ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (APA) – Some 7,000 Ethiopian pilgrims will travel to Saudi Arabia for the 2008 Haji, Ethiopian Islamic Affairs Council said on Monday.
The council said that it has begun proving services for the largest number ever of pilgrims by introducing better working procedures to avoid congestion. Last year, around 5,000 pilgrims traveled to Saudi Arabia.
The council has established committees in Ethiopia and Saudi Arabia.
The council said the selection of the pilgrims would be carried out through all Islamic Affairs Offices. Pilgrims would get passport services from the Ethiopian Immigration and Civic Affairs offices in Mekelle, Bahirdar, Dessie, and Diredawa as well as in Addis Ababa.
Currently, the council is giving its services to 700 pilgrims per day.
The council has also opened 11 offices in Saudi Arabia to provide services to the pilgrims.
The deadline for the registration for the pilgrimage is November 15, 2008. The first batch of the pilgrims will leave Ethiopia on the 18 November.
About 40 percent of Ethiopia’s estimated population of 80 million is Muslim. Ethiopia is also home for Al-Negashi, the first mosque in Africa.