Salam Friends,

I think most of us are now are aware that the Motawif agency has published their packages today. We are also aware that their website crashed after the first 10 minutes, which is expected due to the high volume of registrations (and curious folk like myself), but frustrating since they have the interest form so they should have been aware of the anticipated traffic and should have prepared for it accordingly.

The second thing I want to address is the pricing that they announced. I think many of us expected that the Hajj ministry was going to subsidize the pricing which would have been great for this year if this was announced months ago; giving people more time to plan and book domestic tickets. I truly hope that the services live up to expectations, and I am so happy for those that will be selected this year. 

But my concern is that will Hajj be subsidized for us every year? or is this just a marketing ploy to placate us this year and support their narrative which has been heavily marketed to us that all travel agents have been taking advantage of us, which I personally don’t buy. I love my travel agent and the services and transparency they provide; no smear campaign will ever get me to change my mind. I am not in the finance sector, but I do remember from my 9th grade economics class that monopolies are BAD, like really really BAD! Like we have laws in the US against them and everything! Having competition is healthy and good for the consumer. The Hajj ministry subsidizing hajj this year does not ease my worries for the future of hajj. Let’s keep the fight for Hajj 2023!

Walakoum Asalam,

Sarah