Caucasus experts treat the cost of undertaking Hajj as unaffordable

This year, the cost of making a Hajj trip starts at USD 4900. According to Caucasus experts, this cost is unaffordable for most residents; they will have to rely on sponsors who could pay for their trip.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that in 2022, Saudi Arabia halved the Hajj quota for Russian Muslims. In 2023, the Hajj quota for pilgrims from Russia to Mecca and Medina returned to the pre-pandemic level and amounted to 25,000 permits.

The assistant to the Mufti of Chechnya on Hajj issues has confirmed that applications for the Hajj are already being accepted, and the cost of the large pilgrimage is USD 5500.

"The Hajj prices start at USD 4900. This is the most economical option," said an employee of the "Marwa Tour" Agency.

Ruslan Kutaev, the President of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, said that an ordinary person in Chechnya cannot save the amount of USD 5500 on his own. "People have no such opportunities. They literally survive," he believes.

Meanwhile, he has noted that there are many wealthy people in Chechnya. "But they are almost exclusively from Kadyrov's close circle. As a rule, these people themselves have performed the Hajj many times ... However, many people who live according to the canons of Islam sincerely wanted to fulfil this instruction, but have no chances," Ruslan Kutaev has stated.

Oyub Titiev, a human rights defender, also believes that the above amount is too high for an ordinary resident of Chechnya. According to his story, no more than 30% have a job in Chechnya. "Of them, 90 percent will not be able to afford the Hajj: their incomes are too small," Oyub Titiev has explained.

Akhmet Yarlykapov, an expert on the Caucasus, has noted that although the Hajj is a Muslim's personal duty to the God, it is a duty with reservations.

"There is a significant reservation to perform it: if one is financially capable and physically able to perform the Hajj. Therefore, not only in Russia, but throughout the world, the majority of Muslims never perform the Hajj," Akhmet Yarlykapov has stated, noting that residents of the Caucasus are not used to rely on the help of the state in the matter of paying for their Hajj.