Saudi Arabia imposes new taxes on Hajj, refuse additional quota for Pakistan

[El Sidd]

sounds fair enough !!

additional quota should be provided and i hope by the time Zil Haj comes we would straighten out a deal with the Saudis.

 

[Sugarcane]

Expensive hajjs would mean poor wont be able to go for hajj. Sauds are acting like savages now

Hajj become obligatory only if you have means, God will reward those who want to go but don't have money, as it's not their fault.

 

[Ocean]

Hajj become obligatory only if you have means, God will reward those who want to go but don't have money, as it's not their fault.

I know about reward part but insan ko feel hota hai that he cant go etc i have seen people feeling sad that due to extremely hi costs they cant go on hajj.

Also see this, if this is where they spend hajj collected koney

http://www.businessinsider.com/saud...mohammed-bin-salman-da-vinci-painting-2017-12

Hajj tourism is one of the major economy contributors in saudia.

 

[Sliver]

In My opinion:
the Holiest Islamic sites, along with the other religious holy sites with historical importance to whole of humanity should be collectively under the UN to keep away the influence of any one nation or one community.
I understand Mecca/Medina is holy for Muslims, but the enormous historical importance of the sites of Muhammed's first prayer location etc were of much value for anthropologists as well. I wish it wasnt the fiefdom of one country to put as many taxes as it pleases and decide how to build in the place (or raze existing structures) at will.

my two cents.

 

[MultaniGuy]

Their country, their rules.

 

[Yingluck]

Hope Pakistani do some soul searching for the reason for this snob, especially when the House of Saud will fall without having Pakistani expeditionary mercenary.

 

[TurkeyForever]

So oil wasn't enough, now they want more money from the poor too.

Wait until their oil runs out they will want so much money from these people, because it will be their only income source.

 

[Saif al-Arab]

It's a shame they are making money off of this, I'm sure God has a special place for them in the next life.

We need to make it like Vatican so a "country" can't profit like this from muslims.

Try my Turkified and Arabized Anatolian friend and you will see what will happen.

Makkah and Madinah are two ancient Hijazi cities that are almost 4 millennia old. Those ancient cities were ruled by local Hijazi dynasties (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Sharif of Makkah, House of Saud etc.) from the beginning of Islam until today. Not to the mention the locals being locals. Even when Hijaz was nominally a part of the Ottomans, the local rulers were the Sharifs of Makkah (second only to the Sultan in terms of status) and the locals were the same.

KSA barely makes any money from Hajj and Umrah given the costs that KSA alone bears. The income is negligible and always was.

Every Muslim country has a quota system that reflects their population. Each country is assigned this quota based on that and this system has been working always.

The new taxes (negligible) are natural given the massive expansion projects that are worth several billion dollars and which only KSA is financing and nobody else. Do you think this is run for free, Einstein?

I believe that we should turn Constantinople to a Vatican. Hagia Sophia is Greek (as most of the heritage of that city) and it should be under Greek control. Tourists paying the Turkish state, should pay the Greek state instead. Qom and Mashhad should be under KSA control since those cities (even the names are of Arabic origin) were funded by Arabs from KSA and since those Imams buried there are from KSA. Same with Najaf and Karbala in Iraq.

@Zaki can you please deal with this serial troll (take a look at his user history)?

So oil wasn't enough, now they want more money from the poor too.

Wait until their oil runs out they will want so much money from these people, because it will be their only income source.

Keep dreaming idiot. The economy of the GCC (non-oil/gas) is bigger than the entire economy of Turkey. You are just too stupid to be given any attention. It's quite sad. Better go back to writing novels about how miserable your life is and how drunk you are.

 

[Hyde]

Try my Turkified and Arabized Anatolian friend and you will see what will happen.

