Manama: Bahrain-based pilgrimage hopefuls can sign up to accomplish the annual Haj ritual online, the justice, Islamic affairs and endowment ministry has said.
People planning to perform Haj this year should before the assigned deadline of September 25 in order for the concerned authorities to take the necessary measures and provide the relevant services, Mohammad Taher Al Qattan, head of religious affairs at the ministry, said.
The online registration, made available as the ministry announced the opening of this year’s Haj season, is launched in cooperation with the eGovernment Authority (eGA).
“Our previous experience in the e-service arena is an evidence of the initiative’s effectiveness,” Al Qattan said. “The initiative will help extend our services, easily and readily to both citizens and expatriates at all times. The services have been well-received and helped reduce the number of customers who physically approached the ministry to complete their paperwork.”
The official said that a higher number of demands is expected in the near future from citizens and residents who want to perform Umrah rituals during the holy month of Ramadan.
“We are therefore offering the ‘Haj and Umrah Agencies Directory’ service that enables citizens and residents to search via the portal for contact details of the licensed Haj/Umrah agencies within the Kingdom and benefit from a set of instructions and directions that are relevant to the Haj and Umrah practices,” he said.
“We have also launched the service ‘Pilgrim Registration Enquiry’ which allows pilgrims to verify their registration with the previously agreed agency in order to perform their Haj rituals,” Al Qattan said.
The ‘Pilgrims Feedback on the Haj Travel Agencies’ service has also been made available to allow pilgrims the opportunity to express their opinion about their selected Haj agency, the ministry said.
The intention is to help the monitoring and evaluation committee tasked with assessing performances of the various agencies to use direct feedback from the pilgrims.
