1st Batch of Indian Hajj Pilgrims Leave for Saudi Arabia
According to the Iranian Cultural Center in Mumbai, in an address to the pilgrims on Sunday, Shri Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said policies on next year’s Hajj pilgrimage are being devised.
He said the policies should be transparent so as to facilitate the Hajj rituals for the pilgrims.
He also noted that some of Indian pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia by sea in the future.
Ferrying Hajj pilgrims by ships between Mumbai and Jeddah was stopped 22 years ago.
Hajj is an annual pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca that every able-bodied and financially able Muslim is obliged to undertake during their lifetime.
Islam is the second largest religion in India, with some 15 of the country’s population or roughly 175 million people identifying as adherents of Islam.
