JEDDAH, 24 June — About 10,000 Canadians are expected to arrive in the Kingdom this summer to perform Umrah, according to an organizer of Umrah services in the country. “Canadian Muslims have expressed their desire to perform Umrah during the summer vacation, which will start next week. They prefer bringing their teenage children to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah to taking them on a tour of the Western cities,” Ahmad Nur Muhammad, a board member of the Khalid ibn Al-Waleed Mosque in Toronto, told Arab News here yesterday.
He said several Canadian Muslim organizations were planning to organize Umrah packages. “Only one travel agency has so far signed a contract with a Saudi firm. However, to meet the requirements of pilgrims from all parts of Canada, more local organizations seek to enter into contracts with Saudi companies licensed to provide pilgrim services,” he said.
“I have inspected the services of some companies. I hope that the Toronto Islamic Center will enter the market and soon sign a contract with a specialized Saudi company,” he said. “The Toronto mosque has already begun to disseminate information about the new Umrah regulations through the media in order to avoid misconceptions about the system,” he added.
Muhammad said the pilgrims would be educated on Umrah rites before they leave Canada. The mosque, one of the important Islamic centers in North America, also serves as an educational institution that organizes daily lectures on Islamic topics. “This is why the number of Umrah pilgrims jumped substantially this year,” Muhammad said.
