Saudi Arabia: Robots boost worshippers’ Ramadan experience at Grand Mosque
Machines facilitate access to fatwas in multiple languages
Cairo: As part of efforts harnessing artificial intelligence to enrich worshippers’ experiences at Islam’s holiest site, Saudi authorities have introduced a set of guidance robots to serve the faithful in the current month of Ramadan.
The machines guide the faithful at the Grand Mosque about performing rites, and accessing fatwas or religious edicts with simultaneous interpretation in several languages.
The robots allow users to get online access to clerics to answer their queries.
Chief of the Presidency for Religious Affairs at the Holy Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque Abdulrahman Al Sudais stressed the importance of making use of advanced technology to disseminate modern Islam. “Utilising digital and electronic apps and artificial intelligence to enrich the worshippers’ experience is a mainstay of the presidency’s plan for the holy month of Ramadan to impart the message of moderate Islam to the world in several languages and facilitate guidance presentation,” the cleric said.
The service is available in 11 languages including Arabic, English, French, Russian, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Chinese and Bengali. The robot features a 21-inch touch screen.
The lunar month, which started this year in Saudi Arabia on March 11, usually marks the peak season of Umrah or minor pilgrimage at the Grand Mosque in the Saudi city of Mecca.
This year is no different. Hundreds of thousands from inside and outside the kingdom have been flocking to the sprawling mosque for performing Umrah and offering prayers since the onset of Ramadan.
Saudi authorities have introduced several measures to cope with the influx of worshippers into the Grand Mosque in Ramadan and help them perform rites smoothly and comfortably.
They include allocating the circumambulation courtyard around the Holy Kaaba at the Grand Mosque and the ground floor for Umrah pilgrims.
Furthermore, certain gates of the sprawling mosque are designated for pilgrims’ entry and exit to stave off overcrowding.