UK MP calls on Saudi Arabia to compensate pilgrims over Hajj issues

A British MP has urged the Saudi government to compensate pilgrims who experienced problems with the services they paid for when undertaking the Hajj (pilgrimage) to the holy city of Makkah this year.

According to BBC News, MP Yasmin Qureshi, who is the chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Hajj and Umrah, said she has received letters of complaints from several people claiming they did not get the services they paid for under new rules enforced by the kingdom.

Despite being one of the Pillars of Islam and obligatory on all able Muslims to perform at least once in their life, the Saudi authorities have made it more difficult for Muslims to perform the Hajj by implementing a pricey “lottery”, requiring them to buy state-approved all-inclusive packages, essentially taking out the middleman and agencies. Packages can be as expensive as $20,000, especially with the rise of luxury accommodation in the holy city.

READ: Defying high prices, Muslim pilgrims head to Makkah for Hajj

The BBC report mentions that before last year, 25,000 people from Britain would go on Hajj, but the Saudi government changed the rules in 2022 and now only about 3,600 people can go, booking packages directly with a Saudi travel company.

Qureshi said: “If you were promised a 4-star hotel, maybe you had a 1-star hotel, or if you’d been promised your hotel would be within 10 minutes’ walking distance of the main mosque, it was actually an hour. Or you did not get on your flights on time, or you were not picked up at the airport.”

“This is not a holiday and it’s not cheap either, it’s quite a costly journey and therefore when you do that, you pay that money, to then not be able to have proper systems in place, your Hajj being affected, I really do feel for them.”

She also said the Saudi authorities should ensure the Hajj booking portal has a system of compensating people when things go wrong: “They should make sure the companies don’t take advantage of people, that there are proper services, but it should hopefully prevent it happening again and those affected should get compensation for what’s happened to them.”

READ: Bin Salman has ‘weaponised’ Hajj to the detriment of all Muslims