{"id":6064,"date":"2015-09-23T16:31:56","date_gmt":"2015-09-23T15:31:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/?p=6064"},"modified":"2015-09-23T16:31:56","modified_gmt":"2015-09-23T15:31:56","slug":"uk-muslims-paying-too-much-for-hajj-tours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/english.thesunrisetoday.com\/index.php\/uk-muslims-paying-too-much-for-hajj-tours\/","title":{"rendered":"”UK Muslims paying too much for Hajj tours”"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"UK<\/a>For many of the 20,000 British Muslims flocking to Saudi Arabia\u2019s holy city of Makkah for Islam\u2019s annual Hajj pilgrimage, the journey has not been cheap.
\n\u201cThe package cost has doubled in the last couple of years,\u201d said Khalid Pervez, general secretary of the Birmingham-based Association of British Hujjaj (pilgrims).
\nAccording to Pervez, the average cost of Hajj packages – which generally include flights, visa, accommodation and transport – used to cost up to $4,700 (\u00a33,000). Now, the average pilgrimage price from UK-based operators ranges from $7,800 to $9,400, he said.
\n\u201cWe strongly feel that it\u2019s only greed, that they [Hajj tour operators] have increased their prices without any justification.\u201d
\nBut not all packages to undertake the pilgrimage – which is supposed to be undertaken once in the lifetime of every able-bodied Muslim – are created equal.
\nLower-cost options usually have pilgrims staying in shared government-owned tents, some far from Makkah\u2019s Grand Mosque, considered the holiest site in Islam.
\nHigher-end \u201cfive-star\u201d packages, meanwhile, allow the pilgrim to stay in upscale hotels with a full Grand Mosque view, go on additional tours, and be transported in plush coaches, among other extras. Pricier packages also give the pilgrim more time in the kingdom to complete the Hajj rituals.
\nAnd demand to undertake the pilgrimage, coupled with only limited visa numbers imposed by the kingdom due to construction work around the Grand Mosque site, is ever-stronger.
\nMany UK-based Hajj operators surveyed by Al Arabiya News reported that they were fully booked, with some sold out months in advance. Some have already started booking places for next year\u2019s Hajj season.
\nNot a holiday<\/strong>
\nNizamuideen Ismail, managing director of Yourtravelshop, which provides upscale packages for Hajj pilgrims, denied that operators have unfairly increased prices in recent years.
\n\u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s in line with inflation,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cEveryone can get their Hajj done, depending on what they facilities, convenience, the standard of accommodation, etc. That largely drives the price.
\nAll of their hajj will be done, but their overall experience is going to be determined on what they\u2019ve chosen.\u201d
\nAccording to the UK pilgrim\u2019s association chief, only 10 percent of British Hajj pilgrims prefer to buy luxury packages, which some believe go against the ethos of the pilgrimage.
\n\u201cThe vast majority just want to go there and pray. It\u2019s not a holiday,\u201d said Pervez.<\/p>\n

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