Education Minister appointed this year’s Amir al-Hajj

Education Minister Dr. Ismail Shafeeu has been appointed as the Amir al-Hajj for this year, who will accompany local pilgrims in Saudi Arabia as they embark on Hajj pilgrimage. 

His appointment as the Amir al-Hall was announced by Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed during a press conference held by the Ministry on Monday.

Saudi Arabia allocated a total of 1,150 quotas to the Maldives for Hajj this year, including an additional 150 quotas which were allocated later.

The first group of pilgrims from the Maldives departed for Saudi Arabia on May 31^st.

The last group of pilgrims, comprising of 150 people, are set to depart today.

Notably, this year’s pilgrims include the first 50 low-income individuals to receive state-sponsored Hajj trips in line with President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s electoral pledge to provide state-sponsored Hajj trips for 1,000 low-income individuals during his five-year term.

Speaking at the press conference, Minister Shaheem noted that Maldives Hajj Corporation was escorting the highest number of pilgrims this year since 2015. The government had previously decided to allocate all Hajj quotas received by the Maldives this year to the Hajj Corporation.

This year’s Arafat Day is on Saturday, June 15^th.