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Caucasian Muslims Office: â€œNeither the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nor Azerbaijani government passed an official decision to cancel Hajj pilgrimage this yearâ€

30 July 2009 09:21 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Elbrus Seyfullayev â€“ APA. â€œNeither the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, nor Azerbaijani government passed an official decision to cancel Hajj pilgrimage this year. Their decision will be important for us,â€ spokesperson for Caucasian Muslims Office Rahima Dadashova told APA.

Dadashova said they have not received an official appeal to postpone Hajj pilgrimage in connection with A/H1N1 (swine flu) virus in a number of countries, as well as in Saudi Arabia. She said if the country fulfilling Hajj mission passes such a decision, it will be applied to all Muslims.
â€œPreparations are being made for the pilgrimage. All pilgrims should have a certificate about vaccination against the flu. Otherwise, the embassy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Azerbaijan will not grant visa to these pilgrims. If vaccines are prepared against A/H1N1 virus by the time of pilgrimage, the pilgrims will be vaccinated,â€ she said.

Caucasian Muslims Office reduced the quota set for Hajj pilgrimage from 6,000 to 2,000. Hajj pilgrimage will begin early in November this year. Application for 300 places in buses has finished. Applications are being received for Hajj pilgrimage by plane.

The prices of Hajj pilgrimage have not changed. Those who will leave for Hajj by buses will pay AZN 2000 and those who will leave by plane will pay AZN 3500-5000.