Ministry of Haj and Religious Affairs estimates peg the earnings of 100-odd big shrines in the country at an estimated 2 million Afs (29,100 USD) annually. But a Killid investigation suggests that may be a serious underestimation.
Ministry of Haj and Religious Affairs estimates peg the earnings of 100-odd big shrines in the country at an estimated 2 million Afs (29,100 USD) annually. But a Killid investigation suggests that may be a serious underestimation.
Scores of people were interviewed to get a rough idea of the earnings from just four shrines in Kabul (Kart e Sakhi, Shah Dooshamsher, Abul Fazl and the Shrine of Tamim Ansar), the shrine of Rawza in Mazar-e-Sharif, Imam Saheb in Kunduz, Hakim Sanayee in Ghazni, Khuja Abdullah Ansari and Ali Ben Moafaq in Herat.
No one had answers to what happens with the money.
Custodians and majawers (attendants of shrines) in Kabul say that while it is they who collect the money, it is counted in their absence in the ministry. They say officials from the ministry put the cash offerings of pilgrims in bags and take them to the ministry.
Authorities in the Ministry of Haj and Religious Affairs say the amount collected is noted in an account book and spent on the rehabilitation and repair of shrines as well as for other requirements of the shrines. The custodians reject the claim.
Shrines and religious places are traditionally places that people gather and worship in. Custodians say there are donation boxes at strategic places where visitors can deposit alms or offerings. There are also stalls selling grain to pilgrims who may want to feed the hundreds of pigeons sheltering in the nooks and crannies of shrines and mosques. There are also booths for instant photos. All these contribute to the earnings of a shrine, which custodians admit may not be huge, but still there are questions about what happens to the daily collections.
Rawza in Balkh
Revered as the grave of Hazrat Ali, the fourth caliph, it is one of the most pious places in the country. Mir Abdul Majid Ansari, head of administration and finance, told Killid the monthly earnings are more than 400,000 Afs (5,820 USD). “The annual income would be some 5 million Afs (72,790 USD). The earnings during Nowruz are higher.”
At the Sakhi shrine in the foothills of the Asmayee mountain, Kabul, Sayed Yusuf Husini said monthly earnings were roughly 200,000 Afs (2,910 USD).
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