The first group of Azerbaijani pilgrims set off for the Hajj.
The first group of 180 pilgrims departed Baku for Saudi Arabia today. The number of those wishing to perform the Hajj exceeded Azerbaijan's allocated quota, despite the rising cost of the trip.
As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," the first group of pilgrims from Ingushetia departed for the Hajj on May 13. A day earlier, the first plane carrying pilgrims from Chechnya this year departed from Grozny for Saudi Arabia.
Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy sites in Mecca, is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every Muslim who has reached adulthood and is able to perform the Hajj at least once in their life is required to do so. The pilgrimage to Mecca typically occurs at the beginning of the 12th month of the Muslim lunar calendar and culminates with the Feast of the Sacrifice, Eid al-Adha. There is also the so-called "lesser Hajj" – Umrah.
The first group of 180 Azerbaijani pilgrims departed Baku today, Report reports.
This year, Azerbaijan has been allocated a quota of 1,500 places for the Hajj. Before his flight, Azerbaijani resident Javid Huseynov admitted that this was his first trip to Mecca.
"This is my first time going on Hajj. I'm very happy to have the opportunity to visit these holy places. I have many prayers and wishes. May peace and prosperity reign in the world," the agency quoted him as saying.
I'm going on Hajj with my mother.
Pilgrim Kyaram Aliyev expressed a similar wish today. "I will pray for even greater prosperity and abundance in our country. May peace reign throughout the world. I am going on the Hajj with my mother," he told the agency.
The number of applicants exceeded the number of places amid rising prices for travel packages
From May 17 to 21, seven Baku-Jeddah flights will be departing for the Hajj with pilgrims from Azerbaijan, Vusal Jahangiri, head of the external relations department of the Caucasus Muslim Board, announced on May 13.
According to him, the flights are scheduled for the morning and evening hours. "Each aircraft will accommodate 180 pilgrims, that is, four groups of 45 people. The first flight will depart on May 17 at 6:50. Two more flights will depart on May 18 and 19. The final, seventh plane will take off on the morning of May 21, heading for Jeddah. Pilgrims on this flight will return from Jeddah to Baku on May 31. The remaining groups will return home from Medina on June 6, 7, and 9—two flights per day. Thus, it is expected that the last pilgrim will be home after midnight on June 10," Oxu.az quoted Jahangiri as saying.
Applications continue. However, there are no more spots left.
Earlier, in April, Vusal Jahangiri told the APA news agency that the Hajj quota in Azerbaijan had already been filled.
"Despite the quota being filled, applications continue. However, there are no more spots left. "Applications will only be accepted next year," the agency quoted Vusal Jahangiri as saying on April 17.
This year, the cost of the pilgrimage package per person is set at $6,100. The price was determined taking into account price increases in various countries and the introduction of new services by specialized institutions in Saudi Arabia, Vesti.az reports.
Economist Natig Jafarli linked the annual increase in the cost of the Hajj to the monopoly of the Caucasus Muslims Authority (CMA) in 2024. "In other countries, private companies can sell tours to Mecca. The same thing happened in Azerbaijan several years ago. But then the Muslim Muslims (MMC) declared itself the sole seller of tours for the main Hajj and therefore dictates prices," he told the Caucasian Knot.
The high cost of the tours has caused complaints among Azerbaijani residents
As a reminder, in 2024, the cost of a Hajj trip for pilgrims from Azerbaijan increased to 9,945 manat (approximately $5,850), compared to 9,775 manat ($5,750) in 2023. Meanwhile, the average nominal salary was 933.8 manats (about $549).
The family budget doesn't allow for such expenses, some Azerbaijani residents complained in 2024. "I was in Umrah. I would like to perform the Hajj, but to pay [almost] 10,000 manat, I would have to work for several months, forgetting about the need to feed my family and pay other expenses," construction foreman Muhammad Aydinov told the "Caucasian Knot."
Many perform the Hajj as tourists
A year earlier, in June 2023, religious figure Elshad Nuri not only criticized the high cost of the Hajj but also questioned the wisdom of spending nearly 10,000 manat on the Hajj. According to him, this amount could pay for a year of university education for four or five students from poor families.
"Most of the rituals accepted today during the pilgrimage to Mecca are unrelated to Islam and are not mentioned in the Quran. Nowadays, many perform the Hajj as tourists. They spend 10,000 manats to be called hajjis (haves who have performed the Hajj – Caucasian Knot note) to gain a higher social status. This is far from Islam," Nuri told Caucasian Knot.
In 2020, Saudi Arabian authorities banned pilgrimages from other countries to the Muslim holy sites in Mecca and Medina due to the coronavirus pandemic. The cancellation of the Hajj for foreign pilgrims then disappointed some Muslims in Azerbaijan.