South African umrah operators have been informed of a new umrah visa fee by their respective Saudi Arabian counterparts. On Thursday, it was reported that the Saudi Ministry of Hajj announced an additional 2,000 riyal (about R7000) would be charged for umrah visas for those who travelled for umrah in the last Hijri year 1438. These costs are payable for umrah applications effective from 12th October 2017 and will be […]
2016 has definitely been a year of many up’s and even more downs. Rafieka Williams has a look at the 10 most significant developments in the Cape Muslim community. New MJC President In April, the Muslim Judicial Council announced Shaykh Irfaan Abrahams as the new president following a vote taken at the Annual General Meeting. Although the community was welcoming of the decision, there was criticism in some quarters that the well-known […]
While the South African Haj and Umrah Council(Sahuc) said it has not received official communication from the Saudi Kingdom, some umrah operators are reporting that the Ministry of Hajj has made concessions to its haj and umrah visa rules. Online messages doing the rounds state that visas will be free to umrah pilgrims who travel once a year. The message says only travellers visiting the Kingdom for a second time […]
A delegation from the Anti Visa Fee Committee SA (AVC SA) met senior officials of the Department of International Relations and Co-operation (DIRCO) today. The committee raised its serious concern about the excessive visa fees that have just been implemented worldwide. "We also stressed that in addition to Hajj and Umrah, tourists and South Africans working in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are also affected," said AVFC SA co-chair, Yusuf […]
Two meetings in Cape Town and Johannesburg to discuss the umrah fee hike have unanimously agreed that umrah should not be boycotted. On Sunday, hundreds of concerned residents gathered in both cities to call for the visa increases to be scrapped. Saudi Arabia has increased visas from 350 riyals to 2000 riyals, which could equal R8000 to R10 000, and lead to many not being able to perform hajj and […]
As a meeting got underway in Cape Town, at the same time hundreds of Muslims met in Crosby, Johannesburg on Sunday to voice their opposition at the introduction of excessive visa fees for hajj and umrah. The Saudi Arabia Government recently announced the introduction of visa fees of SR 2000, or some R10 000. This has caused worldwide anger. Speaking at the public meeting, social activist and co-chair of the […]
VOC became the first Muslim radio station in South Africa when a special events license was granted to the station in Ramadan/January 1995. Subsequent temporary broadcast licenses were granted, permitting the station to broadcast for 24 hours.
