Tech-Savvy Hajj: 5G and Smart Apps Transform Islamic Pilgrimage

"Smart" applications, Qurans on tablets and pious gadgets. The Hajj is fully digital. At the top of Mount Arafat, many pilgrims gathered on Saturday, August 10, 2019, their eyes fixed on the Quranic verses displayed on their smartphones or tablets that have replaced religious books, reports AFP.

Indeed, pilgrims to Mecca (west) and its surroundings were entitled, for the first time, to 5G (5th generation mobile network standards), a technology that allows faster circulation of large volumes of data.

5G was very useful for many pilgrims, as well as for Saudi Arabia. While many pilgrims compete for selfies day and night and do not fail to share multiple videos of their pilgrimage with their loved ones back home, the Saudi Ministry of Hajj sends daily text messages full of teachings to the faithful.

Moreover, for a few years now, a range of applications have been offering to help the faithful who have come from all over the world to find their way, obtain emergency medical care or follow the rites without any hassle, specifies the same source. The peculiarity of this year’s Hajj is nothing other than the dematerialization of all Hajj visas, issued for the first time online, without going through the consulates.

For the record, nearly 2.5 million faithful performed the Hajj rites in 2019.