Snapchat opens digital window on Mecca to millions

Snapchat opens digital window on Mecca to millions

Snapchat's decision to dedicate its live stream to the Muslim holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia has set social media alight, with hundreds of thousands of tweets on the topic.

Digital analytics site Topsy recorded more than one million mentions on Twitter alone, as Muslim users first lobbied Snapchat to feature the city and then reacted to the stream of content that flowed online once the hugely-popular, social media app agreed to do so.

Many Muslims showed appreciation to Snapchat for changing the perceptions others had of Islam, commenting that it made a change from the usual coverage.
Some people who did not follow the religion went as far as saying the online event had made them consider adopting the faith.
The Snapchat live feature works by stitching different short video clips in to one continuous stream of footage that users can swipe through. Users posted scenes of prayers, rituals, and even jokes. Here a user pokes fun at the traditional head shaving ritual that follows the pilgrimage.
But some users expressed cynicism about some of the posts, particularly those by people who weren't Muslim claiming they were close to becoming Muslim based on the videos.

Al Jazeera spoke to a number of users who said they were grateful to Snapchat for hosting Mecca on its live stream. Samar, a user from Canada said she was initially reluctant to read tweets associated with the trend, but was pleasantly surprised when she eventually did.

"I read a bunch of tweets from non-Muslims about how this little 300 second story on Snapchat
changed their thoughts about Islam. Genuine or not, it was crazy to see how many positive things people had to say," Samar said.

Another user, Khalafalla, said the event was an "eye opening" experience and had helped Muslims show a positive side to their faith.

" I think this will inspire a lot of us Muslims who want to clarify our faith to people to try out more innovative initiatives," he said.