Uncertain Geopolitics: Is It Necessary to Change the Hajj Financing Scheme?

The Hajj pilgrimage for 1447 Hijriah/2026 CE officially commenced with the departure of Indonesia’s first batch of pilgrims to Saudi Arabia on Wednesday (22/4/2026). This first batch is scheduled to arrive at Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Madinah on 22 April 2026 at 06.50 Saudi time. On the other hand, this year’s Hajj organisation is still overshadowed by Iran’s war against US and Israeli aggression. The geopolitical tensions in the Middle East region raise concerns about the stability of flight routes, logistics costs, and currency exchange rates, which impact the expenses of the Hajj pilgrimage. The increasingly unpredictable geopolitical situation raises the question of whether the current Hajj financing formula is still sufficiently adaptive to face global turbulence. So, should Indonesia start changing the Hajj financing scheme to make it more sustainable, fair, and resilient to global shocks? Komnas Haji Chairman Mustolih Siradj stated that the government and the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) need to reform Hajj financial governance. He gave this suggestion for a reason. He predicts that the current governance could become a “time bomb” as operational costs increase over time. It is known that Indonesia’s Hajj financing scheme is supported by a combination of the Hajj Travel Cost (Bipih) paid by pilgrims and the benefits from the management of collective Hajj funds by the Hajj Financial Management Agency (BPKH). Pilgrims pay an initial deposit of Rp 25 million to secure their queue. The remainder will be paid in the year of departure. The problem is that the benefits disbursed by BPKH to current-year Hajj pilgrims are quite substantial. Meanwhile, those benefits come from collective Hajj funds, which then trigger intergenerational justice issues, regarding whether subsequent-year pilgrims will receive benefits of the same amount. “So those who come or depart first are subsidised by those who register later or are in the queue. Well, in today’s situation, this certainly has great potential to endanger the sustainability of Hajj advantages,” said Mustolih to Kompas.com on Wednesday (22/4/2026). That amount, according to Mustolih, is far different from the amount received by the 5.5 million Hajj pilgrims waiting for departure in subsequent years.