Hajj and Umrah News - South Africa

17 Jan 2018

Age limits set for wheelchair assistants in Makkah's Grand Mosque

Only people aged between 25 and 60 years will be allowed to push the wheelchairs of Hajj and Umrah pilgrims, said the Presidency of the Two Holy Mosques. The age limit is to ensure the health of pilgrims and visitors, and because people outside the age group may have difficulty reaching the elevations of Safa and Marwa while pushing a wheelchair, said the director of mobility services at the presidency, Saleh Hossawee.

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17 Jan 2018

Saudi city of Madinah experiences 2.5 magnitude earthquake

The Holy City of Madinah experienced a 2.5 magnitude earthquake on Tuesday, engineer Hani Zahran of the Saudi Geological Society told Arab News. City officials confirmed that there were no reports of damage from the earthquake. The center of the earthquake was 14km north-west of Madinah at a depth of 7 kilometers below the surface.

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16 Jan 2018

India ends decades-old subsidy for Hajj pilgrims

NEW DELHI: India’s Hindu nationalist government is ending a decades-long policy of offering discounted airfares to Muslims embarking on the Hajj pilgrimage, it announced Tuesday. The right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party has accused its opponents in the Congress party — who introduced the Hajj assistance scheme in the 1950s — of trying to woo Muslim voters through handouts.

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