Bangladesh's quota of 78,500 pilgrims set by Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2027 is full, but applications have not stopped. About 20,000 would-be pilgrims are waiting, and the Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) has asked the Saudi government for at least 20,000 more places.

HAAB secretary general Farid Ahmed Majumder made the demand at a press conference at a hotel in Naya Paltan, Dhaka, on Monday, 28 September, with the association's president Syed Golam Sarwar present. Subject to the sighting of the moon, Hajj will fall on 15 May next year (9 Dhul Hijjah 1448 AH), he said.

Bangladesh's original Hajj quota is 127,198, he said, but after pilgrim numbers fell in recent years amid political unrest and economic hardship, the 2027 quota was cut to 78,500. This time, the number wanting to go rose towards the end of registration.

The quota filled before registration closed last Thursday, 24 September. Many people deposited money even after that; banks stayed open on Friday and Saturday to take payments, but registration was not possible once the quota was full. Those waiting have prepared both mentally and financially, Majumder said, and in some families some members are registered while others are not.

HAAB has already written to the religious affairs ministry for extra places. Officials said a letter proposing a larger quota is being sent from the ministry to Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Hajj and Umrah.

Photo: Adli Wahid / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Source: Banglavision