“Haj Enlightenment,” a popular radio program that has been broadcast on Jeddah Radio for the last two decades, has been canceled for unknown reasons.
Only seasonal daily Haj programs will not be aired, while regular broadcasting news service in Urdu, English and other languages will continue to air.
Hamza Hussain, director of Jeddah Radio’s English service, told Arab News on Wednesday that “this year, Jeddah Radio is not broadcasting Haj programs like previous years.” He also added that the radio station expects to implement changes to its content from the next Hijri year.
Jeddah Radio programs are quite popular during the Haj season, as it broadcasts programs on a variety of topics with content support from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs.
Saudi Radio’s Haj seasonal broadcasting programs are broadcast in English, French, Urdu, Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Swahili and Turkish. Those in the Urdu and Indonesian languages remain the most popular due to the high influx of pilgrims from the Subcontinent and Indonesia.
The prime objective of the program is to educate pilgrims from different parts of the world on how to perform the Haj rites according to the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) at holy sites in Makkah, Arafat, Mina and Muzdalifah.
These programs are broadcast daily on AM (594 khz) for listeners in Madinah, while FM (104.4 mhz) covers the Makkah area.
Saudi Radio’s Haj programs paved the way for regular news broadcasting service in foreign languages for international listeners.
Jeddah Radio cancels Haj awareness programs this year
