03 November 2021, 11:56
Dagestan: Hajj operator announces restart of pilgrimage to Mecca
After Saudi Arabia has lifted a number of restrictions related to coronavirus, the Muslim believers, who had been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Turkey, the United Arab Emirates or the CIS countries, are allowed to enter the kingdom for making a small Hajj, said Bulat Kurbanov, Director General of the "Marwa" Tour Hajj Company. The first air flight is scheduled for December 15.
The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in August, the Hajj operators were notified that the mass performance of the small Hajj by Russians is possible only if the Russian vaccine was recognized by authorities of Saudi Arabia. The Russian Spiritual Administration of Muslims (SAM) has called on the kingdom's authorities to legalize the "Sputnik V" vaccine.
In 2020, due to the pandemic, the Saudi-Arabian authorities took an unprecedented step – they deprived residents of other countries of chances to make a pilgrimage to Muslim shrines in Mecca and Medina. Believers hoped that permits would be available this year, but the July Hajj was held also without foreigners.
On March 17, the Russia SAM adopted a fatwa (theological conclusion), recognizing the "Sputnik V" coronavirus vaccine from the Sharia point of view. Muslims are not prohibited from being vaccinated if the official medicine treats it appropriate to protect against infection, theologians of Kabardino-Balkaria, Adygea and Dagestan have concluded.
This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on November 2, 2021 at 06:26 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.
Source: CK correspondent
