JEDDAH, 25 January -- Some 9,000 South Africans will perform Haj this time, marking an increase of 400 over last year, according to the leader of an Haj goodwill mission from the country. All of them are coming through the South Africa Haj and Umrah Council (SAHUC), Ismail Schroeder, the mission leader who heads SAHUC, told Arab News yesterday.
"The depreciation in the value of the rand against the dollar has made some South Africans not to undertake the pilgrimage. The cost of the pilgrimage per Haji ranges from 12,000 to 15,000 rands, which is a lifetime saving for the average South African, he added.
With a population of 40 million, 1.2 million among them Muslim, South Africa can send up to 12,000 pilgrims, he remarked.
The mission consists of 25 members, four doctors, 13 paramedics and six students, said Schroeder who had meetings since his arrival earlier this month with different Haj related authorities and agencies in Makkah and Madinah.
The first group of South African pilgrims landed in Jeddah on Jan. 5 -- the first to arrive from any country.
He added that intensive religious classes are conducted in his country for prospective pilgrims from 12 to 24 months in advance so that they are well informed and well conversant with the Haj rituals and the laws of the land.
SAHUC, which coordinates the Haj and Umrah activities, was set up in mid-90s after the new democratic government led by the African National Congress assumed power.
The council is an independent body comprising representatives from different strata of society including members of parliament, tour operators and travel agents. It takes care of all pilgrim activities, including transport and accommodation, from their arrival to departure.
According to Schroeder, various Muslim agencies are pursuing Islamic activities and rendering useful service to society at large in his country. The Africa Muslim Agency goes to the rescue of people of any African country.
The Islamic Council of South Africa, the Muslim Judicial Council, the Majlis Shoura Al-Islam and the Jamaat-ul Ulema are among the other organizations working for the cause of Islam. "A glaring difference found during the ANC rule is that we have access to 'black townships,' which was not the case during the apartheid era," Shroeder said, adding that the country today boasts of 800 mosques -- 200 of them in Capetown alone. "Also, pilgrims get their visas in our country as against the past practice of stamping them on arrival here. We appreciate the Kingdom's support in this regard," he said.
