Minor haj canceled in Iraq

The Iraqi authorities have decided to prevent Iraqi citizens from performing the "minor haj" during the current year. Iraqi Minister of Religious Endowments Abdul Menem Ahmed Saleh related yesterday this decision to the state's economic circumstances and the continuation of international sanctions against Iraq

, saying that Iraqs who intend to perform the minor haj would carry thousands of dollars abroad with them while Iraq needs the hard currency. The Iraqi authorities allowed only 3,000 persons to perform the pilgrimage during the last Hegria year.