Thousands of Gambian pilgrims have been exempted from Saudi Arabia’s new online Hajj visa booking requirement. 

The online booking for pilgrims going to Mecca this year only applies to European, American, and Asian countries, according to Gambian Hajj officials. 

This is a relief for thousands of Gambian men and women planning to fulfill one of the five Islamic pillars in the Holy cities of Madina and Mecca.

Alhaji Ousman Jah, chairman of Gambia Hajj Commission, said the Saudi new rule doesn’t include The Gambia and other African countries.

“The Gambia is not part of the countries. It’s for Europe, America and Asia,” he told Gambiana exclusively amid public concern over the latest Hajj visa rule.

Alhagie Ceesay, also an official of the Hajj Commission, explained that “this doesn’t include The Gambia,” as he urged intending pilgrims not to panic over the latest rule.

Reporting by Adama Makasuba