KUALA
LUMPUR, December 31 (IslamOnline.net) - While Asian Muslims are
already flying out of their respective countries to Saudi Arabia to
perform Hajj, thousands of Indonesians are disappointed that they
could not perform the holy ritual this year due to a government
mishap.
This
hajj season has been marred by the last-minute postponement of the
pilgrimage for 30,000 people, although they had already paid the fees
and were prepared for the travel.
Saudi
Arabia did not grant Jakarta additional seats this year, citing the
consensus within the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) that
each member state be allocated one seat for every 1,000 Muslims in its
population.
"From
different embarkation points across Indonesia, some 200,000
Indonesians are on their way to Saudi Arabia while television images
showed thousands still in shock for missing out due to a last minute
mistake by the Indonesian authorities that got their hajj
cancelled," said Rozdiza, whose parents are not going for the
Hajj due to the government mistake, told IslamOnline.net.
"Many
are still angered by the cancellation of their hajj by the government
due to lack of quota from Saudi Arabia and it is clearly the fault of
the Indonesian government," added Sofie Alwani, another young
woman whose parents will also miss out on the hajj.
"My
mother got her visa but my father did not. Hence they have to
cancel," she told IOL, adding that even though her parents were
disappointed, they were happy too that others got the chance to go.
Alwani
said that many Indonesians had organized farewells, but were
disappointed that their hajj was cancelled due to the quota problems.
Indonesians
forms the largest foreign community in the hajj every year.
For
this hajj season, the Indonesian government has chartered planes from
national flag-carrier Garuda Indonesia and from Saudi Arabia Airlines
to carry the pilgrims to and from Makkah.
Everything
is taken care of; from the hotel where the pilgrims will be staying to
the food they will be eating there though some Indonesians do prefer
to be on their own in the holy land.
In
Malaysia, the government has roundly organized the hajj pilgrim for
thousands of Malaysians who are already on their way to Saudi Arabia.
A
hajj package costs nearly $3000 per person in Malaysia, whereas in
Indonesia it can go as high as $5000.
The
hajj, the fifth pillar of Islam, is an obligation for able-bodied
Muslims who can afford it at least once in a lifetime. The season is
starting this December and will climax in February.