JAKARTA, June 12 (Bernama) -- The Saudi Arabian government has slashed
the haj quota for Indonesia by 20 per cent or 42,000 pilgrims for this
year's haj season in view of the limited space following the ongoing
expansion of the Holy Sites, particularly the Grand Mosque in Mecca and
Nabawi Mosque in Medina.
Source from (Bernama): http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v7/ge/newsgeneral.php?id=955703
Published: Jun 13, 2013
Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said he had received the
official notification letter from the Saudi Arabian government on the
matter.
However, he said the ministry was not ready to comment further and that
the government would try to lobby the Saudi government to at least
maintain the existing quota of 211,000 pilgrims given to Indonesia.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Indonesia Musthafa bin Ibrahim
al-Mubarak was quoted by Republika Online news portal as saying that the
reduction of the quota was generally imposed by the Saudi Arabian
government on all countries.
He said this was to ensure comfort for all pilgrims from all over the
world who would be performing their umrah and haj pilgrimage this
season.
Musthafa, however, could not ascertain how long the reduction of quota
would be enforced as the mega expansion project at the two mosques,
which began last year, would take three years to be completed.
With a population of over 240 million people, Indonesia also has the
largest Muslim population than any other country in the world.
-- BERNAMA
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