Hajj to Mecca: 5400 pilgrimage travel permits allocated for Kyrgyzstan
Saudi Arabia allocated 5,400 pilgrimage travel permits for Kyrgyzstanis in 2018, the Spiritual Administration of Muslims of Kyrgyzstan said on January 18.
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All-women marathon slated for Makkah
MAKKAH: A local Makkah volunteer team has signed an agreement to launch the first women’s marathon in Saudi Arabia with Al-Wehda Sports Club. Team leader Abeer Fakirah said that the first agreement of its kind was conducted at the level of the Saudi clubs between the Hur Makkah Volunteer Team and the Makkah-based Al-Wehda Sports Club. The agreement is authorized by the General
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'Hajj 2018 likely to be costlier'
Hajj 2018 is likely to be costlier than last year but not because of the abolition of subsidy that the government announced on Tuesday. The cost is likely to go up thanks to rise in expenses incurred in Saudi Arabia during the Hajj such as accommodation, transport, food and the like. Notably, the government subsidy did not cover these expenses and was limited to the airfare.
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Saudi Arabia’s Madinah hit by multiple tremors
MADINAH, Saudi Arabia: One of Saudi Arabia’s holiest cities was hit by three tremors on Tuesday — measuring 0.75 t0 0.95 magnitude on the Richter scale. Hani Zahran, director general of the National Center for Earthquakes and Volcanoes at the Saudi Geological Survey, told Arab News that the tremors were aftereffects of Tuesday’s 2.5 magnitude earthquake that hit the city. He said there was no reason for people to panic.
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Sonny Bill Williams on Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca
"Amazing feeling" for All Black as he goes on an Umrah to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
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2.5 quake felt in Madinah
The tremor was caused by a blast triggered by a company building a modern highway west of Medina
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India withdraws subsidy for pilgrims travelling to Saudi
India’s central government has said it will withdraw a subsidy given to hundreds of thousands of Muslims for their annual Haj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia.
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Age limits set for wheelchair assistants in Makkah's Grand Mosque
Only people aged between 25 and 60 years will be allowed to push the wheelchairs of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, said the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques. The age limit is to ensure the health of pilgrims and visitors, and because people outside the age group may have difficulty reaching the elevations of Safa and Marwa while pushing a wheelchair, said the director of mobility services at the presidency, Saleh Hossawee.
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Saudi city of Madinah experiences 2.5 magnitude earthquake
The Holy City of Madinah experienced a 2.5 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, engineer Hani Zahran of the Saudi Geological Society told Arab News. City officials confirmed that there were no reports of damage from the earthquake. The center of the earthquake was 14km north-west of Madinah at a depth of 7 kilometers below the surface.
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India ends decades-old subsidy for Hajj pilgrims
NEW DELHI: India’s Hindu nationalist government is ending a decades-long policy of offering discounted airfares to Muslims embarking on the Hajj pilgrimage, it announced Tuesday. The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party has accused its opponents in the Congress party — who introduced the Hajj assistance scheme in the 1950s — of trying to woo Muslim voters through handouts.
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Hajj, Umrah fraud continues
Hajj and Umrah fraud continues to increase among Muslim pilgrims in Cape Town.
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Hajj Watch calls for re-organisation of Hajj Board
Hajj Watch, an Islamic association has called on the Ghana Hajj Board to re-organise the current structure and designations of the Pilgrims Affairs Office of Ghana before the 2018 Hajj season.
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