The Covid-19 pandemic had brought challenges to religion and practitioners all over the world. We had seen how mosques all over the world had to be closed temporarily to prevent the spread of the virus, where Muslims had to navigate their way around these new challenges and also adapt to the new norm, once these mosques have resumed operations. New practices like social distancing, temperature screening, the avoidance of handshakes as a form of greeting, had to be adopted.
The pandemic had also affected the annual Islamic Hajj pilgrimage. Hajj, the annual pilgrimage made by Muslims to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is one of the five pillars of Islam. Muslims are required to perform Hajj at least once in their life if they have the means to do so. Each year, about 2 million people from all over the world, would gather in Mecca to perform Hajj.
While Saudi Arabia had begun to reduce some restrictions on movement and travel, it had suspended the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages until further notice as part of the effort to curb the spread of the virus. The growing concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic and the uncertainties in the status of the Hajj pilgrimage had prompted some countries not to send their citizens to Saudi Arabia this year.
Updated on 23rd June: Saudi Arabia just announced that Hajj this year will be very limited. It will be only open for those who are already residing currently in the kingdom. This includes other nationalities residing in Saudi Arabia and not just Saudi citizens.
Here is a list of countries that had announced their decision to skip Hajj this year due to Covid-19.
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Last May, Singapore had announced that its citizens will not be performing the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage this year in Mecca, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Hajj 2020 plans for all 900 pilgrims who had signed up this year will be deferred and pushed forward to 2021 according to the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS). This was done in consultation with the Ministry of Health (MOH).
The decision not to send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia due to the Covid-19 pandemic was also supported by Singapore’s Fatwa Committee, which gives religious guidance to Muslims. According to the Committee, they recommend that the Singapore delegation defer its Hajj plans to avoid any potential harm since not all pre-condition for a safe Hajj were met in the current context.
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Indonesia had recently announced the cancellation of the Islamic Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year for its citizens due to rising concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 220,000 people from Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, were initially set to take part in this year’s Hajj.
According to Indonesia’s religious affairs minister, Fachrul Razi, the decision to cancel Hajj 2020 was due to the Saudi Arabian government having failed to provide certainty. This decision was also done to protect Indonesian pilgrims and Hajj workers.
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On Thursday (11 June), Malaysia had announced that its citizens would be barred from making the Hajj pilgrimage this year amid Covid-19 concerns. According to Religious Affairs Minister, Zulkifli Mohamad Al-Bakri, Malaysia had decided on this decision due to the risks of contagion of the virus, as well as the lack of vaccine to treat it.
Malaysia sends tens of thousands of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia which is home to the two holiest sites in Islam, Mecca and Medina, every year. In the case of Malaysian pilgrims, they can wait up to 20 years to make the trip due to the quota system Malaysia had negotiated with Saudi Arabia.
According to the Tabung Haji Board in Malaysia, around 32,600 people selected to make the trip this year would be affected by this decision.
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The Haj Committee of India had announced that the pilgrims from India will not be able to travel to Mecca in Saudi Arabia due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The Committee also mentioned that they had yet to receive any form of communication from the Saudi authorities regarding Hajj 2020.
The Haj Committee in India had also decided to provide a refund for the Advance Haj Amount and Balance Amount back to all the pilgrims.
All international flights to and from Saudi Arabia are suspended amid the Covid-19 fears and currently, it has not made a decision on the international travel plan of pilgrims for Hajj 2020. Regular domestic and international flights have also been suspended in India due to the pandemic.
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Brunei had recently announced on 3 June, that its citizens would not perform the annual Hajj pilgrimage this year due to health concerns over the Covid-19 pandemic. Minister of Religious Affairs, Awang Badaruddin Othman said that Brunei would not send its 1,000 yearly selected pilgrims as well as those travelling at their own expenses to perform the Hajj.
This decision was made after Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah had given his consent to the recommendation of the Brunei Islamic Religious Council, which had convened last Saturday to cancel the annual Bruneian pilgrim's participation in the Hajj.
Brunei is the fourth country in Southeast Asia which has announced its decision to withhold Hajj pilgrims this year.
These are some of the countries which had made the decision for its citizens to skip Hajj this year due to fears over the Covid-19 pandemic. This means that Muslims from these countries are no longer able to perform the annual Islamic Hajj this year. We’re sure that this is a difficult and hard decision that had to be made due to the uncertainties and fears over the Covid-19 pandemic, but we do hope that the situation gets better soon and that all Muslim pilgrims affected would be able to perform their annual Hajj next year, In Shaa Allah.
