Virtual Hajj in Second Life

IOL Virtual Hajj in Second Life

By Mohammad Yahia, IOL Staff

The program is a powerful educational tool for people embarking on the soul-searching journey, in the real world, or anyone else who wants to learn about it. CAIRO — Have you ever dreamed of being able to be part of the full hajj experience without leaving your home? Today, that is possible with the launch of IslamOnline.net's educational hajj program on the virtual world of Second Life. "I think this would be an unparalleled experience for anyone who is going to go to hajj and is unsure of what should and should not be done," says Breathe Swindlehurst, IOL's coordinator in Second Life. As part of its mission statement to better educate Muslims worldwide about their faith, IOL will launch the hajj educational program on December 9, on its own island inside Second Life. The program is a powerful educational tool for people embarking on the soul-searching journey, in the real world, or anyone else who wants to learn about it. -Check Course Timetable - Learn how to register in Second Life - Click to visit IOL's island Rather than reading through a course or watching a video, people can actually go through all the steps of hajj with all the details of the journey from beginning to end. "We have setup points throughout the island that can direct any visitors through the whole experience," said Swindlehurst. "In addition to that, we plan to have special, preannounced sessions where visitors can go through the hajj under guidance of counselors from the IOL Shari`ah department who will teach the group everything they need to know about hajj." One of the five pillars of Islam, hajj consists of several ceremonies, which are meant to symbolize the essential concepts of the Islamic faith and to commemorate the trials of Prophet Abraham and his family. Every able-bodied adult Muslim — who can financially afford the trip — must perform hajj, which starts later this month, at least once in their lifetime. Second Life, created in 2003, is entirely built and owned by its booming population of over 11 million registered users. In the animated world, real people use their avatars to "live" alternate identities in a virtual community, complete with homes, cars, shopping malls and a virtual currency, known as Linden Dollars. Interactive Virtual pilgrims will go all the way through Al-Masjid Al-Haram in the holy city of Makkah to Mena and Mount `Arafah The project designers say the degree of interactivity in the 3D virtual world would allow participants the ultimate step by step guide to hajj. "The Second Life hajj project is exceptional as it breaks all the traditional limits of training," says Khawla Masala, one of the designers. "It allows the trainees to actually interact and be part of the program besides giving them all the textual material they may need." The program is designed to be as accurate to real life as possible. At the start of the virtual course, trainees will be able to take a free bag containing all the virtual tools they need in their pilgrimage. It features ihram garb (special clothes worn by people during hajj), a tent and a sleeping bag. This is all designed to give the visitor a feeling of the real hajj experience. Virtual pilgrims will go all the way through Al-Masjid Al-Haram in the holy city of Makkah to Mena and Mount `Arafah. Through their avatars, trainees will also be able to gather pebbles for the symbolic stoning of the devil at the Jamrat Bridge. Walid Weston, who worked on parts of the program, is fascinated by the idea. "Walking through the Al-Masjid Al-Haram for the first time was a fantastic experience! "It is very awe-inspiring and I believe it is the closest you can get to the real thing." More to Come The virtual hajj program is only the latest of IOL's projects in the computer-generated world. The first was the Ramadan tent during the holy fasting month. The tent was a great hit and gained instant popularity with nearly 100 visitors daily. It received wide media coverage, in Second Life as well as in the real world, in many different languages. IOL was the first Islamic media organization to host a full island inside Second Life. The organization is currently planning a center for lectures and fatwa sessions in the virtual world. Using text and audio, the center will be the first stop for all new visitors to the island. It will offer many of the website's services to SL residents. IOL will also unveil new projects in Second Life that make use of the 3D tools of the world on a regular basis.