The article by Deputy Minister of Hajj, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak,\npublished on Kompas.com on 11 April 2026, deserves appreciation for\nhighlighting a long-standing issue that has been too readily accepted as\nnormal, though it is inherently problematic: the Hajj waiting lists\nstretching to several decades.<\/p>\n
In public perception, this situation has even been embraced as\nsomething reasonable, as if it were an inevitable consequence of the\nlarge number of Muslims in Indonesia.<\/p>\n
However, upon more critical examination, such lengthy queues reveal a\ntension between the actual demands of worship and a system that\ninherently delays it.<\/p>\n
Amid the government\u2019s current push to reduce the longest waiting\nperiod from around 48 years to about 26 years starting in 2026, this\nissue warrants reading not merely as an administrative matter, but as\none of justice, governance, and even the very meaning of istitha\u2019ah\nitself.<\/p>\n
Because when the gap between readiness and departure is too wide,\nwhat is at stake is not only the system\u2019s efficiency, but also the\nintegrity of the Hajj worship\u2019s meaning.<\/p>\n
It is high time we honestly admit that Hajj queues lasting two to\nthree decades are not a healthy state for the worship service\nsystem.<\/p>\n
With a waiting list reaching about 5.7 million people, we face a\nsituation where worship that should be performed in a state of\ncapability is instead forced to submit to a logic of extremely prolonged\nwaiting.<\/p>\n
In this context, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak\u2019s critique is highly\nrelevant: the system must not be allowed to reduce worship to merely a\nmatter of quota numbers.<\/p>\n
This issue can no longer be tolerated as merely a technical\nconsequence. Long queues reflect an imbalance between demand and\ncapacity that is not matched by adequate policy innovations.<\/p>\n
The state seems to merely manage the accumulation rather than\naddressing the root problems. As a result, the system runs\nadministratively but loses sensitivity to the substantial dimension of\nthe worship itself.<\/p>\n
Many prospective pilgrims register while still healthy and\nproductive, hoping to perform the worship in the best condition.<\/p>\n
However, in reality, they only get their turn when they are much\nolder, even in non-ideal health conditions.<\/p>\n
In such situations, worship that should be conducted with full\nreadiness instead takes place under limitations.<\/p>\n
A deeper impact is the shift in the meaning of istitha\u2019ah. In fiqh,\nistitha\u2019ah is actual, encompassing physical, financial, mental, and\nsecurity capabilities at the time of performing the worship.<\/p>\n
However, in the practice of a long-queue system, istitha\u2019ah risks\nbeing reduced to an administrative formality that is sufficiently proven\nat the time of registration. Readiness, which should be the core, is\ndisplaced by a semblance of certainty in the system.<\/p>\n
If this condition is allowed to continue, we will not only face\ntechnical issues in organisation, but also a crisis of meaning in the\nperformance of Hajj worship.<\/p>\n
Therefore, courage is needed to restructure the system more\nfundamentally, so that Hajj worship is no longer trapped in the logic of\nlong queues, but returns to its main principle: performed in a capable,\nworthy, and dignified condition.<\/p>\n
Thus, the government\u2019s steps through the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah\nshould be read as an effort to correct long-standing distortions, not\nmerely as momentary controversy.<\/p>\n
What is being done is not a reactive response to polemics, but part\nof the awareness that the existing system has indeed required\nfundamental improvement.<\/p>\n
In this perspective, Hajj reform must be positioned as a long-term\nprocess that demands consistency, not merely instant policies that are\npopulist.<\/p>\n
President Prabowo Subianto, in a briefing on 8 April 2026, emphasised\nthe need for comprehensive improvements in Hajj organisation, including\nefforts to lower Hajj costs by around Rp 2 million and shorten the\nwaiting period.<\/p>\n
This affirmation shows that Hajj reform does not stand alone, but is\npart of the state\u2019s strategic agenda to enhance public service quality\nbased on justice and efficiency.<\/p>\n
In other words, Hajj is no longer viewed as an annual routine, but as\na sector requiring serious policy intervention.<\/p>\n
In that framework, the establishment of the Ministry of Hajj and\nUmrah must be understood as an important institutional step.<\/p>\n
It opens space for more focused, integrated, and accountable\nmanagement, while ending the policy fragmentation that has often\noccurred.<\/p>\n
The presence of this dedicated ministry signals that the state wants\nto deliver more professional governance, with stronger planning and\nexecution capacity.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the challenges ahead are not light. The Ministry of\nHajj and Umrah must not stop as an administrative operator merely\ncarrying out routines, but must emerge as the engine of institutional\ntransformation.<\/p>\n
It is demanded to formulate policy innovations, overhaul the system\ncomprehensively, and ensure that every reform step is truly oriented\ntowards justice, transparency, and the welfare of pilgrims.<\/p>\n
The \u201cwar ticket\u201d discourse put forward by Minister of Hajj and Umrah\nMochamad Irfan Yusuf has indeed sparked polemics.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/restructuring-hajj-justice-from-long-queues-to-certainty-and-preparedness-1775965845", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }