Islamic Traditions With A Digital Twist
Omar: Ok Google, when is Eid al Fitr?
Google Now: Ramadan ends with the festival of Eid al-Fitr, which in 2015 occurs on July 17.
Think back to about 500 years ago, when there were no smartphones, no apps, no Google Now (or Siri for you Apple loyalists) — no technology period. The sunrise, sunset, starry skies and lunar cycles were all people had to go off of to determine when to break their fast or know when to celebrate Eid. There’s obviously a significant difference between how we receive Ramadan today and how people used to welcome Ramadan in the past.
Nowadays, if you search for ‘Muslim’ in the Google Play Store you’re presented with a long list of related apps — apps that range from keeping track of prayer timings and listening to recitations from the Quran, to finding the closest halal restaurants and supermarkets.
The technology we readily have available (quite literally) at our finger tips these days helps provide a constant reminder as to when prayers are, or what direction to pray. The convenience factor is really what makes these apps so useful. Regardless of what time of day it is or where you are, you can easily access the Quran and read a few verses before putting it away it before a meeting or that commute home. You no longer have to carry a physical Quran around — a digital version is available in the palm of your hand.
Social media plays its part too. It comes in the form of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, online forums, blogs, Wikis, podcasts… and I could go on. For the first time in Islam’s history, Islamic knowledge has become extremely accessible. Some of the greatest Islamic scholars are on Twitter, Facebook and can be watched easily on YouTube. Many regularly also send out regular tweets or status updates with Islamic reminders, talk about current events and answer questions from their followers.
With this seemingly infinite amount of knowledge now available to us, it seems that this younger generation of Muslims will be far better educated about their faith than their parents were — they unfortunately didn’t have the same access to this digital medium while growing up. When you unite the fastest growing religion in the world with the fastest growing medium in the world, it allows for the vast transfer of knowledge across borders effortlessly and at a fraction of the cost. Inshallah with this wealth of knowledge, our Ummah continues to move forward in a positive direction.
Now, if only there was a way for mosques to use Google Now in order to make sure that we all celebrated Eid on one day…
Originally posted on July 15, 2015 by Omar Imran, an Executive Member of Project Ramadan.
