Puan: Hajj Must Proceed Amid Global Geopolitical Turmoil
House of Representatives Speaker Puan Maharani stated that the 2026 hajj pilgrimage is expected to proceed despite the global geopolitical situation and conditions. The House, she continued, through its relevant commissions will conduct various measures including studies, evaluations, and other steps to support the safety and comfort of pilgrims.
“Regarding the hajj pilgrimage, whatever problems and global geopolitical situations occur, the pilgrimage must still be carried out,” Puan said at the DPR, MPR complex on Thursday, 12 March 2026.
She assured that the House, through Commission VIII, has requested the government and all related parties to conduct mitigation, including contingencies should conditions become unfavourable for the hajj pilgrimage.
“God willing, Indonesian hajj pilgrims will still perform their pilgrimage,” said this PDIP politician.
The previous day, Minister of Hajj and Umrah Mochamad Irfan Yusuf stated that his ministry had prepared several scenarios for conducting the hajj pilgrimage this year.
According to the schedule, the departure of hajj pilgrims this year is scheduled to begin on 22 April.
In the first scenario, Irfan stated, hajj pilgrims would still be dispatched despite high security risks, considering that the Saudi Arabian authorities remain committed to opening the hajj pilgrimage.
In this scenario, he said, the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah would conduct mitigation by seeking alternative routes from Indonesia to the Holy Land.
“Mitigation through diverting flight routes away from conflict zones in the Middle East region or entering via East African airspace, or other safe routes,” Irfan said in a meeting with Commission VIII of the House on Wednesday, 11 March 2026.
However, he noted that diverting flight routes would extend the travel duration for pilgrims. “This will also result in an increased budget,” he said.
The next scenario involves Indonesia cancelling the departure of pilgrims despite Saudi authorities remaining open to conducting the pilgrimage. In this scenario, the ministry would conduct high-level negotiations.
The aim, Irfan stated, is to ensure that funds already deposited for accommodation, meals, and transportation are not wasted but can be used for the following year’s hajj pilgrimage.
The final scenario is that the Saudi government closes the 2026 hajj pilgrimage and Indonesia cancels pilgrim departures. According to him, this could occur if the situation resulting from the Iran and Israel-United States conflict becomes uncontrollable.
Should this option be implemented, the government would halt all processes for providing accommodation, meals, transportation, religious guidance, and pilgrim visa processing.
Nevertheless, he claimed that for now, amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and the United States alongside its ally Israel, the hajj pilgrimage remains unchanged from the original plan.
“For now it is still on schedule, there have been no changes. Hopefully it continues until the actual day,” said this Gerindra Party politician.