JEDDAH, 3 March 2004 — The government has had some success in stopping people performing Haj multiple times, according to a pilgrimage expert.

Islam requires able-bodied Muslims who can afford it to perform the pilgrimage once, but repeat performances have become a status symbol especially among Muslims from the subcontinent, adding to the strain on the system.

Unexpected numbers also make Haj more difficult for pilgrims from abroad, especially for the old and infirm who have often saved for the journey all their lives.

Dr. Osama Fadul Albar, dean of the Institute for Haj Research in Umm Al-Qura University, told Arab News that numbers of domestic pilgrims stabilized once the government barred domestic pilgrims — Saudis and expatriates — from performing Haj more than once every five years.

“This is how we can successfully control the numbers. That is where our success lies. The most important thing is to educate people,” he said.

Domestic pilgrims are the unpredictable factor for Haj planners. They often make up their minds at the last minute, putting a heavy strain on Haj facilities that are planned with a certain number of pilgrims in mind.

How many domestic pilgrims perform Haj repeatedly is not known. According to the Institute for Haj Research, there were some 850,000 domestic pilgrims this year, but the Statistics Department and the Ministry of Planning and Economy give the number as about 600,000. The Ministry of Haj and the Passports Department give 250,000 and 300,000 respectively.

There are several reasons for the discrepancies. For instance, many pilgrims come for Umrah and stay for Haj. Pilgrims from Makkah itself do not figure in any quota, and others enter the city in their street clothes and only change into ihram (pilgrimage robes) there.

“Our expectation is that the numbers will remain the same,” Albar said.

According to one estimate, the number of international pilgrims will rise slightly next year and reach nearly 1.5 million the year after.

However, the estimate sees only marginal increases in the number of domestic Haj pilgrims until 1440H.

Of the total number of nearly 1.8 million pilgrims who performed Haj this year, international pilgrims accounted for about 1.3 million, and domestic pilgrims would therefore have totaled a little over 500,000.