The Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation may apply to the Russian authorities for permission to fly to Saudi Arabia to perform the Hajj in 2020, the First Deputy Chairman of the Russian Muftis Council (RMC), Deputy Chairman of the Religious Board of Muslims of the Russian Federation Rushan Abbyasov told "Izvestiya" on Monday.
"If the measures that are currently being taken remain in force, we will apply [to the Russian authorities with a request to allow flights to the KSA as part of the Hajj], there is a desire to do so. But let's consider all the factors, the solution depends not on the Saudi side, on ours as well," he said.
Earlier, the Russian Hajj mission recommended that Hajj operators postpone fulfilling their financial obligations to contractors in Saudi Arabia due to the coronavirus pandemic. Mufti Albir Krganov, Chairman of the Spiritual Assembly of Muslims of Russia (SAMR), said that Muslims could distribute the money set aside for the pilgrimage to those in need if they were unable to go to the Hajj in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Hajj is a pilgrimage to Holy places in the cities of Mecca and Medina related to the life of the prophet Muhammad. Along with the recognition of monotheism, daily five-fold prayer, fasting in the Holy month of Ramadan and mandatory donations to the poor, the Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam and is mandatory for every Muslim. In 2020, the Hajj is scheduled to begin on July 29, and Russia has been allocated a quota of 25,000 places to participate in it.
GSV "Russia - Islamic World"
Photo: GLady / Pixabay
Based on materials from TASS