Indonesia is smart to stop citizens going on hajj pilgrimage

Saudi Arabia is considering canceling whole event because of coronavirus risk

20200614 Kaaba Moslim pilgrim.JPG

Muslim pilgrims circle the Kaaba and pray at the Grand Mosque in August 2019: most problematic will be tawaf, when pilgrims walk around the Kaaba. © Reuters

Dicky Sofjan is full-time faculty in the Indonesian Consortium for Religious Studies at the Graduate School of Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia.

The annual hajj, an Islamic pilgrimage to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, is a humongous event which 2.5 million Muslims -- including 2 million flying in from around the world -- participate in.

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