Dagestan has quota of 6200 for Hajj-2015

Makhachkala, April 6, 2015. On April 2, the Federation Council met to discuss preparations for Hajj-2015. The press service of Dagestan Committee on Freedom of Conscience and Interaction with Religious Organizations reports the meeting was chaired by Commissioner for Hajj Affairs under the Russian Government, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Ilyas Umakhanov.

The event brought together heads and representatives of centralized Muslims’ religious organizations and federal and regional authorities. Dagestan was represented by chairman of the Committee on Freedom of Conscience Suleiman Magomedov and Deputy CEO of Marva-Tour LLC Murtazali Murtazaliyev.
Participants discussed the challenges of organizing the Hajj in the context of Russian-Saudi Protocol for adopting Russian pilgrims to the Hajj-2015, distribution of the national quota between the regions, approval of tour operators for the Hajj-2015season, and their enhanced responsibilities.

Head of the Russian Hajj Mission Magomed Gamzayev briefed on the results of the Hajj delegation’s visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the outcome of their negotiations. In particular, he drew particular attention of the local Muftiat and Muslim coordinating centers’ leaders to the Russian tour operators’ strict compliance with provisions of the Saudi-Russian Protocol and the schedule of Hajj-2015.

This year, they will keep arranging an electronic queue of pilgrims. The novelty is that the Saudi Arabian Embassy to Russia in Moscow will accept only new passports with an electronic chip and a 10-year validity for registration, so Gamzayev urged the Muftiat leaders and tour operators to bring this information to the pilgrims. The embassy will be submitting the documents on July 24- September 9, 2015.

Umakhanov in turn announced the figures on distribution of national quotas for 2015. The Russian Federation has been granted 16,400 quotas, with Dagestan share of 6,200 quotas. He drew attention to the fact that if a tour operator fails to use their quotas until July 15, they will be transferred to other muftiats in consultation with the Commissioner for Hajj Affairs.