Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Benten is a Saudi politician who was appointed as the Minister of Hajj and Umrah by King Salman on 27 July 2016. [1] He is of Indonesian descent, from his family name "Benten" which originates from the region of Banten, in western Java, his father's mother was from Banten. [2]
Benten received a doctorate in Computer Engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder, and a masters and bachelors in Electrical Engineering at King Fahd University. [3]
Before becoming Minister, Benten occupied numerous positions. He has been President of the Saudi Post Corporation, assistant deputy minister of Hajj, Deputy Minister of Hajj, and the Dean of Faculty of Computer and Engineering. Benten has published more than 100 scientific studies. [3]
Benten became President of the Saudi Post in 2004 where he oversaw restructuring of the organization. As Deputy Minister of Hajj and Umrah, Benten introduced the e-Umrah project, which facilitated Umrahmt for more than 5 million people.
In 2018, Benten's ministry announced that Umrah performers who were foreigners were permitted to visit any city in Saudi Arabia, but they must spend 15 days of the 30-day Umrah stay visiting the two grand mosques in Mecca and Medina. [4] In December 2018, Benten signed a bilateral agreement with the Indian Minister of Minority Affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi concerning the Hajj 2019. [5]
Benten won the best Middle East Technical Manager 2002 award and the Best Director in the Middle East award. [3]
Nayef bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia as well as first deputy prime minister from 2011 to 2012. He was also minister of interior from 1975 to 2012.
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud has been the King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques since 23 January 2015.
Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport or Medina Airport is a regional airport in Medina, Saudi Arabia. Opened in 1950, it handles domestic flights, while it has scheduled international services to regional destinations such as Cairo, Dubai, Istanbul and Kuwait City. Medina Airport also handles charter international flights during the Hajj and Umrah seasons. The Pilgrims for Hajj and Umrah can enter Saudi Arabia through this airport or through Jeddah Airport only. It is the fourth busiest airport in Saudi Arabia, handling 8,144,790 passengers in 2018.
Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) is a forum held annually since 1999 during winter in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia. It has become the region's Middle East strategic think tank focusing on regional and international economic and social issues. The Jeddah Economic Forum is organized by the Jeddah Marketing Board, which is a part of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
Indonesians in Saudi Arabia consist largely of female domestic workers, with a minority of other types of labour migrants. As of 2014, an estimated 1,500,000 Indonesians were believed to be working in Saudi Arabia, comparable to the numbers of migrants are the groups from Bangladesh, India, Philippines and Pakistan, which number between 1 and 4 million people each.
Russia–Saudi Arabia relations is the bilateral relationship between Russian Federation and Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The two countries are referred to as the two petroleum superpowers and account for about a quarter of the world's crude oil production between them.
India–Saudi Arabia relations or Indo-Saudi relations are the bilateral relationship between the Republic of India and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Relations between the two nations are generally strong and close, especially in commercial interests. Indo-Saudi bilateral trade reached US$27.48 billion in the financial year 2017–18, up from US$25.1 billion in the preceding year. Saudi Arabia's exports to India stood at US$22.06 billion whereas India's exports were US$5.41 billion.
Abdullah bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was the sixth King of Saudi Arabia and Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques from 1 August 2005 until his death.
Iran and Saudi Arabia have no diplomatic relations following an attack on the Saudi embassy in Tehran in January 2016 after Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr, a Shia cleric. Bilateral relations between the countries have been strained over several geo-political issues such as the interpretations of Islam, aspirations for leadership of the Islamic world, oil export policy and relations with the United States and other Western countries.
Overseas Indonesians are people of Indonesian birth or descent who live outside of Indonesia. As of 2015, there are about 8 million overseas Indonesians globally.
Japan–Saudi Arabia relations refer to foreign relations between Saudi Arabia and Japan. Official relations between the two nations were established in 1955.
The Hajj is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence.
Bandar bin Mohammed bin Hamza Asaad Al Hajjar is a Saudi Arabian economist and former Hajj minister. He was removed from post over 2015 Hajj stampede.
Masjid al-Haram, also known as the Great Mosque of Mecca, is a mosque that surrounds the Kaaba in Mecca, in the Makkah Province of Saudi Arabia. It is a site of pilgrimage in the Hajj, which every Muslim must do at least once in their lives if able, and is also the main phase for the ʿUmrah, the lesser pilgrimage that can be undertaken any time of the year. The rites of both pilgrimages include circumambulating the Kaaba within the mosque. The Great Mosque includes other important significant sites, including the Black Stone, the Zamzam Well, Maqam Ibrahim, and the hills of Safa and Marwa.
Visitors to Saudi Arabia must obtain a visa unless they come from one of the visa exempt countries. Some visitors are eligible to obtain a visa online or on arrival while others needs to apply at one of the Saudi diplomatic missions in advance.
Indonesia–Saudi Arabia relations are particularly important because Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam, and Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population ; both are Muslim majority countries. Economy and trade relations are also particularly important, especially on oil (energy) and human resources sectors. Saudi Arabia has an embassy in Jakarta, while Indonesia has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah. Both countries are members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and G-20 major economies.
On 24 September 2015, an event described as a "crush and stampede" caused deaths estimated at well over 717 pilgrims, suffocated or crushed during the annual Hajj pilgrimage in Mina, Mecca, Saudi Arabia, making it the deadliest Hajj disaster in history. Estimates of the number of dead vary; the Associated Press reported 2,411 dead, while Agence France-Presse reported 2,236 killed. Based on the total of the individual national reports cited in the table below, at least 2,431 people died. The government of Saudi Arabia officially reported two days after the event that there had been 769 deaths and 934 injured. These figures remained official at the time of the following year's Hajj and were never updated. The largest number of victims was from Iran, followed by Mali and Nigeria.
A number of prominent Saudi Arabian princes, government ministers, and business people were arrested in Saudi Arabia on 4 November 2017 and the following few weeks after the creation of an anti-corruption committee led by Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is a Saudi government ministry which is in charge of handling issues of Hajj and Umrah in the Kingdom. The ministry assures safe arrival and departure of pilgrims and visitors arriving in Saudi Arabia for Hajj or Umrah. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah is authorized to tackle all Hajj-related issues. It mainly coordinates between different sectors working for Hajj and Umrah operations as well as between different Hajj-related agencies in Muslim countries and worldwide. Moreover, the Ministry is responsible for developing plans, implementing and supervising the services provided to pilgrims and visitors of the Two Holy Mosques.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected the 2020 Hajj (pilgrimage), which is the fifth pillar of the Five Pillars of Islam, where millions of Muslims from around the world visit Mecca and Medina every year during Hajj season for a week. Over 2,400,000 pilgrims attended Hajj in 2019. In March 2020, the minister of Hajj and Umrah encouraged those planning to visit the holy sites of Mecca and Medina later in the year to wait before making any bookings. Due to the highly contagious nature of COVID-19 in crowded places, flight restrictions in many countries, and the unavailability of a vaccine against the virus the ministry of Hajj and Umrah took such serious measures. However, in June 2020, the ministry of Hajj and Umrah announced that people from all nationalities who reside in Saudi Arabia are allowed to perform Hajj with a limited number of pilgrims, to ensure the safety and to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
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