Haj dormitories to double

Haj dormitories to double

JAKARTA: The government is planning to double the capacity of its haj housing complex in Aziziyah, Mecca, from 15,000 to 30,000 next year, Minister of Religious Affairs Said Aqil Almunawar said on Monday.

He expressed the hope that the Saudi government would assist Indonesia in implementing the plan so that next year's haj pilgrims from Indonesia would no longer do the Mabit (spend the night) in Muzdalifah before stoning the Jamarat.

"Hopefully, by increasing the capacity of the pilgrim's housing complex next year, our pilgrims will be able to perform the haj well," Said added.

Due to the limited accommodation in the Aziziyah pilgrim housing complex, which is located just two kilometers from the Jamarat (the three pillars), 40,000 pilgrims had to stay in Muzdalifah this year, about five kilometers from the site of Jamarat (the site where pilgrims throw stones at the stone pillars symbolizing the devil) in Mina.

The total number of Indonesian haj pilgrims this year reached about 200,000. --Antara