The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is set to organize the annual Grand Hajj Symposium on June 20, 2023, in Jeddah to coincide with the Hajj season. The event, which was first launched in 1970, will focus on various issues of concern to the Islamic world, such as upgrading the procedures of Hajj, enhancing the development of the Islamic world, and improving human communication between pilgrims during the Hajj season.
Participants from 57 countries, including outstanding individuals specialized in different scientific fields, will gather this year at the Symposium to discuss how science and technology can be used to serve Islam as well as collective intelligence’s contributions to innovation and decision making. The Symposium’s sessions will feature renowned experts, including molecular biologist, Prof. Rana Dajani, Dr. Winai Dahlan, Director of the Halal Science Center at Chulalongkorn University, Thailand, Dr. Majid Al-Fayyad, CEO of King Fahad Specialized Hospital and Research Center, Dr. Abdul Rahman Al- Kheraigi, Media Affairs Advisor at the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah, and Dr. Abdullah Al-Maatouq, Assistant Professor at Massachusetts Institute.
Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah, Minister of Hajj and Umrah, said that the Symposium aims to upgrade the procedures of Hajj and Umrah, which are part of the target outcomes, by opening discussions on serving the guests of Allah. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah believes that the outcomes of the Symposium will have positive impacts on the Islamic and international communities, create a favorable environment to perform Hajj with complete satisfaction, and enhance the values of peace, tolerance, understanding, peaceful coexistence, and mutual respect.
Since the first half of 2023, Dr. Tawfiq Al-Rabiah visited 13 Islamic countries and held meetings with officials in religious institutions and Islamic thinkers to discuss the serving of Allah’s guests and the upgrade of Hajj and Umrah procedures. The Grand Hajj Symposium has always been a success, to the extent of selecting culture ministers in OIC states and naming Mecca The Capital of Islamic Culture in 2005. This year’s Symposium is expected to produce similar outputs.
