JEDDAH: Some tour operators have reportedly cheated thousands of Egyptian pilgrims during the current Haj season by making them donate to a nonexistent charity fund.

A large number of Egyptian pilgrims, who were not included in the 70,000 people selected by the government for Haj this year, sought the service of private Haj and Umrah operators to travel to the Kingdom for pilgrimage.

Some of the tour operators forced each pilgrim to pay a donation of SR10,000 to a phony charitable organization for helping the victims of calamities.

Two separate committees concerning religious affairs and tourism at the Egyptian People's Assembly, said it was unfair to charge pilgrims anything other than the costs associated only with the performance of Haj.

A number of victims of the scam said they would sue the tour operators if they did not return the money.

Muhammad Al-Saeed, an Egyptian pilgrim who arrived in Makkah by road told Arab News, “This year I had to pay an equivalent of SR20,000 for the pilgrimage because my tour operator would not process my application for Haj without a donation to a fund called the National Calamity Fund.” He said the expenses for Haj were SR10,000 and the rest was for a charity fund.

“If the Haj operator refuses to return the extra amount I and my co-travelers paid, we will sue the company for cheating,” Al-Saeed said.

Another pilgrim, Muntaser Al-Fayumi, said that since he was not among the pilgrims selected by the government for Haj, he had to seek the help of a private tour company that demanded an extra payment of SR10,000 as a donation.

“Unscrupulous tour operators exploit the religious sentiments of people who dream of visiting the two holiest places in the world. Sometimes they charge four to five times higher than the actual cost,” said Al-Fayumi.

“This is one of the several forms of swindling ploys resorted to by unscrupulous Haj and Umrah operators in the country.

“It is extremely unfortunate that some people exploit religion to line their pockets,” said Abdul Hakim Al-Maraghi, who is a practicing lawyer in Giza, Egypt.