The Grand Haj Symposium will be launched on Sunday under the auspices of the Minister of Haj and Umrah with the participation of 200 Muslim Scholars and Thinkers

Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, September 3, 2016

In the presence of 200 Scholars and Thinkers from all parts of the Islamic World, the three-day Grand Haj Symposium will kick off tomorrow in Makkah under the auspices of His Excellency  Dr. Mohammed Saleh Bin Taher Bentin, Minister of Haj and Umrah, organized by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah with a core focus on enhancing communication and cohesion between Muslim Scholars during the Haj Season ,fostering moderation and  middle-stance religious discourse and bolstering  solidarity among Muslims as a continuation to the significant  Islamic role undertaken by the Kingdom to disseminate the values of tolerance in  Islam.

The Symposium also aims to provide valuable insights about how to make best use of a full range of key services offered by the Government of the Government of the Two Holy Mosques for the benefit of Haj pilgrims and Umrah performers during their spiritual journey in the holy sites.

The Haj Grand Symposium will be held this year under the theme 'the Haj, Past and Present: Developments and Organization in Haj and their impact on achieving the sublime objectives of the Haj'

The keynote speakers of this milestone event during Haj Season are as follows:

-Grand Mufti and President of Senior Scholars Council Sheikh Abdulaziz bin Abdullah Al-Asheikh 

-H.E. Sheikh Dr. Shawki Ibrahim Allam, Grand Mufti of Egypt.

H.E. Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al-Sudais, Imam and Khateeb of the Grand Mosque and head of the Presidency for the Two Holy Mosques

Dr. Essam Al-Bashir, President of Islamic Fiqh Academy in Sudan

- Sheikh Saleh bin Humid, Imam and Khateeb at the Masjid al-Haram

His Grace Dr. Abdelfattah Mourou from Tunisia

Dr.Abderrazaq Dairami, Director of the Al-hikma University –Nigeria, together with scholars of the Islamic world in a full range of science disciplines.

The academic program of the symposium will tackle the issue of constants and variables in Haj Jurisprudence, expertise of the Islamic States in pilgrims' awareness-raising campaigns and its impact on achieving the key objectives of Haj.

His Excellency Sheikh Dr. Abdullah Al Mutlaq will be talking about putting in place the rules of necessity in Haj, whereas a lecture will be delivered by Shaykh Muhammad al-Hafiz al-Nahwi, Chairman of the Cultural Gathering in Mauritania on the academic and cultural activities in Haj between Past and Present.

Dr. Shaikh Abdulwahab Abu-Suleiman will lecture on aspects of social communication between pilgrims between the past and the present.

Major-General Sulaiman A.AL-AMRO, Director-General of Civil Defense of Saudi Arabia will highlight strategies to secure the safety of pilgrims and action plan for disaster protection.

During the symposium, Mujibur Rahman kulangara, the Director of the Center for Islamic Studies and Research in India, will address the question of Haj in the past without forgetting the address of the Ibn Khaldun Institute director in Poland, together with a wide selection of speakers from the Islamic world and Muslim communities in America and Europe.

It would be noted that the Grand Haj Symposium organized by the Ministry of Haj and Umrah as approved by his Majesty aims to foster cohesion between scholars and thinkers of the Islamic Ummah ,and provide valuable insights about how to make best use of a full range of key services  offered by the Government of the Government of the Two Holy Mosques for the benefit of Haj pilgrims and Umrah performers to perform their nusuks (devotions) with much ease and convenience and avail of a full spectrum of services and projects delivered by the KSA's government to pilgrims from across the globe during their spiritual journey in the holy sites.

Source: Ministry of Haj and Umra