. The ministry will give the returned money to the Hajj agencies concerned. The minister said, “I wrote to the Saudi Ministry of Hajj and Umrah personally and spoke to them about increasing the Hajj quota. I spoke to the Saudi minister. And we have the Saudi ambassador in Dhaka. To tell the truth, we are lucky to have such a Saudi ambassador in Bangladesh.”
He added, “It seems to me he is Bangladeshi. His feelings for us are such that when we say something, he takes it seriously in a way no one did before. This is a great fortune for us.” He said, “Allah owns everything. What Allah wants will happen. We are trying to raise the Hajj quota, and it will happen if Allah wills. But the Saudi minister assured me that he will try, because they are very sincere toward Bangladesh.”
The minister also said, “On my last visit, we held an online conference with the minister and assistant minister of the Hajj and Umrah ministry and our ambassador in Saudi Arabia. They assured us that they have taken the matter in mind and are trying.” Religious Affairs Secretary Mr. Munshi Alauddin Al Azad said the minister will go for the Hajj agreement soon. He said, “God willing, we will solve this quota matter before the agreement.”
Speaking of his personal effort to get extra quota, the minister said, “I was in a hospital in Singapore for my hip replacement. When I heard about the Hajj quota crisis, I spoke to the ambassador. I wrote to the Saudi Hajj minister at once from Singapore. He sent me an SMS, I sent him an SMS, and he replied that he was looking into it.” The quota set for Bangladesh in the current 2027 Hajj is 78,500 pilgrims. This includes 6,000 under government management and 72,500 under private management. Bangladesh has also applied to the Saudi government for a further 20,000 quota for waiting pilgrims.
On preparations for the coming Hajj, the minister said government pilgrims in Madinah got housing at a lower price and better quality this time. He said that for the first time, all pilgrims in the lowest cost package will stay near Masjid an Nabawi in Madinah. State Minister for Religious Affairs Mr. Mohammad Shamim Kaiser Lincoln, Additional Secretary (Hajj) Mr. Ayatul Islam and HAB Secretary General Mr. Farid Ahmed Mazumder also attended the press conference.
Source: dailyinqilab
