Islamic Ministry officials to be barred from operating Umrah groups

Work has begun to ensure that employees and officials of the Islamic Ministry are not allowed to operate Umrah pilgrimage companies.

Islamic Minister Dr. Mohamed Shaheem posted on social media last night stating that since the ministry is in charge of regulating the companies, discussions are being held to ensure no employee from the ministry can take part in running an Umrah pilgrimage company.

Currently, there are officials in the Islamic Ministry that run such companies.

The Islamic Ministry is in the process of taking action against such Umrah companies that have various issues cropping up. The ministry has looked into a case where an Umrah company has taken money from prospective pilgrims but never took them on the pilgrimage itself. Owner of Mash'ar Group Ali Farish was sentenced in September to three years in jail regarding such an incident.

Last year saw an incident regarding the Al-Mash'ar Tours company come to light, where in 2023,  the Mash'ar Hajj and Umrah Group encountered difficulties while taking pilgrims to Hajj and Umrah. Mash'ar Tours was created due to the Mash'ar Hajj and Umrah Group having their license revoked in 2023.

A total of 19 companies that did not abide by regulations governing Maldivians attending Umrah have been fined MVR 5,000 in January as well.