Hajj & Umrah Visa Fees Hike

www.wifaqululama.co.uk/hajj-umrah-fees/

Agreed.

As the letter states that there is a lack of clarity on this issue. We wish to meet the Saudi Ambassador or officials in London to learn what is in the package and all the details.

Wa ‘alaykum al-salaam wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

Just like South Africans, British Ulama are also of the same opinion.

abramjee.com/2016/10/16/south-african-muslims-unite/

We do not support the call to boycott Umrah and Hajj as it is our right and religious obligation to perform Hajj and Umrah;

Do you know anything in Islam to suggest that a Muslim can call for a Boycott of what Allah Ta'ala has made to be an obligation? Umrah and Hajj are part of our Deen, management of it are Administrative concerns, how can we call for Boycott of what is part of our Deen over fiscal differences?

Wa ‘alaykum al-salaam wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh

Wifaqul Ulama is working behind the scenes for weeks trying to get access to the Saudi Ambassador through multiple channels and we will continue to try.

Once we have an apppointment,  the committee will formulate its questions. I think Imam Suliman Gani will do a Press conference on this topic to inform others fairly soon.  He has been given charge of this campaign from the Wifaq Public Affairs Committee.

There is no official press release from Saudi Arabia about Health Insurance for Hajj & Umrah so it’s not mentioned in the letter at all. During our meeting, it is one of the issues on the Agenda to seek clarity and once we actually get some sort of official confirmation as to what is happening and how it will affect Muslims in this country, next steps can be planned.

People don’t understand how difficult it is to contact Saudi officials. The official letter has been lodged in London with the Saudi officials in writing and we will keep asking for an update every 3-4 days.

There are 22 people who have their fingers in the pie (can't remember their names now) and it may have changed a little in the last few years...

I have had Saudi Business VISA multiple times and Health Insurance has always been a requirement but never enforced. All they have done is tied it to a specific provider now because Bank-Abilad has heavy investment from Saudi Royal family.

Since its establishment in 2004 this Bank has quickly taken over most transactions in the Kingdom.

The corrupt Royal Family want a cut in every transaction and want to stick their fat fingers in every pie.

The key players in Banking are the Al-Rajhi family (see here and here) and note the overlap between banks. To be fair (Grandpa) Al-Rajhi is a nice guy and he used to be there every Fajar in the Masjid and read Qur'aan afterwards. Many times the Imam was late so (Grandpa) Al-Rajhi led and I suspsect that him and many of the Al-Rajhees are Hufaadh from their devotion to the Qur'aan. I actually liked them and the thinking in Saudia was that Al-Rajhi Bank will become the defacto bank in Saudia.

Then Osama Bin Ladin and Al-Qaeda hit. Then their ties with Islam were discovered and Bank-Abilad came out of nowhere. The speed at which this bank is progressing is astounding (and suspect).

Enjaz is basically the Saudi PAYPAL and if you do Business on the web you know that whether you make profit or lose money, PAYPAL always wins.

So Saudees have looked at the Banking financial remittance and decided that they want to be like PAYPAL and come win or lose, they want their pound of the flesh.

Actually not PAYPAL I meant SWIFT