Indonesian Ministry of Religion Excludes Hajj 2020

The Ministry of Religion said that it will abolish the Hajj 2020 because the Covid-19 pandemic still haunts the world, especially Saudi Arabia.

"The government has decided not to send the pilgrims to Hijri in 1441 or 2020," said Minister of Religion Fachrul Razi in a virtual press conference, Tuesday, June 2, 2020.

Fachrul Razi said this pandemic had an impact on all aspects of social and religious. The ministry then formed the Hajj crisis center in 2020. This crisis center was given a mandate to mitigate the implementation of the Hajj 2020.

"This team has formed a special review of three pilgrimage schemes," Fachrul said during a press conference on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. All three of these schemes are normal, restricted, or canceled pilgrimages. Entering May, options are narrowed to a limitation or cancellation.

According to him, Saudi Arabia has never opened Hajj access to any country. "So the government has no time to prepare," he said. So the government decided to cancel the departure of the Hajj 2020.

Fachrul said that the government did not have the spare time if it forced the hajj pilgrims to depart even with a quota reduction. The reason is based on the schedule, the first batch of Indonesian pilgrims must leave on June 26, 2020. While the government and pilgrims need additional time to follow the health protocol.

"In this scenario (quota reduction) the hajj time span will be longer because there is an additional quarantine period of 14 days before leaving, after arriving (in Saudi Arabia), and after arriving back (in Indonesia)," he said.

In addition, the implementation of hajj in the middle of a plague of dangerous infectious diseases. The Ministry of Religion, said Fachrul, has conducted a literature review related to the implementation of hajj in the midst of the plague. "The fact is that it caused humanitarian tragedies and tens of thousands of worshipers became victims," he said.

Historically, the government of Saudi Arabia banned the pilgrimage in 1814 due to epidemics of thoun, 1837 and 1858 due to epidemics, 1892 due to cholera outbreaks, and 1897 because of outbreaks of meningitis.

While the Indonesian government never departed the pilgrims in 1946 to 1948 due to Dutch military aggression.

Before deciding to abolish the departure of the hajj pilgrims, Fachrul Razi stated that he had requested the opinion of the Indonesian Ulema Council and consulted with the Religious Commission of the Indonesian Parliament.

Source: tempo