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The Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS) announced that the annual Haj pilgrimage will again be deferred, this time to 2022.

Pandemic situation and low vaccination rates remains a concern

In a press release on May 27, MUIS said that the pandemic situation around the world "remains dynamic and of significant concern".

They mentioned that an increasing number of countries around the world are reporting new waves of infections, and the spread of new variants of the virus.

MUIS also noted the low vaccination rates in many countries.

As such, they have decided not to send a delegation of pilgrims for the Haj pilgrimage in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) this year.

MUIS said that they have "full confidence" in KSA's management of the pandemic, but Singapore "has its own considerations" to safeguard the Singaporean pilgrims' health and wellbeing.

They mentioned that as of May 25, KSA has not announced an official decision on Haj 2021, and said that it remains "unclear" whether the Haj pilgrimage will be open to international pilgrims, including Singaporeans.

Even if it was, pilgrims may be subjected to various restrictions on things such as age and their itinerary, along with the need for vaccinations and multiple PCR tests, while having to serve a quarantine or serving a Stay-Home Notice (SHN) in KSA and in Singapore.

"These additional restrictions will require significantly much longer travel duration, and also result in significantly higher Haj package prices and affect the pilgrims’ preparations for Haj," MUIS said.

Places to be re-allocated, deposits to be refunded

MUIS will facilitate the re-allocation of Haj places for the affected pilgrims to the following Haj year in 2022.

Pilgrims' eligibility to perform Haj 2022 will be subject to any requirements mandated by the authorities in KSA, and the prevailing Covid-19 situation around the world and in Singapore.

MUIS has also consulted the Association of Muslim Travel Agents (AMTAS) and all Haj General Sales Agents (GSAs), who agreed that the Haj deposits paid by their pilgrims in the year 2020, which was carried over to this year should now be refunded.

MUIS is working with the KSA authorities to facilitate the refund of deposits paid in the KSA.

Pilgrims will be contacted by their respective Haj GSAs within two weeks.

"MUIS hopes that this decision will help ease the anxieties of the affected pilgrims and families. This decision will allay Singaporean pilgrims’ concern on the uncertainty and the financial risks involved in performing this year Haj," MUIS said.

"This decision will also safeguard the health and well-being of our Singaporean pilgrims and the community at large from the risk of Covid-19 transmission."

Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images