Hajj quota reduction puts Turkey in tight spot
Nearly 60,000 people are expected to join the annual Hajj pilgrimmage to Mecca this year, as millions more are waiting for years to perform their holy duty
As Saudi Arabia continues to impose a 20-percent cut in foreign pilgrims for a third year in a row, millions of Hajj applicants in Turkey will have to wait many more years to get a chance to fulfill their holy duty.
About 60,000 people from Turkey will go to Saudi Arabia this year, while 1,200,000 more Hajj applicants will have to wait for years.
According to Turkish religious affairs, this figure is expected to be 2 million next year. “If we don't take any new application, we still need the next 15 years to send all existing applicants to the Hajj," said the Deputy President of Turkey's Religious Affairs Ekrem Keleş.
Turkey will send 59,200 people to Saudi Arabia for this year's Hajj pilgrims. “Due to the continuing imposing Hajj quota reduction, we couldn't send more pilgrim candidates (above this amount)," he said.
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Turkey's Religious Affairs, the only legal authority for Hajj applicant selection in the country, selects the people who are permitted to go on the annual pilgrim in Mecca every year by a random draw as the applicants' quantity exceeds Turkey's quota.
The authority had granted 45,000 applicants who have been waiting for the past seven years without having to participate in the draw, while 14,000 others were selected by the draw.
Saudi authorities is keeping the global quota of Hajj for Muslims worldwide 20 percent lower than the normal quota in 2015,due to the ongoing construction and renovation of the Mecca e-Mukarramah.
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