Govt slammed for bungling free Hajj pilgrimage for "poor"

President Mohammed Muizzu had promised to fund the Hajj pilgrimage for the poor during his term. Under the promise 50 such persons had been evaluated and selected for Hajj this year. However, complaints are on the rise now that the people the government is funding for Hajj are neither poor nor struggling to make ends meet.

All the quotas available to take people to Hajj this year were given to the Hajj Corporation. The company undertakes all the processes of facilitating Hajj for pilgrims.

The government has decided to give the opportunity to perform Hajj at government expense for 1,000 poor people during the five years of this government. 

Social media is abuzz with outrage that there is political interference in the pilgrimage arrangements, saying that the queue was fudged. When people pay for Hajj they are put on a queue, and their pilgrimage is arranged according to the queue. This waiting list is very long, and people who are paying now end up with a pilgrimage slot after 2032. 

The backlash regarding the Hajj waitlist is that those who had paid much later were being allowed to go for the pilgrimage this year while some of the pilgrims who were on the Hajj Corporation’s list to go for the pilgrimage this year had been shifted to next year’s list at the last minute.

In addition, the selection criteria for the financially struggling people to go to Hajj at government expense has also been questioned. An interview with a government-sponsored pilgrim who juggles two jobs; teaching and an Imam, is being criticised widely. Some say that if he was a poor man, there would be no poor people in Maldives.

There is also a lot of speculation on the state providing for Hajj to the poor from state budget when Islam itself does not command Hajj upon the poor. Hajj is only obligatory for a Muslim provided they are physically fit and financially capable.

When asked about the alleged complaints against the Hajj Corporation, its Managing Director Mohammed Shakeel assured that the Hajj Corporation would not influence the Hajj queue.

"The new management of the Hajj Corporation will not do anything outside the existing rules. Under my supervision, the new management of the Hajj Corporation is working in good faith," Shakeel told Atoll Times on Sunday.

Shakeel also assured that no one can change the order of the Hajj queue.

"[The talk about change in the order of the list] is not right. No one can interpose on the order of the Hajj queue," Shakeel said.

He said the Hajj Corporation had been running at a loss for the past 11 years and the hope was to make it a profitable company and provide people with affordable Hajj opportunities.

Islamic Minister Mohammad Shaheem Ali Saeed did not respond to calls seeking comment from him on the 50 pilgrims sent for the pilgrimage at the government's expense.

However, the minister told some media that the case of including a middle-income earner among the free pilgrims list would be investigated.

He said the pilgrims were determined based on the low-income roster compiled by the previous government.

The list of free pilgrims was reviewed last December, he said

Under the free Hajj rule:

There are 982 registered people between the ages of 50 and 69 on the register of economically disadvantaged folk who are entitled to receive Zakat. Of these, 667 are eligible for free Hajj.

This year, Maldives initially received 1,000 Hajj quotas. With the later received additional 150 slots, a total of 1,150 people will go for the Hajj this year.