Makkah and Madinah are two ancient Hijazi cities that are almost 4 millennia old. Those ancient cities were ruled by local Hijazi dynasties (Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Sharif of Makkah, House of Saud etc.) from the beginning of Islam until today. Not to the mention the locals being locals. Even when Hijaz was nominally a part of the Ottomans, the local rulers were the Sharifs of Makkah (second only to the Sultan in terms of status) and the locals were the same.

KSA barely makes any money from Hajj and Umrah given the costs that KSA alone bears. The income is negligible and always was.

Every Muslim country has a quota system that reflects their population. Each country is assigned this quota based on that and this system has been working always.

The new taxes (negligible) are natural given the massive expansion projects that are worth several billion dollars and which only KSA is financing and nobody else. Do you think this is run for free, Einstein?

@Zaki can you please deal with this serial troll (take a look at his user history)?



Keep dreaming idiot. The economy of the GCC (non-oil/gas) is bigger than the entire economy of Turkey. You are just too stupid to be given any attention. It's quite sad. Better go back to writing novels about how miserable your life is and how drunk you are.

Even if Saudi Government imposes 100% tax on Hajj, it hardly matters for Muslims as they have no choice but to visit KSA in order to perform mandatory Hajj but Saudis should have been wise and imposed indirect taxes on transportation or hotels etc.

The billions of dollars worth of projects are not only for the sake of Hajis but to promote tourism so that more and more people can come. Its not a favour of anybody but Hajj/Umrah is a massive tourism industry for Saudi Arabia and it is common sense to know that they want to expand this industry so more people can come to visit and spend their life time hard earned money in the blessed cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Saudis aren't doing any favour by expanding the Haram and raising tall buildings as the pilgrims could have been easily stayed in the existing infrastructure being demolished by the Government but they want more people to perform Hajj/Umrah hence the expansion projects

 

[Oublious]

Well failed projects have to be funded, like building new cities. Oil price is to low for the projects, so why not undress muslims.

 

[HannibalBarca]

Even if Saudi Government imposes 100% tax on Hajj, it hardly matters for Muslims as they have no choice but to visit KSA in order to perform mandatory Hajj but Saudis should have been wise and imposed indirect taxes on transportation or hotels etc.

The billions of dollars worth of projects are not only for the sake of Hajis but to promote tourism so that more and more people can come. Its not a favour of anybody but Hajj/Umrah is a massive tourism industry for Saudi Arabia and it is common sense to know that they want to expand this industry so more people can come to visit and spend their life time hard earned money in the blessed cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Saudis aren't doing any favour by expanding the Haram and raising tall buildings as the pilgrims could have been easily stayed in the existing infrastructure being demolished by the Government but they want more people to perform Hajj/Umrah hence the expansion projects

Ofc Muslims can do somthing if their respectiv gov... put pression all together on such things... but since 80% of those gov are corrupt..; it's aint gonna be happening soon...
Many project in Makkah are useful and needed and many are not... like that ugly a** big ben look alike... that cost a leg to build... I will personally destroy it if I could...

Hajj/Omrah money is enough for expension...

 

[Saif al-Arab]

Well failed projects have to be funded, like building new cities. Oil price is to low for the projects, so why not undress muslims.

Failed projects this troll said. Did you know that Saudi Arabian firms and Turkish firms and Saudi Arabian engineers and Turkish engineers and workers are working together on those projects with others too?

Time to repost an old post of mine to give that barking minority an even bigger constipation that will result in hemorrhoids or something worse!

"1) One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds on the planet (4th place and worth 700 billion USD)

2) 1-2 trillions USD worth of investment abroad

3) Enormous untapped resources (oil, gas, minerals etc., incredible potential for renewable energy (solar and wind etc.) that 95% of all countries worldwide can not compete with.

4) Praised economic reforms in the past 2-3 years by IMF and other organizations and very promising non-oil/gas growth (this year almost 15 USD billion more than expected) and economic growth despite unprecedented economic reforms in the modern era and falling oil prices (although I read that they were back to 70 USD per barrel earlier today)

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that;

6) The largest ever state budget for this year was implemented 3 weeks ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/943269209135550466

https://twitter.com/x/status/943133157859250177

https://twitter.com/x/status/943136767821172736

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

7) 4.700 + infrastructural projects worth almost 1 trillion USD (1) are underway currently.

https://twitter.com/x/status/937843913099849728

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

8) KSA is the fourth least indebted country in the world!

https://twitter.com/x/status/940719885016973312

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

9) a new technological and strategic city (project) worth 500 billion USD (!) called NEOM was inaugurated this year. A project which will be built in a area the size of middle-sized European country almost!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDNainqi1c&sns=tw

https://twitter.com/discoverneom

10)

Did I mention that the unemployment rate fell 5.8% for the 3rd quarter of last year?

So let's stick to facts.

The reason why a tourism sector (real one) is opening up is due to the promising Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 (google that as well)

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Vision_2030

and the amazing potential for tourism in KSA which is already one of the top 15 most visited countries on the planet as well as simple logic. The combination of Hajj, Umrah, KSA' geography and all that KSA can offer is a combination that few countries can compete with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

So yeah, we are struggling BIG time. "Bankrupt" very, very soon.

Oh, did I mention uranium exploration (KSA is estimated to have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world and is going to built at least 16 nuclear reactors by 2030). With Chinese cooperation among many others.

https://mobile.sabq.org/nYgFcv

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-wine-country-tourism-lifeblood-idUSKBN1CH34U

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/saudi-arabia.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energy_in_Saudi_Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdullah_City_for_Atomic_and_Renewable_Energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Saudi_Arabia

KSA will master the entire "nuclear energy process" as I mentioned above within less than 2 decades if not sooner. So it is not a question if but when. KSA will be like Japan and South Korea by then by all accounts. Nuclear weapons are old technology anyway. "Even" the likes of NK with outside help (granted) but hardly any economy can accomplish it. So no big deal really. The political aspect is the most challenging one which is why Rick Perry (Minister of Energy in the US) has been pressuring KSA to pick the US option (visited recently) and for KSA to sign the "123 agreement" which most regional countries have signed but KSA refused to do so. Very wisely.

http://middle-east-online.com/?id=263062

No coincidence that China is involved with the uranium drilling and that a deal was just signed with Russia."


Here a little bonus addition;

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/oiling-the-wheels-on-a-road-to-success-in-saudi-arabia.428713/

News just in;

#BUSINESS NEWS
JANUARY 28, 2018 / 7:46 PM / 6 DAYS AGO
Saudi foreign reserves rise for third straight month

Reuters Staff

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi Arabian central bank’s foreign reserves rose in December for a third consecutive month, a sign that higher oil prices may be easing pressure on the government’s finances, official data showed on Sunday.

The bank’s net foreign assets grew $2.0 billion from November to $488.9 billion last month, after increasing $1.0 billion in November and $8.3 billion in October. It was the first time since mid-2014 that the reserves have risen for three straight months.

Rest of the article;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-rise-for-third-straight-month-idUSKBN1FH0VE

Detainees held at Saudi Arabia’s Ritz-Carlton released or moved, 56 remain in custody: Attorney General
ARAB NEWS | Published — Tuesday 30 January 2018

The Ritz Carlton in Riyadh (Reuters)

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb, said on Tuesday that 56 corruption suspects remained in custody out of the 381 high profile figures detained on graft allegations.
He said he decided to release all those proven not guilty, as well as others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting to corruption allegations.
Mojeb said the total settlements with the suspects had topped $130 billion, which came in various forms of assets.
News broke earlier on Tuesday that Saudi authorities had released all remaining detainees from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which had been used as an interrogation center in a crackdown on corruption, according to a Saudi official.
“There are no longer any detainees left at the Ritz-Carlton,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.
He did not say how many suspects remained in detention at other locations in Saudi Arabia. Some are believed to have been moved from the Ritz to prison after refusing to admit wrongdoing and reach financial settlements with the authorities.
He said those who remained in custody were still under investigation as the legal procedures continued.
Among top businessmen caught up in the purge were Prince Alwaleed, owner of global investor Kingdom Holding, and Waleed Al-Ibrahim, who controls influential regional broadcaster MBC.
MBC said the investigation found Ibrahim completely innocent of wrongdoing and Prince Alwaleed has insisted he is innocent, although Saudi officials said both men agreed to settlements after admitting unspecified “violations.”
In an interview with Reuters at his suite in the Ritz-Carlton hours before he was released on Saturday, Prince Alwaleed said he had been well-treated in custody and described his case as the result of a misunderstanding.
He showed off the comforts of his suite’s gold-accented private office, a dining room and a kitchen which was fully stocked with his preferred vegetarian meals.
The hotel has 492 guest rooms and suites and 52 acres (21 hectares) of landscaped gardens, according to its website. It has said it will reopen to the public in mid-February, with a nightly rate for its cheapest room of $650.
(With AFP and Reuters)

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1235891/saudi-arabia

"​

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/ksa-...ed-sea-coast-aramco-pioneers-new-tech.542530/

BTW please visit that thread above. KSA just discovered 100 billion barrels of crude oil off the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabian ARAMCO just have pioneered new groundbreaking technology in the petrochemical field.

In the past 3 months alone, KSA earned 12 billion USD from its sovereign wealth fund alone. Keep crying.

Even if Saudi Government imposes 100% tax on Hajj, it hardly matters for Muslims as they have no choice but to visit KSA in order to perform mandatory Hajj but Saudis should have been wise and imposed indirect taxes on transportation or hotels etc.

The billions of dollars worth of projects are not only for the sake of Hajis but to promote tourism so that more and more people can come. Its not a favour of anybody but Hajj/Umrah is a massive tourism industry for Saudi Arabia and it is common sense to know that they want to expand this industry so more people can come to visit and spend their life time hard earned money in the blessed cities of Makkah and Madinah. The Saudis aren't doing any favour by expanding the Haram and raising tall buildings as the pilgrims could have been easily stayed in the existing infrastructure being demolished by the Government but they want more people to perform Hajj/Umrah hence the expansion projects

Hajj and Umrah was an important income source for the Rashidun, Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid and Ottomans too. Why is it that KSA and its people (natives of the land) must be deprived of that? Why not turn religious sites in every sovereign country into a Vatican? Have those geniuses ever wondered what locals in Makkah and Madinah (Hijaz) in general would say about being ruled by a collection of foreigners, regardless of being Muslims or not? For instance as a person with ancient family ties to Hijaz, I have no intention to be ruled by a Muslim Cameroonian or a Muslim Indonesian just because Makkah and Madinah are sacred cities for Muslims worldwide.

Those negligible taxes are long overdue IMO. When KSA runs ALL costs without exception (which are huge) 24/7 all year around and constantly tries to improve facilities, it is natural that costs will rise. Had all this not been financed solely by KSA it would be a completely different discussion.

How about the other way around? The population of Muslims worldwide (including in KSA) is rapidly increasing and more and more people want to perform Hajj and Umrah. For that to happen expansions are necessary. People can't have it both ways.

BTW I am very interested in reading statistics that show that KSA is making some kind of huge income from Hajj and Umrah. This is not the case.

 

[Oublious]

Failed projects this troll said. Did you know that Saudi Arabian firms and Turkish firms and Saudi Arabian engineers and Turkish engineers and workers are working together on those projects with others too?

Time to repost an old post of mine to give that barking minority an even bigger constipation that will result in hemorrhoids or something worse!

"1) One of the biggest sovereign wealth funds on the planet (4th place and worth 700 billion USD)

2) 1-2 trillions USD worth of investment abroad

3) Enormous untapped resources (oil, gas, minerals etc., incredible potential for renewable energy (solar and wind etc.) that 95% of all countries worldwide can not compete with.

4) Praised economic reforms in the past 2-3 years by IMF and other organizations and very promising non-oil/gas growth (this year almost 15 USD billion more than expected) and economic growth despite unprecedented economic reforms in the modern era and falling oil prices (although I read that they were back to 70 USD per barrel earlier today)

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that;

6) The largest ever state budget for this year was implemented 3 weeks ago.

https://twitter.com/x/status/943269209135550466

https://twitter.com/x/status/943133157859250177

https://twitter.com/x/status/943136767821172736

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

7) 4.700 + infrastructural projects worth almost 1 trillion USD (1) are underway currently.

https://twitter.com/x/status/937843913099849728

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

8) KSA is the fourth least indebted country in the world!

https://twitter.com/x/status/940719885016973312

In fact KSA is so "bankrupt" that

9) a new technological and strategic city (project) worth 500 billion USD (!) called NEOM was inaugurated this year. A project which will be built in a area the size of middle-sized European country almost!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhDNainqi1c&sns=tw

https://twitter.com/discoverneom

10)

Did I mention that the unemployment rate fell 5.8% for the 3rd quarter of last year?

So let's stick to facts.

The reason why a tourism sector (real one) is opening up is due to the promising Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 (google that as well)

http://vision2030.gov.sa/en

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saudi_Vision_2030

and the amazing potential for tourism in KSA which is already one of the top 15 most visited countries on the planet as well as simple logic. The combination of Hajj, Umrah, KSA' geography and all that KSA can offer is a combination that few countries can compete with.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Tourism_rankings

So yeah, we are struggling BIG time. "Bankrupt" very, very soon.

Oh, did I mention uranium exploration (KSA is estimated to have one of the largest uranium reserves in the world and is going to built at least 16 nuclear reactors by 2030). With Chinese cooperation among many others.

https://mobile.sabq.org/nYgFcv

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-wine-country-tourism-lifeblood-idUSKBN1CH34U

http://www.world-nuclear.org/information-library/country-profiles/countries-o-s/saudi-arabia.aspx

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_energy_in_Saudi_Arabia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Abdullah_City_for_Atomic_and_Renewable_Energy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_program_of_Saudi_Arabia

KSA will master the entire "nuclear energy process" as I mentioned above within less than 2 decades if not sooner. So it is not a question if but when. KSA will be like Japan and South Korea by then by all accounts. Nuclear weapons are old technology anyway. "Even" the likes of NK with outside help (granted) but hardly any economy can accomplish it. So no big deal really. The political aspect is the most challenging one which is why Rick Perry (Minister of Energy in the US) has been pressuring KSA to pick the US option (visited recently) and for KSA to sign the "123 agreement" which most regional countries have signed but KSA refused to do so. Very wisely.

http://middle-east-online.com/?id=263062

No coincidence that China is involved with the uranium drilling and that a deal was just signed with Russia."


Here a little bonus addition;

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/oiling-the-wheels-on-a-road-to-success-in-saudi-arabia.428713/

News just in;

#BUSINESS NEWS
JANUARY 28, 2018 / 7:46 PM / 6 DAYS AGO
Saudi foreign reserves rise for third straight month

Reuters Staff

DUBAI (Reuters) - The Saudi Arabian central bank’s foreign reserves rose in December for a third consecutive month, a sign that higher oil prices may be easing pressure on the government’s finances, official data showed on Sunday.

The bank’s net foreign assets grew $2.0 billion from November to $488.9 billion last month, after increasing $1.0 billion in November and $8.3 billion in October. It was the first time since mid-2014 that the reserves have risen for three straight months.

Rest of the article;

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...s-rise-for-third-straight-month-idUSKBN1FH0VE

Detainees held at Saudi Arabia’s Ritz-Carlton released or moved, 56 remain in custody: Attorney General
ARAB NEWS | Published — Tuesday 30 January 2018

The Ritz Carlton in Riyadh (Reuters)

DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian Attorney General, Sheikh Saud Al-Mojeb, said on Tuesday that 56 corruption suspects remained in custody out of the 381 high profile figures detained on graft allegations.
He said he decided to release all those proven not guilty, as well as others who had agreed financial settlements with the government after admitting to corruption allegations.
Mojeb said the total settlements with the suspects had topped $130 billion, which came in various forms of assets.
News broke earlier on Tuesday that Saudi authorities had released all remaining detainees from Riyadh’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel, which had been used as an interrogation center in a crackdown on corruption, according to a Saudi official.
“There are no longer any detainees left at the Ritz-Carlton,” the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity under briefing rules.
He did not say how many suspects remained in detention at other locations in Saudi Arabia. Some are believed to have been moved from the Ritz to prison after refusing to admit wrongdoing and reach financial settlements with the authorities.
He said those who remained in custody were still under investigation as the legal procedures continued.
Among top businessmen caught up in the purge were Prince Alwaleed, owner of global investor Kingdom Holding, and Waleed Al-Ibrahim, who controls influential regional broadcaster MBC.
MBC said the investigation found Ibrahim completely innocent of wrongdoing and Prince Alwaleed has insisted he is innocent, although Saudi officials said both men agreed to settlements after admitting unspecified “violations.”
In an interview with Reuters at his suite in the Ritz-Carlton hours before he was released on Saturday, Prince Alwaleed said he had been well-treated in custody and described his case as the result of a misunderstanding.
He showed off the comforts of his suite’s gold-accented private office, a dining room and a kitchen which was fully stocked with his preferred vegetarian meals.
The hotel has 492 guest rooms and suites and 52 acres (21 hectares) of landscaped gardens, according to its website. It has said it will reopen to the public in mid-February, with a nightly rate for its cheapest room of $650.
(With AFP and Reuters)

http://www.arabnews.com/node/1235891/saudi-arabia

"​

https://defence.pk/pdf/threads/ksa-...ed-sea-coast-aramco-pioneers-new-tech.542530/

BTW please visit that thread above. KSA just discovered 100 billion barrels of crude oil off the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabian ARAMCO just have pioneered new groundbreaking technology in the petrochemical field.

In the past 3 months alone, KSA earned 12 billion USD from its sovereign wealth fund alone. Keep crying.

The troll have spoken, the only thing you have done now is. You have confirmed what i have wrote. Well all that money and nothing for the poor 500 million arabs. All the investment in foreigner countries and making them rich. So the money is not in ksa but in the usa or other countries.

You are proud about what ahahahahah. 2018 will nightmare for muslims, the arabs will undress if we look to your plan. The big money in not in KSA, so that projects have to be funded.

I don't have time for you, i didn't quote you ahahah.

get lost troll..

 

[Saif al-Arab]

The troll have spoken, the only thing you have done now is. You have confirmed what i have wrote. Well all that money and nothing for the poor 500 million arabs. All the investment in foreigner countries and making them rich. So the money is not in ksa but in the usa or other countries.

You are proud about what ahahahahah. 2018 will nightmare for muslims, the arabs will undress if we look to your plan. The big money in not in KSA, so that projects have to be funded.

I don't have time for you, i didn't quote you ahahah.

get lost troll..

You are not too clever, are you? Well, I know the answer to this question already so you don't need to answer. Just like I know that you did not read all the facts that I posted in that post which picks your usual nonsense apart.

The only troll I see here is you. Meddling and obsessing about internal Arab affairs while not a single Arab with the exception of our Tunisian friend, is busy in your section.

You speak for yourself. I see no nightmare but a great 2017 and a great start to the 2018 and constant progress on all fronts.

BTW you have no clue about anything. Go back to watching your gossip Dutch-made documentaries about Dubai and thinking that you are an expert about the Arab world.

 

[Oublious]

Arab expert,Dubai, 2018 better? 2018 will be beter for ksa and not muslims. Stop thinking that the world turn for arabs dumb arab.