Minister of Islamic Affairs Dr. Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed has stated that more than 6,000 people from Maldives went to perform Umrah in December this year.

On Sunday, Minister Shaheem said that all those who went for Umrah from Maldives this December are in good condition. He also stated that more than 6,373 people have gone to Mecca to perform Umrah under several companies this time round.

After the global Covid-19 pandemic, the number of people going for Umrah from Maldives has been increasing year by year. As such, many people have gone for Umrah this year as well.

In addition to this, while companies are working on taking people for Umrah, issues of violating the rules of taking people for Umrah have been surfacing. There have been instances where, after collecting large sums of money, visas were not arranged, and after arriving in Mecca, Umrah pilgrims faced difficulties due to hotel arrangements not being made. Even this December, an issue surfaced where a group of people who paid Al Hijra Travel and Tours to go for Umrah were unable to depart. Although the initial date given for the Al Hijra group to go for Umrah was December 19, the dates have been postponed, citing visa issues. The Islamic Ministry is investigating this matter currently.

As many such issues are surfacing, in a bid to resolve this issue the Islamic Ministry in October 2024, gazetted a regulation concerning taking people for Umrah from Maldives, which includes heavy fines for groups that violate the rules and agreements related to taking groups of Umrah pilgrims.

According to the regulation, those who take people for Umrah without permission can be fined up to 500,000. In addition to this, the regulation includes heavy penalties for those who violate the rules. As such, if a company violates the agreement signed between the ministry and the company authorized to take people for Umrah, depending on the severity of the issue, the company can be fined between MVR 1,000 and MVR 100,000. Should any party act contrary to the regulation without permission to take people for Umrah, depending on the severity of the act, they can be fined between MVR 100,000 and MVR 500,000.