RIYADH: Saudi Arabia on Saturday welcomed its first batch of Haj pilgrims since before the coronavirus pandemic, which prom­pted authorities to sharply restrict the annual ritual.

The group from Indonesia landed in the city of Madina and was set to travel south to Makkah in the coming weeks to prepare for the Haj next month, state media reported.

“Today we received the first group of this year’s pilgrims from Indonesia, and the flights will continue from Malaysia and India,” Mohammed al-Bijawi of the country’s Haj ministry told the state-run Al-Ekhbariya channel.

“Today we are happy to receive the guests of God from outside the kingdom, after a two-year interruption due to the pandemic,” he added, describing Saudi Arabia as “fully prepared” to accommodate them.

Usually one of the world’s largest religious gatherings, about 2.5 million people participated in the pilgrimage in 2019. But after the onset of the pandemic in 2020, Saudi authorities announced they would only let 1,000 pilgrims take part.

The following year, they increased the total to 60,000 fully vaccinated Saudi citizens and residents chosen through a lottery.

Barring overseas pilgrims caused deep disappointment among Muslims worldwide, who typically save for years to take part.

In April, the kingdom announced it would permit one million Muslims from inside and outside the country to participate in this year’s Haj, which will take place in July.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2022