By IANS/AKI,
Jakarta : Indonesia, the most populous Islamic nation, plans to cut travel cost for Haj pilgrims in order to enable more Muslims to perform the annual pilgrimage.
Garuda Airlines has agreed to a decrease of $51 in the Haj pilgrimage, reducing the total cost from $1,779 to $1,728 per person, Religious Affairs Minister Suryadharma Ali said.
Suryadharma said the government was aiming at another cost cut without neglecting the quality of its service provided to the devotees.
Saudi Arabia will allow 211,000 Indonesians to perform Haj in October this year.
Haj is considered the most important religious duty in Islam that Muslims should perform at least once in their lifetime.