Vice Minister of Hajj Stresses Hajj Is Not an Economic Commodity, There’s a Big Mission for National Transformation
Indonesia’s Vice Minister of Hajj, Dahnil Anzar Simanjuntak, made it clear that the hajj operation shouldn’t treat pilgrims as economic commodities. During the National Working Meeting on Hajj Implementation Evaluation, he stressed the need to refocus on public service and civilizational development. “We want to stop the bad practice of turning hajj and umrah pilgrims into economic commodities. They must be the subject, the agents of civilizational and moral transformation,” he said in Jakarta, Monday (7/6/2026).
Dahnil mentioned three big mandates for hajj organizers: a mandate from Allah SWT, a mandate from the pilgrims and Indonesian people, and a mandate from President Prabowo Subianto to improve service quality. He also introduced the concept of “three successes” as a measure of achievement: success in rituals, success in the hajj economic ecosystem, and success in morality and civilization.
For the third target, hajj is expected to become a tool for national transformation. Pilgrims who return are expected to bring back a spirit of nationhood, nationalism, and values of honesty and social care. Dahnil emphasized that economic activities within the hajj ecosystem must benefit the national economy without sacrificing pilgrims’ rights and comfort.
This statement marks a reform in hajj management toward a more substantial paradigm, where success is measured by service quality, healthy economic impact, and contribution to building the nation’s character. Hajj pilgrims are human beings who should be honored, not objects of economic profit.
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