Overview
- At a Jan. 26 meeting, the National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs proposed allowing each MNA to nominate 10 people for Hajj every year.
- The committee recommended an official 10-member parliamentary delegation travel annually to Madinah to offer salutations and nawafil, with Umrah in Makkah also included.
- The panel said the National Assembly should fund the delegation, family members could accompany participants, the speaker would nominate members, and the committee chair would lead if the speaker was absent.
- A National Assembly spokesperson clarified that lawmakers currently receive no government funding for Hajj or Umrah and that the recommendations have not been adopted as policy.
- Public criticism has focused on using public funds for religious travel, and the religious affairs minister said any implementation could begin with Hajj 2027 because the current year’s quota is already set.