King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, has given orders to pay the expenses of 1000 Muslims from different countries who are coming to the Kingdom to perform Haj this year. Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdul Aziz Aal Al-Sheikh, Minister of Islamic Affairs, said the royal order comes within the yearly host program supervised by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowment, Islamic Call and Guidance. In a statement to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA), Al-Sheikh said this noble gesture signifies the King's concern for the interests Muslims all over the globe regardless of race or color. He said that the Muslims to be hosted this year come from Eastern Europe, Central Asia and Africa, specifically from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Ukraine, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Albania, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Prussia and Guinea as well as other African countries. He said to date more than 14,000 pilgrims have been hosted under this program, while pointing out that this year's pilgrims have been chosen from countries not covered by the program in the past years.
