Moslems encouraged to go on the minor haj

Moslems encouraged to go on the minor haj

JAKARTA (JP): President Soeharto has advised Moslems to
perform an umrah (mini haj) pilgrimage because the ceiling quota
for Indonesian haj pilgrims is filled every year.

Minister of Religious Affairs Tarmizi Taher quoted the
President as saying yesterday that the number of Indonesian haj
pilgrims this year has already reached 174,000.

Registration is open until Sunday.

Tarmizi believes the number will surpass 180,000,
but the final figure will not be known before Jan. 31.

Last year Indonesia sent 158,533 pilgrims to the Holy Land,
an increase of 29 percent from the previous year. The quota for
Indonesia set by the Saudi government is 160,000.

The minister, quoting Soeharto, added that Moslems who have
already made the haj pilgrimage may return to the Holy Land for
umrah. And, for those who have not yet made the pilgrimage to
Mecca, umrah provides valuable training.

Tarmizi said his ministry had no data on the umrah
pilgrimages, which are organized by authorized travel agencies or
Islamic study groups.

"But if seeing is believing," he said, "there are more and
more Indonesian umrah pilgrims around the Kaabah holy shrine in
Mecca every month."

He said that there was growing interest on the part of Moslems
to spend their holidays in the Holy Land, although not all of
those concerned were wealthy.

According the minister the increase in the number of haj
pilgrims stems from improvements people's incomes, especially in
rural areas.

Haj is compulsory for every Moslem who can afford to go to
Mecca, once in a lifetime.

Soeharto and members of his family made the haj pilgrimage in
1991. During that pilgrimage the President changed his name to
Haji Muhammad Soeharto.(tis)