Pilgrimages to Mecca suspended: Niger pilgrims will be compensated

The Kaaba in the heart of the Masjid al-Haram mosque in Mecca (illustration). REUTERS / Suhaib Salem

Text by: RFI Follow

The coronavirus epidemic disrupts the celebration of Muslim rites. Saudi authorities temporarily suspend Hajj and Umrah, or small pilgrimage, due to the coronavirus pandemic. All Hajj and Omra 2020 applicants who have paid money will be compensated by Saudi Arabia. A reimbursement mechanism is already established in connection with the local agencies that organize the pilgrimage. More than 15,000 Nigerien pilgrims will be affected.

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with our correspondent in Niamey, Moussa Kaka

The first victims of the virus in Niger are Muslim faithful who wish to go to Mecca for the pilgrimage. The little pilgrimage or Umrah and Hajj 2020.

A note from the Nigerian Minister of Foreign Affairs, seized by Riyadh, informs his counterpart of the Interior and Religious Affairs that the Saudi authorities have temporarily suspended the two Muslim rites at the holy sites of Islam, because of the pandemic.

A reimbursement mechanism already operational

The suspensions concern around 4,000 pilgrims for Umrah and around 14,000 others for the great Hajj. In the same note, the Saudi authorities state that all pilgrims who have already paid their money will be reimbursed.

An electronic reimbursement mechanism is already operational through local travel agencies. These are specifically visa loans and other services for Hajj.

Once the reimbursement has been made, notifications will be made to interested parties. A second mechanism for reimbursing package costs, i.e. accommodation and transport to Mecca, is also planned.

This decision by Saudi Arabia surprised all the travel agencies that organize Hajj. The decision of the Saudi authorities is right, according to the director of the National Agency for the organization of Hajj, Coho (Commissariat for the organization of Hajj and Oumra, Editor's note). By protecting pilgrims, he added, money must also be protected from pilgrims.

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  • Niger
  • Health and Medicine
  • Religion
  • Coronavirus