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Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged all to resist the force that misinterprets Islam and militancy.
She said, “Islam is a religion of peace. Let’s all eradicate darkness, conflicts, illiteracy, differences, clashes, terrorism, superstitions, militancy from the society as well as resist the force that misinterprets Islam by bearing the essences of Islam, bearing the essences of Islam in our hearts,” reports UNB.
Hasina was inaugurating the first-ever national-level conference and fair on Hajj and Umrah Management in the capital, through a virtual platform from Ganabhaban.
She said Islam is the best religion in the world. But this holy religion faces criticism due to a few militants.
Sheikh Hasina said e-hajj management is being run in every part including pre-registration and registration of pilgrims, creation of e-health profile, e-ticketing, transport of pilgrims, housing management in Makkah and Medina, and healthcare.
“We’ve adopted zero tolerance policy towards militancy to uphold the peaceful glory of holy Islam by keeping the country free from militancy,” Hasina continued.
Focusing on her government’s success to improve hajj management, the Prime Minister said she had brought many improvements during her first regime from 1996-2001. The hajj management got worse again when Awami League was out of power for eight years after 2001.
“But now we’ve been able to bring world-class improvements in the hajj management since we’ve been in power for a long time since 2009 by the grace of Allah,” she added.
She said her government set up a separate hajj office in Jeddah in 2009 and appointed a counsellor (hajj) and a consultant general (hajj) there.
“Every service including visa, passport, housing, medical facilities, travel to Saudi Arabia and return from the hajj were made easier for the hajj pilgrims,” said adding that her government dedicates three airlines including Biman Bangladesh for hajj pilgrims.
She said now the immigration process of hajj pilgrims would be completed in Dhaka thanks to her government’s step.
Now Bangladeshi pilgrims would not need to spend time on the immigration process in Jeddah, she added.
The PM said she had taken measures on her experiences as she found many irregularities in hajj management (for Bangladeshi pilgrims) since she first performed the hajj in 1985 at the invitation of the king of Saudi Arabia.
“I saw such a messy situation with my own eyes. So, when I formed the government, my efforts were there to remove the problems of pilgrims,” she said.
She also said if any agency cheats or harasses pilgrims, tough administrative measures will be taken against the offenders.
The Prime Minister said her government made the 'Hajj and Umrah Management Act, 2021 and Hajj and Umrah Management Rules, 2022. As a result, complaints of mismanagement, irregularities and misconduct in hajj management have been remedied, she added.
The PM asked the Bangladeshi hajj pilgrims to know and abide by all local rules and laws in Saudi Arabia to uphold the appreciation Bangladesh received from Saudi Arabia in the case of hajj management.
Hajj Agencies Association of Bangladesh (HAAB) in collaboration with the Religion Affairs Ministry organised the event at Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC)
The objectives of the event include providing the pilgrims with proper hajj-related information, making them aware of current technology-based hajj management, enabling them direct contact with Hajj agencies and reducing the influence of middlemen and scammers.
State Minister for Religious Affairs Md Faridul Haque Khan, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism M Mahbub Ali, Saudi Ambassador to Bangladesh Essa Yussef Essa Al Dulaihan, Religious Affairs Secretary Kazi Enamul Hassan and HAAB president Shahadat Hossain Taslim spoke at the inaugural ceremony.
The three-day fair remains open to pilgrims from 10 am to 8 pm every day.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
