The metaverse trend has penetrated the religious realm and has led to a controversial discourse, namely the Hajj in the metaverse. Because of this furore, the Grand Mosque in Mecca denied it.
"There was no initiative from us to launch 'Hajj and Umrah in the metaverse'. This is an exhibition of the Black Stone in a museum in Makkah that is taken out of context. The media must be responsible for reporting and taking information from authentic sources," wrote the Grand Mosque through Haramain Sharifain Twitter account @hsharifain.
Metaverse is like moving our world into a virtual world. Everything we do in the real world can be done in cyberspace through avatars, from buying virtual land to office meetings. But what about worship?
The discourse of Hajj in the metaverse began when the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque was present in its metaverse form. The Kaaba in this metaverse was officially created by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Middle East Eye reported that this metaverse project is called the Virtual Black Stone Initiative, which was launched at the end of December 2021. The Grand Imam of the Grand Mosque Sheikh Abdul Rahman Al Sudais was the first to visit this metaverse Kaaba with Virtual Reality (VR).
The Kaaba in the metaverse was initiated by the Saudi government through the Exhibition and Museum Affairs Agency in collaboration with Ummul Quro University. The goal is to give the experience of being able to touch the Black Stone virtually.
In the real world, to be able to touch the Black Stone, you have to fight with thousands of other people. In fact, now it can't be done because of the Corona virus pandemic.
Seeing this technology, in the Middle East an idea emerged, considering that the Kaaba is already in the metaverse, what if the Hajj is also performed in the metaverse.
This debate is quite lively in the Middle East. It was the Turkish clerics who spoke first. Quoted from Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News, the Turkish Ministry of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) after reviewing it for a month, issued a decision: Visiting the Kaaba in the metaverse is not considered a pilgrimage.
"Hajj in the metaverse cannot take place. People can visit the Kaaba in the metaverse but it will not be considered as worship," said Diyanet's Department of Hajj and Umrah Services Director, Remzi Bircan.
They decided Hajj should be performed in the real world. Kaaba through VR is considered the same as VR services in a number of world museums.