Over 800 religious guides and 180 interpreters have been deployed in the holy sites and at pilgrim entry points in Jeddah and Madina to assist pilgrims with their language needs and religion-related questions, said Tawfiq Al-Sudairi, deputy minister at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Daw'a, and Guidance. The services of the Ministry have been extended to provide 123 field centers for fatwa throughout Makkah and Madina to answer all Haj-related questions, in addition to 18 main centers in the city of Makkah and 44 across the holy sites of Muzdalifah, Arafat, and Mina, he said. The Ministry has also provided a toll free number 8002451000 to answer Haj-related questions. As the devotees from all over the world have now started heading to Makkah for their pilgrimage, the Haram central area has been turned into a spiritual center for sermons and instructions on Haj performance and its true spirit, he said. The Islamic ministry, in cooperation with the Islamic Development Bank, has been tasked with supervising the Saudi Project for Utilization of Sacrificial Animals, Al-Sudairi said. The Project acts as the agent of pilgrims in carrying out on their behalf the slaughtering of all types of offerings they make and the transport and distribution of the meat, all in accordance with the principles of Shariah. The Ministry has also participated in enforcing the “No Permit, No Haj” law and educating the public about the Haj through a media blitz launched on over 20 satellite TV channels and in-flight TVs on Saudi Arabian Airlines, the major carrier of pilgrims, Al-Sudairi said. Upon their arrival in the Kingdom, the Ministry provides pilgrims with pamphlets in different languages containing all the instructions they need to perform a valid Haj, he said.
