President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has decided today, with the advice of the Cabinet, to change the policy on taking people for Hajj from the Maldives starting next year, in order to find a solution for citizens who have been waiting for a long time to perform the obligatory Hajj after paying money to the Maldives Hajj Corporation Limited. The President made this decision after discussing the paper submitted by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs in the Cabinet meeting.
The changes brought to the policy on taking people for Hajj from the Maldives, to give opportunities in the order of payment to those who perform Hajj under the care of the Maldives Hajj Corporation, include:
1. Giving priority to those who wish to perform Hajj for the first time.
2. Allocating a certain percentage determined by the Maldives Hajj Corporation each year for people aged 65 and above who have not performed Hajj.
3. Providing an opportunity for those aged 75 and above who have not performed Hajj to bring a helper, considering their health condition. However, the helper can only be someone who has not performed Hajj before (if a family member is on the Corporation’s list, that person), and someone who has performed Hajj can only be taken as a helper if no one who hasn’t performed Hajj is available. (Note: Health condition will be verified by doctors appointed by the Maldives Hajj Corporation.)
4. Determining that those who have performed Hajj before can be given another opportunity only after 5 Hijri years have passed since their last Hajj.
5. Exempting those taken by the Maldives Hajj Corporation as Hajj service providers from points 1, 3, and 4.
The government continues to work on increasing the official Hajj quota for the Maldives to find a solution for citizens who have been waiting for a long time to perform the obligatory Hajj, even though they have secured a place on the Hajj queue list by paying money to the Maldives Hajj Corporation Limited.
