DUSHANBE, March 26, 2012, Asia-Plus  -- The Ministry of hajj in Saudi Arabia has raised the Hajj quota for Tajikistan to 6,000, the Committee on Religious Affairs (CRA) under the Government of Tajikistan said.

Last year, Saudi Arabia allotted 5,500 Hajj seats to Tajikistan.

“CRA has sought larger Hajj quota for Tajikistan, but the Saudi Ministry of Hajj, based on data from the United Nations, has allocated only 6,000 Hajj seats to Tajikistan for this year,” said the source, “Under the data from the United Nations, only 85 percent from Tajikistan’s population of six million are Muslims.  Besides, a certain number of Tajik nationals is outside the country seeking better employment opportunities.”

Meanwhile, according to the 2010 census statistics, more than 7 million people now live in Tajikistan and more than 95 percent of them are Muslims, the source added.

Last year’s Hajj ended with Eid al-Adha on November 6.  In 2011, the price to go on the Hajj rose to 3,448 U.S. dollars from 3,191 U.S. dollars in 2010.  In 2010, the price to go on the hajj was $3,191, but it has risen this year to $3,348.  According to the Tajik authorities, the increase was the result of a weaker dollar and higher fuel prices.  Besides, CRA developed Hajj uniforms for male and female Tajik pilgrims last year.

The Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so.  The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God.  The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic calendar.  Because the Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar, eleven days shorter than the Gregorian calendar, the Gregorian date of the Hajj changes from year to year.