Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Hajj is one of the five pillars of Islam\nthat must be fulfilled by financially capable Muslims. This capability\nencompasses not just physical and spiritual readiness, but also\nfinancial means, as the journey to the Holy Land and the extended\nrituals require substantial costs.<\/p>\n
In Indonesia, Hajj holds a special place. Beyond fulfilling religious\nobligations, the status of having completed Hajj is often viewed as a\nsocial prestige symbol. Unsurprisingly, public interest in undertaking\nthe pilgrimage remains consistently high.<\/p>\n
This phenomenon is not new. Centuries ago, many Indonesians resorted\nto various means, including borrowing from loan sharks, to afford\nHajj.<\/p>\n
\u201cTaking loans for Hajj was common in the past,\u201d noted historian Henry\nChambert-Loir in his 2013 work \u2018Hajj in Bygone Days\u2019.<\/p>\n
During the Dutch colonial era, Hajj travel costs were significantly\nhigher than today. Pilgrims travelled by sea, not air, taking one to two\nmonths each way to the Holy Land.<\/p>\n
The lengthy journey inflated expenses. Aspiring pilgrims had to cover\nship fares, living costs during transit, expenses in Mecca, and return\ntravel.<\/p>\n
Serang and Jakarta Regent Achmad Djajadiningrat, in his memoir\n\u2018Herinneringen van Pangeran Aria Achmad Djajadiningrat\u2019 (1936), stated\nHajj costs in the early 1900s ranged between 500 and 800 guilders.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat sum was his own, but he also needed to provide for his family\nleft behind during his absence,\u201d Djajadiningrat wrote.<\/p>\n
At the time, gold was priced at around 2 guilders per gram, making\n500 guilders equivalent to 250 grams of gold. With current gold prices\nnearing Rp1.8 million per gram, this amounts to approximately Rp434\nmillion. In other words, Hajj costs in the early 20th century were\nequivalent to hundreds of millions of rupiah in today\u2019s value.<\/p>\n
For aristocrats, major merchants, and landowners, such costs may not\nhave been an issue. However, for ordinary citizens, particularly farmers\nand the economically disadvantaged, meeting these expenses from daily\nincome was difficult.<\/p>\n
Consequently, many aspiring pilgrims turned to loan sharks, often\nusing land or rice fields as collateral to secure funds for their\njourney.<\/p>\n
The consequences were not always positive. According to Dutch\narchives cited by Chambert-Loir, 30% of Indonesian Hajj pilgrims in 1876\nwere left homeless in Saudi Arabia due to insufficient provisions, among\nthose who had borrowed for their journey.<\/p>\n
Problems typically arose upon their return home. Many Hajj pilgrims\nlacked funds to repay their loans, despite being obligated to settle\ntheir debts.<\/p>\n
In such situations, they faced two equally harsh choices:\nsurrendering collateral like land or rice fields to the loan sharks, or\nbeing forced into labour for the lenders until the debt was cleared.\nBoth options were distressing, leading to relentless pursuit by loan\nsharks and suffering. Yet, they had no choice but to pick one.<\/p>\n
Although borrowing was common, not all lower-class individuals\nresorted to this. In the same memoir, Djajadiningrat noted some pilgrims\nchose to sell land, farms, jewellery, or livestock to fund their journey\nto Mecca.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/desperate-indonesians-take-hajj-loans-chased-by-loan-sharks-1779883333", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }