An invitee under the King Salman Umrah and Visit Program is greeted on arrival at Jeddah airport by officials in this file photo.

Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman’s Program for Umrah and Visits hosts 1,000 Muslims from around the world throughout the year.

They perform Umrah and visit religious sites in the Kingdom under the supervision of the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, said Abdullah bin Mudlij, secretary-general of the program.

“This new program is implemented for the first time, targeting prominent and outstanding Muslims from famous universities, institutes, associations and Islamic centers along with a number of journalists who are active in Islamic affairs as well as a number of new Muslims,” said Mudlij.

The first and second groups of guests hosted as part of the program have already arrived. They include 500 pilgrims with the other 500 to be received in the coming months, he said.

This qualitative program came in the wake of the success achieved by a similar program launched in 1997. It hosted 22,000 male and female Muslims from more than 150 countries in addition to the achievements of the King’s Program for the families of Palestinian martyrs which hosted 12,000 Palestinians, the secretary said.

Regarding the process of choosing those to be honored, Mudlij said: “An exhaustive study and a selection mechanism has been prepared and presented to the Islamic Affairs Minister so that the choice is not implemented arbitrarily and the achievement of the aspired goals is ensured. He said that the issuance of the royal order for the Umrah Program is under the guidance of Islamic Affairs Minister Saleh Al-Asheikh, who is also the general supervisor in charge of the program.

The program begins with the reception of guests at either Madinah or Jeddah airports, a visit to a number of religious institutions, including the Prophet’s Mosque, Quba Mosque, King Fahd Complex for Printing the Holy Qur’an, and other important landmarks. In Makkah they perform Umrah and visit the factory that produces the black cover for the Kaaba, the Museum of the Two Holy Mosques, and they meet with the imams of the Grand Mosque. In addition, discussions, meetings and evening functions are held along with a number of cultural and entertainment programs.

He concluded: “There is cooperation with all Saudi government agencies to provide valuable services to guests and overcome the difficulties faced by the general secretariat of the program, including the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Health, Culture and Information, and the Red Crescent, as well as Saudi Arabian Airlines and the General Authority for Civil Aviation.”