4,400 Seminarians to Take Exam to Accompany Iranian Umrah Pilgrims

IQNA – More than 4,400 students of Iran’s Islamic seminaries have signed up for an exam to recruit clergy to accompany the country’s Umrah pilgrims, an official said.

Hojat-ol-Islam Seyed Hossein Roknoddini, the cultural deputy of the Office of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution’s Hajj Representative, said the participants will take the exam on April 11.

It will take place in 8 provinces, including Tehran, Qom, Razavi Khorasan, Fars and Isfahan, he stated.

The examination will be held for the first time after 10 years, Hojat-ol-Islam Roknoddini said, noting that the reason for the delay is that Umrah trips were suspended for nine years, so naturally, there was no need to hold an exam.

Those who pass the exam will be interviewed and the selected clerics will take a training course before being dispatched to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina accompanying Umrah pilgrims.

Umrah is a pilgrimage to Mecca which Muslims can traditionally take at any time of the year, unlike Hajj pilgrimage that can be performed only in the first days of the lunar Hijri month of Dhul Hajja.

In April 2024, Iran resumed sending Umrah pilgrims to Saudi Arabia after a nine-year hiatus.

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