Minister wants freelance preacher investigated over umrah claim

Minister wants freelance preacher investigated over umrah claim

Religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad says the authorities must also find out how the preacher took unvaccinated pilgrims to Saudi Arabia.

Idris Ahmad said among the conditions for performing umrah is that pilgrims must have completed their vaccination. (Bernama pic)
PUTRAJAYA:
Religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad has urged the authorities to investigate a freelance preacher who admitted taking a group of pilgrims who were not fully vaccinated to perform umrah.

He said the incident should not have happened because among the conditions for performing umrah was that the pilgrims must have completed their vaccination with any of the vaccines approved by the Saudi Arabia government.

“I regret if this really happened because among the conditions clearly stated is that the person must be fully vaccinated.

“How did they manage to leave for Mecca? The relevant authorities must investigate how they could go undetected?” he told the media after presenting aid to flood victims here today.

Idris was asked to comment following the freelance preacher’s admission on his Instagram account that he had taken a group of pilgrims who were not fully vaccinated to perform umrah. He also admitted that he did not receive the MM vaccine.

It is learned that the MM vaccine refers to the “meningococcal meningitis vaccine”, which is a requirement set by Saudi Arabia for umrah pilgrims around the world.

Idris also advised other freelance preachers not to teach topics that were not their expertise and urged them to leave this to experts in the field.

Stay current - Follow FMT on WhatsApp, Google news and Telegram

Subscribe to our newsletter and get news delivered to your mailbox.