According to reports, Saudi Arabia has prohibited nationals of 33 countries from undertaking Umrah pilgrimage during the current Umrah cycle.
According to the Turkish Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), as quoted by RT Arabic.
According to Egypt’s al-Misrawy site, the countries that would be unable to send pilgrims to Saudi Arabia for Umrah for this year include:
- Egypt
- United States
- France
- Italy
- Sweden
- Pakistan
- Brazil
- Indonesia
- United Arab Emirates
- Ireland
- Portugal
- Argentina
- Iran
- South Africa
- UK
- Germany
- Turkey
- India
- Lebanon and more!
Unlike Hajj, which must be performed in the lunar Hijri calendar month of Dhul Hijjah, Umrah can be performed any time of year.
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, the Umrah pilgrimage was temporarily suspended last year.
The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced Sunday that it will begin accepting Umrah requests from Aug. 9, 2021. Pilgrims will be able to visit the Grand Mosque and Prophet’s Mosque and perform the Islamic rituals.
Permits will be issued via the applications “Eatmarna” and “Tawakkalna“.
Over eight operating periods, the ministry hopes to reach 60,000 pilgrims, bringing the capacity to two million pilgrims per month.
