With millions of pilgrims performing Umrah in the holy city in Saudi Arabia this week, thousands of Twitter users are taking to the social-media app Snapchat to make Mecca the featured “Live Story” tomorrow.
With #mecca_live already trending on Twitter in Saudi Arabia, Muslims from around the world are posting messages to keep the hashtag going, which has the potential to become one of the biggest social-media congregations for a religious event.
Snapchat allows users to send quick, punchy photos and videos – or “snaps” – that self-destruct a few seconds after being viewed.
The “Live Stories” feature allows Snapchatters at the same event or location to contribute snaps to the same story.
Muslims in the UAE are also supporting the appeal.
@M7mdAS96 from Dubai tweeted: “From Dubai we support #mecca_live.”
@abudhabi_finest joined in with: “Dear @snapchat, we want #mecca_live to show the world an important aspect of the Muslims culture.”
Another Twitter user added: “Dear @snapchat we want to see #mecca_live on July 13, more than 1.6 billion humans are waiting for this moment.”
During the last 10 days of Ramadan, Muslims prepare to observe Laylat Al Qadr (The Night of Power). It is the night when the Quran was revealed to the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH).
The night also has a chapter dedicated to it in the Quran. According to Islamic tradition, Muslims stay up the whole night to pray.
Snapchat is increasingly becoming the go-to online destination for live events among millennials. The app is popular for its photo-sharing capabilities, with more than two billion videos going on view everyday.
aahmed@thenational.ae
