Saturday March 25, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) Spokesman for Ahlu Sunna Waljama'a (ASWJ), Sheikh Abdulkadir Soomoow, announced that ASWJ had severed its cooperation with the Ministry of Religion and Endowment of Somalia.
In an interview with BBC Somali, the spokesman accused the Federal Ministry of Religion of mismanaging the competition for Hajj administration this year. He claimed that the bidding process was unfairly denied to ASWJ and instead given to a particular party.
"We lodged our complaint that the Ministry barred us from participating in the Hajj bidding process that will serve pilgrims this year. The Ministry allowed a special party with no competition, so we declare that we have cut off our cooperation with the Ministry," the spokesman stated. "However, we support the government."
The spokesman also stated that ASWJ would not resume cooperation with the Ministry until the Minister of Mukhtar Robow and the Director of the Ministry are removed from their positions for their alleged injustice at the Ministry.
This allegation from the ASWJ spokesperson coincides with the Ministry of Religion's announcement that the companies that passed the first round of the competition will be interviewed to determine which companies will serve Somali pilgrims this year.
It is worth noting that every year during Hajj, conflicts arise from competitive issues between the companies that want to serve Somali pilgrims. Somali companies collect more money from Somali pilgrims than companies from neighbouring countries do from their people.