Senegalese men and women, dear fellow believers. On the eve of the opening of the registration office for the 2027 Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca, scheduled for November 23, 2026, we would like to discuss with you the Hajj, which is a complex undertaking in Senegal. A comparative study between Senegal and neighboring countries reveals enormous disparities. Private transport companies and the State are overcompensating. The prices charged for 2027 reach a minimum of 5,400,000 CFA francs. CFA francs , not including spending money. Some agencies even ask for between 6 and 18 million, especially for VIP Hajj packages. Even the government delegation asks for 4.3 million . CFA francs and houses its pilgrims very far from the Kaaba, which they reach by bus.
Let’s return to the price comparison. In 2025, we were able to compare pilgrims from Guinean private agencies with pilgrims from Senegalese private agencies. Pilgrims from the two neighboring countries stayed together, opposite the Ben Laden Mosque, but the Guinean pilgrims had paid a package price of 3,176,000 Guinean francs. CFA francs versus 5,300,000 CFA francs for Senegalese pilgrims. What justifies this difference?
In 2027, Nigeria is asking its pilgrims for 3,329,196 CFA francs , and Niger for 3,180,000 . CFA francs , Burkina Faso 3,630,250,000 ; Gambia 4,950,000,000 CFA francs , Chad 3,473,665,000 ; Ivory Coast 3,250,000,000 Mali buys the ram for 4,675,000 CFA francs on behalf of its pilgrims. Guinea has 4,855,000 CFA francs. CFA francs . It should be noted that in these different prices charged by these African countries, hotel or accommodation and meals are included.
Clearly, the primary factor contributing to the high cost of the package is airfare, followed by accommodation. Yet, all the countries mentioned have liberalized air transport. They issue tenders, and airlines submit their bids, unlike in Senegal, where the monopoly is held by Air Sénégal SA, a company that typically operates at 1,500,000 miles. CFA francs for the plane ticket. This company doesn’t own a fleet; it leases aircraft. Worse, it acts as a broker. In other words, instead of negotiating with airlines, Senegal grants a monopoly to Air Senegal, which acts as a broker.
Not only does Air Senegal lease aircraft, but also, and more importantly, it leases the entire crew, usually Indonesian, which makes air travel expensive. Naturally, this will impact travel agencies, and they, in turn, pass the cost on to pilgrims. Like countries around the world, the Senegalese government should liberalize air transport, launch a tender process so that companies like Emirati, Ethiopian , Turkish , Royal Air Maroc, or Air Senegal can submit their bids, and the government would award the contract to the highest bidder .
Air Senegal erred during the 2026 Hajj. It’s important to remember that there are three types of pilgrimage: with Hajj Ifrad , one performs the Hajj first, then the Umrah . With Hajj Tamatou , one performs the Umrah before the Hajj. Finally, with Hajj Khirane , one performs both the Hajj and the Umrah . Those who performed Hajj Ifrad were required to perform the Umrah . However, Air Senegal erred in this regard because, on the evening of May 29, 2026, the pilgrims who had left Mina, spent the night of May 29-30, 2026 in Mecca , and were scheduled to return to Senegal on May 31, 2026, did not have enough time to fulfill all their religious obligations. Especially those who had performed the Hajj Ifrad , when they returned on the evening of May 29, 2026, did not have time to perform the tawaaf Those who had been on the Hajj pilgrimage to Ifrad on May 30, 2026, therefore did not have enough time to perform their Umrah and the obligatory Farewell Tawaf . This is because these pilgrims on the first return flight were forced to return to Senegal on May 31, 2026.
The state should regulate the Hajj, which is a pillar of Islam. Since Muslims contribute 95% of the budget, the Senegalese state should subsidize it, as Côte d’Ivoire does.
In neighboring countries cited as examples, governments set prices and dictate them to travel agencies, offering a take-it-or-leave-it proposition. However, in Senegal, the liberalization process is so extensive that the government grants free rein to private agencies. These agencies then form a tacit agreement among themselves and set their own prices.
Failing to subsidize the Hajj, the Senegalese government could at least have waived airfare taxes. However, according to some rumors, there’s a lobby within the government working to make the Hajj expensive in order to reduce the number of pilgrims. The rumor further claims this is to avoid a massive outflow of foreign currency, one of the causes of Senegal’s trade deficit. However, this theory is untenable, since the 1.5 million CFA franc airfare goes directly into the state coffers.
In any case, this high cost deserves careful consideration for the simple reason that the Hajj is a religious obligation, just like prayer, fasting, and zakat . Moreover, God declares war on those who have the means but do not perform the Hajj.
Let’s turn to the second factor contributing to the high cost of the pilgrimage: accommodation. The delegation houses its pilgrims in hotels in Burhan, Noza (7 km from the Kaaba), and Mahbassoul Djinn (4 km from the Kaaba). These are good hotels, but too far away, requiring shuttle buses. It’s no secret that some private Senegalese hoteliers house their pilgrims far from the Kaaba, forcing them to take shuttle buses, and charge them 5,500,000 CFA francs. CFA francs are the norm in hotels like the Méridien Tower. However, many private Africans accommodate their pilgrims in areas near the Kaaba, such as hotels in the Sara Mansour, Misfala , Jarwal , Sara Sitin , Jabal Kaaba, and Gaza neighborhoods. There are also Senegalese pilgrims who stay in these areas. But why do they pay more than other Africans?
These African private owners rent the bed for 3,000 rials (486,000 CFA francs ), for a package between 3 and 4 million, and they pay less than the pilgrims of the Senegalese private owners who ask for 9,000 rials (1,458,000 CFA francs) . (CFA francs ) for a bed and for a package costing between 6 and 11 million CFA francs . These unethical practices must stop. Unfortunately, the delegation does not conduct unannounced visits to restore order to the Hajj, where there are many deals with certain Saudi hoteliers that allow some private Senegalese operators to inflate the price of a bed (9,000 riyals) at the expense of the pilgrim.
Given this situation, religious leaders must intervene to ask the state to reduce the cost of the pilgrimage package. They must also speak to their followers so that, once in Mecca, they comply with religious requirements.
In conclusion, it’s worth noting the lack of involvement from the General Delegation for Religious Affairs in the issues surrounding the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. Instead, the General Delegation for Religious Affairs is seen working alongside certain maraboutic families or so-called religious communities for renovations, even though some of these facilities house offices and gambling kiosks, which are prohibited by Islam. Furthermore, the General Delegation for Religious Affairs is not involved in defending Islamic principles, such as the non-application of the Islamic civil and penal code in our courts. Moreover, it remains silent on the secular family code.
The same is true for SOS Consommateurs. We’ve never heard this organization denounce the high cost of the package or the remoteness of the hotels rented by some private individuals. Isn’t it because SOS Consommateurs benefits each year from a free seat on the General Delegation for the Pilgrimage that it’s prevented from playing an arbitral role? This is a conflict of interest, because one cannot be both judge and plaintiff.
Finally, it’s worth recalling that during a meeting organized by the General Delegation with all Senegalese private operators, a Senegalese Hajj operator stated unequivocally that she did not want the established practices of Senegalese private agencies to be called into question. She said she was born and raised in the Hajj community, and that she had even been baptized thanks to the profits from the Hajj. It’s like Senegalese wrestlers who boast about being baptized with the money they earned from wrestling. This admission proves that the Hajj is increasingly becoming a business rather than an act of religious devotion.
El Hadji Cheikh Oumar TALL
Publishing director of the monthly magazine « Le Jour – Al Yawmou «