Turkey distressed over Hajj quota cut

ANKARA

The head of the Directorate General for Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Mehmet Görmez, announced yesterday that some 14,800 prospective pilgrims would not be able to make the pilgrimage since Saudi Arabia had cut this year’s global Hajj quota by 20 percent due to renovations at the Grand Mosque.

“We have sent letters with my signature to 74,000 prospective pilgrims starting from today. We shared the situation with them. We are facing a serious problem resulting from the host country’s shortsightedness. I hope these 14,800 citizens will be able to go next year. We tell them not to be sorry,” Görmez said.

“There is an important issue forcing us. This is because we promised the society that people who apply for seven consecutive years will be able to go on their eighth year. This promise is still on. There won’t be any lot next year. In spite of this, we need to add those who have applied for seven years to the 14,800 citizens who aren’t able to go this year,” he explained.