ID :
28600
Wed, 11/05/2008 - 14:26
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/28600
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MINISTER SEES OFF RI'S WOULD-BE HAJJ PILGRIMS
Jakarta, Nov. 5 (ANTARA) - Religious Affairs Minister Muhammad Maftuh Basyuni at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport here on Wednesday saw off would-be Hajj pilgrims in the first flight group departing for Saudi Arabia by Garuda Indonesia airways.
The minister congratulated the 455 would-be pilgrims from Jakarta. They will stay in Saudi Arabia's Mecca and Madinah cities for 28 days and return home on December 14, 2008.
Among those present at the airport were Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and Banten Deputy Governor M Masduki.
According to Abdul Ghofur Zawahir, director of the Hajj pilgrimage cost management (BPIH), 19 flight groups of Hajj pilgrims were scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia from 10 airports in Indonesia on Wednesday, including from Surabaya.
A total of 208,928 Indonesians are to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year, according to data from the religious affairs ministry.
The nearly 209,00 would-be Hajj pilgrims are divided into 497 flight groups and would use 11 airports in Indonesia for their departures. Garuda Indonesia will serve 305 flight groups with a total of 107,614 would-be pilgrims, and Saudi Airline 192 flight groups (85,314 passengers).
Some 134 flight groups would depart for Saudi Arabia from Soekarno-Hatta international airport by Garuda and Saudi Arabian airways.
Having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia sends a large number of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Madina, Islam's two sacred cities, every year.
The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals. Last year, Saudi Arabia received at least 1.2 Hajj pilgrims.
The minister congratulated the 455 would-be pilgrims from Jakarta. They will stay in Saudi Arabia's Mecca and Madinah cities for 28 days and return home on December 14, 2008.
Among those present at the airport were Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and Banten Deputy Governor M Masduki.
According to Abdul Ghofur Zawahir, director of the Hajj pilgrimage cost management (BPIH), 19 flight groups of Hajj pilgrims were scheduled to depart for Saudi Arabia from 10 airports in Indonesia on Wednesday, including from Surabaya.
A total of 208,928 Indonesians are to perform the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia this year, according to data from the religious affairs ministry.
The nearly 209,00 would-be Hajj pilgrims are divided into 497 flight groups and would use 11 airports in Indonesia for their departures. Garuda Indonesia will serve 305 flight groups with a total of 107,614 would-be pilgrims, and Saudi Airline 192 flight groups (85,314 passengers).
Some 134 flight groups would depart for Saudi Arabia from Soekarno-Hatta international airport by Garuda and Saudi Arabian airways.
Having the largest Muslim population in the world, Indonesia sends a large number of Hajj pilgrims to Mecca and Madina, Islam's two sacred cities, every year.
The Hajj pilgrimage is the fifth pillar of Islam, an obligation that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.
Pilgrims join processions of hundreds of thousands of people, who simultaneously converge on Mecca for the week of the Hajj, and perform a series of rituals. Last year, Saudi Arabia received at least 1.2 Hajj pilgrims.
