First expatriate group from Oman arrives at holy land
The group comprising 52 expat pilgrims who secured permission to perform Hajj from Oman's Ministry of Endowments and religious Affairs (MERA) through the Muscat Sunni Center left for the airport by bus from Ruwi near the Sultan Qaboos Mosque premises on Wednesday. The group proceeded on a Saudi Airlines flight to Madinah would resume their journey to Makkah on May 31 after staying in Medina for three days.
Speaking to the Observer, Zakir Hussain Faizi, the Ameer of the Hajj group said that the group will return to Muscat from Jeddah on June 11 after completing the rituals of the holy Hajj.
As many as 14,000 people are going to Hajj from Oman this year. Of these, 13,530 are native citizens and 470 are expatriates. Of these, 235 are expatriates of Arab origin. Out of the 235 who got a chance in the remaining non-Arab expatriate quota, made the group to Saudi. Since the new moon was sighted on Tuesday, Eid al-Adha will be celebrated in Oman along with other Gulf countries on June 6. Prominent personalities from the socio-cultural scene in Oman participated in the pilgrimage.
Prior to the pilgrimage, exclusive training for the selected pilgrims was given last week at the Manbaul Huda Madrasa in Ruwi. The five-day study class and camp, which was conducted from 8 pm to 10 pm, was attended by many people from different parts of Oman, both those going to Hajj and those not going to Hajj.
Anwar Haji, Ghafoor Haji, Salim Corniche, Umar Wafi, Sulaimankutty, PAV Abubakar Haji, Rafeeq Sreekantapuram and Shuhaib Pappinissery, N Muhammadali Faizi, Doctor Muhammad Ali from Al Abeer Hospital and Akhil Rahman, along with Shajudeen Basheer B Muhammad Panniyur were also present at the flag off ceremony.
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