BAGHDAD,
January 4, 2006 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) - Around 7,000
Iraqis hoping to perform hajj this month were unable to enter Saudi
Arabia on Tuesday, January 3, because Iraq had exceeded its quota of
pilgrims, an Iraqi official said.
"A
portion of these pilgrims found themselves blocked at the Saudi
airports and an entry point at Arar, on the border in southern
Iraq," said Khaled Al-Attiya, an Iraqi official for the major
Muslim rite, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Iraq
has a quota, proportional to its size, of 27,500 pilgrims.
"We
are still in contact with the Saudi authorities to try and solve the
problem and we hope to reach an agreement soon," said Attiya by
telephone from Saudi Arabia.
Saudi
Arabia allows one percent of the population of each Muslim country to
perform hajj every year, in accordance with the resolution of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
Hajj
consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the
essential concepts of the Islamic faith, and to commemorate the trials
of Prophet Abraham and his family.
Every
able-bodied adult Muslim who can financially afford the trip must
perform hajj, one of the five pillars of Islam, once in their
lifetime.
Arrival
Deadline
Meanwhile,
Saudi officials on Tuesday announced that the deadline for pilgrims to
arrive in Saudi Arabia by plane would be Wednesday, January 4, at
midnight.
"A
fine of 200,000 Saudi riyals (53,000 dollars) will be imposed on any
plane carrying pilgrims that arrives in Saudi Arabia after Wednesday
at midnight," warned the Saudi Civil Aviation Association in a
statement.
"The
Association will detain any plane that breaks this rule at the airport
until the fine is paid."
The
deadline for pilgrims arriving by sea was set at midnight on Tuesday,
the statement said.
More
than 1.2 million Muslims from around the world have already arrived in
Saudi Arabia for the annual hajj which begins next week.
Around
a million Saudi-based pilgrims were licensed to take part in the hajj.
Up to 300,000 more are expected to slip into Makkah without permits.
The
pilgrimage, which is expected to draw up to 2.5 million Muslims this
year, will begins on January 8.
