Supreme Leader's Representative in Hajj and Pilgrimage: Cultural and Executive programs for Hajj and Pilgrimage Should Be Designed According to Daily Needs of Pilgrims

According to the Hajj Information Base, Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Abdolfattah Navvab, in a joint meeting of officials from the regions and provinces and the Supreme Leader's Representative for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs, referred to the resumption of Umrah after a ten-year hiatus and said: "The conditions for performing Umrah are now very different from the past decade."

Among them are the high number of Umrah performers and some executive decisions have been made in the Prophet's Mosque and the Grand Mosque, and the necessary plans must be made according to these changes."

Referring to a field visit to the Umrah programs, he added: "Among the changes that have been made are the restrictions on attendance at the Holy Shrine, which does not allow all pilgrims to perform the pilgrimage. Also, pilgrims to Baqi are categorized and enter Baqi in groups. This program actually disrupts the focus and attention of pilgrims, and the authorities in the host country are expected to reconsider this program.

Hojjat al-Islam Navvab described the planning and start of sending Umrah pilgrims to Taif Airport as an appropriate measure, and said, "With this program, the pilgrims’ travel route in Saudi Arabia will be shortened, and this will lead to maintaining the pilgrims’ vitality and more opportunities to perform religious affairs. "We hope to witness an increase in flights to this airport in the upcoming Hajj and Umrah journey."

In another part of his speech, the Supreme Leader’s representative for Hajj and Pilgrimage Affairs made some remarks about serving pilgrims, and said: "Let us appreciate the success of serving pilgrims, because time is very fleeting, and let us try to seek innovation and initiative in this short time to lead to dynamism and optimization of Hajj and Pilgrimage affairs."

He added that other important points for serving pilgrims are convergence, consultation, and the use of collective wisdom.

At the end of his speech, the Supreme Leader's representative for Hajj and pilgrimage affairs honored the memory of martyr Moghiseh, martyr of justice, one of the clerics of the Hajj and Umrah caravans, as well as martyr Razini. At the beginning of this meeting, Hojjat al-Islam Seyed Hossein Rokneddini, the cultural deputy of the Supreme Leader's delegation, gave a report on the topics discussed in the previous day's meetings of the cultural gathering and programs of the cultural deputy for Hajj 1404.