Regulation details hajj procedures for Chinese Muslims

No organization other than the China Islamic Association is allowed to organize Chinese Muslims to participate in the annual hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, according a new regulation published on Monday.

The regulation on Islamic pilgrimage affairs was jointly drafted by eight authorities including the State Administration for Religious Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

People who apply to take part in the annual pilgrimage must submit their applications to local religious affairs departments and join a waiting list. They must follow pilgrimage rules and stay away from religious extremism, the regulation said.

Local governments are responsible for stopping people from organizing illegal hajj tours in accordance with the law, it added.

More than 10,000 Chinese pilgrims have had the opportunity to make the hajj in recent years, depending on the quota given by Saudi Arabia. The regulation is crucial to ensuring that the hajj can be organized in an orderly manner, the United Front Work Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee said.