Want to perform Haj without going through a local mutawif who may charge several thousand riyals?
Just bring a copy of your identity card (for Saudis) or iqama (for expatriates) and a letter from your sponsor saying you want to perform Haj, a vaccination certificate and SR500. You will be provided with a valid Haj permit and then you will never see us again nor will we see you.
This is what one man was told when he approached a local Haj agent. The man told the agent he could not afford to pay SR3,000 (the minimum) demanded by local Haj tour operators from anyone planning to make the pilgrimage. He was told that for SR500 he would get a Haj pass but he would have to take care of everything else himself, including transport to Makkah and accommodation. The office’s responsibility ends once the permit is in the buyer’s hand.
This is happening at a time when the authorities are struggling to regulate the number of pilgrims to ensure everyone fulfills the obligation to perform Haj, the fifth pillar of Islam, in ease and peace. People performing Haj from inside the Kingdom can only do so once every five years through an authorized local agent. The aim is to provide more room to fellow Muslims, especially those from abroad, and prevent overcrowding and squatting, problems that seem insoluble.
Many citizens and expatriates cannot afford to pay the cost demanded by local agents. This means some agents may never be able to attract a reasonable number of applicants to cover their expenses. This leads to people breaking the law and engaging in a kind of business that flourishes at this time of the year — dealing illegally in Haj permits. The result is more people seek shelter on the sidewalks, in the tunnels, under bridges, in trailers and on hilltops throughout the rites.
Because local Haj agents keep complaining of high rentals in Mina and Arafat in addition to the cost of transport and other services, they may not be able to reduce the fees they demand from pilgrims.
It would thus be impossible to prevent people who cannot afford to pay the high cost demanded by these agents from securing Haj permits.
What should be done is that the condition that permits are issued after the applicant shows they have arrangements with a local Haj agent should be scrapped and the Haj Research Institute should begin searching for creative ways to solve the problem of squatting and overcrowding.
