Shafaq News- Baghdad
Around 5.5% of the 1.44 million Iraqis who applied for the Hajj* lottery were selected to perform the pilgrimage, the Iraqi Hajj and Umrah Authority said, citing the limited number of places allocated to Iraq each year compared with the large number of applicants.
The Authority said on Saturday that the electronic lottery covered the 2027 supplementary Hajj season, as well as the 2028, 2029 and 2030 seasons, with 1,443,000 eligible applicants taking part.
Iraq's annual Hajj quota, allocated by Saudi Arabia, stands at 39,690 pilgrims. Under applicable laws and administrative procedures, the quota is divided among several categories.
The Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) receives 5,465 places, while 4,737 are allocated to the Martyrs Foundation and 350 to the Prisoners Foundation. Another 2,645 places are reserved for the services sector, including caravan directors, male and female religious guides, and supporting personnel.
The remaining 26,493 places are distributed among provinces outside the KRI according to the latest population census.
The Authority also gave priority to older applicants, with registration limited to people aged 45 and above, describing the measure as an effort to give older citizens an opportunity to perform the pilgrimage in consideration of their circumstances.
At the same time, the Authority has been seeking to increase Iraq's Hajj quota through requests and official correspondence with the relevant Saudi authorities. Acknowledging the disappointment of applicants who were not selected, it stressed that failure to win the lottery does not mean they were ineligible to perform Hajj.
*Hajj is the annual Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia and is one of the five pillars of Islam. It is required once in a lifetime for Muslims who are physically and financially able to make the journey. The pilgrimage traces its rituals to the Prophet Abraham and his family and has been performed by Muslims for centuries, bringing millions of pilgrims together each year.