Muhammad Saleh bin Taher Benten is a Saudi politician who was appointed as the Minister of Hajj and Umrah by

King Salman Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud ( ar, سلمان بن عبد العزیز آل سعود, , ; born 31 December 1935) is King of Saudi Arabia, reigning since 2015, and served as Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia from 2015 to 2022. The 25th son of King ...

on 27 July 2016. He is of Indonesian descent, from his

family name In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

"Benten" which originates from the region of

Banten Banten ( id, Banten; Sundanese: , romanized ''Banten'') is the westernmost province on the island of Java, Indonesia. Its capital city is Serang. The province borders West Java and the Special Capital Region of Jakarta on the east, the Java Se ...

, in western Java, his paternal grandma was from Banten.

Education

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.

Career

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. 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.

Ministry

In 2018, Benten's ministry announced that

Umrah The ʿUmrah ( ar, عُمْرَة, lit=to visit a populated place) is an Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca (the holiest city for Muslims, located in the Hejazi region of Saudi Arabia) that can be undertaken at any time of the year, in contrast to the ...

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. In December 2018, Benten signed a bilateral agreement with the Indian Minister of Minority Affairs,

Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian politician and was the Union Minister of Minority Affairs. He had served as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from 2002 to 2022 and was Deputy Leader of the House in Rajya Sab ...

concerning the

Hajj The Hajj (; ar, حَجّ '; sometimes also spelled Hadj, Hadji or Haj in English) 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 ...

2019.

Recognition

Benten won the ''best Middle East Technical Manager 2002'' award and the ''Best Director in the Middle East'' award.

References

Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...

living people Year of birth missing (living people) Saudi Arabian people of Indonesian descent {{SaudiArabia-politician-stub