Cairo: A state agency in Saudi Arabia in charge of Islam’s two holiest sites has launched a package of digital services for Muslims performing this month’s annual Hajj pilgrimage as part of efforts to make the journey comfortable.
The package was unveiled by the Agency for Technical, Digital Transformations and Artificial Intelligence, an affiliate of the General Presidency for Affairs of the Two Holy Mosques.
Introduced as part of a single platform serving pilgrims and visitors of the two holy sites, the package features apps for guiding the faithful, providing fatwas (religious edicts) and receiving the pilgrims ‘proposals.
Other apps include recitation of the Holy Quran and religious invocations with the aim of enriching the pilgrims’ experiences.
The presidency has recently introduced a number of artificial intelligence-based services at the Grand Mosque in Mecca frequented by millions of worshippers.
The smart services also include robots for sterilisation and disinfection at the sprawling site.
Hajj, one of Islam’s five obligatory duties, is due next week.
One million pilgrims arrive
More than 1 million pilgrims have already arrived in Saudi Arabia for upcoming Hajj, as the kingdom has lifted epidemic-related restrictions.
Muslims, who can physically and financially afford Hajj, have to perform it at least once in a lifetime.
Saudi Arabia has said there will be no limits on the numbers of pilgrims from around the world for the upcoming Hajj season, reversing earlier restrictions prompted by the global pandemic.
In the past two years, Saudi Arabia downsized the numbers of Muslims allowed to perform the Hajj rites to prevent spread of COVID-19.
Around 2.5 million Muslims used to attend Hajj annually in the pre-pandemic times.
