The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's plan to make the Hajj possible in the metaverse has sparked controversy. What is metaverse?
According to Coinmarketcap, the metaverse is a virtual space created as a digital version of various aspects of the real world, be it human interactions or economic functions.
More specifically, the term metaverse refers to a virtual world that resembles real life, with land, buildings, and avatars that can be bought and sold, often using cryptocurrencies. In this world, people can move, make friends, visit certain places, buy goods and services, just like in real life.
Etymologically, metaverse itself comes from the word 'meta' which means 'beyond' and 'verse' which means 'universe'. So the metaverse can be interpreted as a space filled with matter that goes beyond all things seen in this world.
The concept of metaverse was first introduced in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash in 1992 which tells the metaverse journey of a pair of couriers to save themselves from a capitalist dystopia.
Meanwhile, essayist Matthew Ball predicts that the metaverse will become a gateway that brings humans to various digital experiences and becomes a platform that can even absorb new workers. He believes that the metaverse can be a driving force to create a new generation of companies and become an industry leader.
Main Characteristics of Metaverse
Futurists say that the concept of the Metaverse is similar to the depiction in the science fiction story Ready Player One. The metaverse can be identified by several basic characteristics such as the following:
persistent
Metaverse will continue to run without ever experiencing a reset, pause, and will never end.
Real-time
Although the events in the metaverse space are pre-designed, users can experience each experience in real-time.
Economic Function
As in the real world, the economy in the metaverse space is fully functional. Various buying and selling activities, product and service transactions are carried out with blockchain-based native currency.
Hajj in the Metaverse
The discourse of Hajj in the metaverse began when the Kaaba in the Grand Mosque was already present in the metaverse. The Kaaba in this metaverse was officially created by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Middle East Eye reported, 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 Muslims the opportunity to touch the Black Stone virtually.
You know, in the real world they have to fight with thousands of other people. Or, we can't touch it at all because of the Corona pandemic.
Because of that, in the Middle East, the idea emerged, if the Kaaba is already in the metaverse, what if the Hajj is also performed in the metaverse.
How do scholars respond? Apparently, it was the Turkish clerics who spoke first.
Turkey's Hurriyet Daily News reported, 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 happen. 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 Department 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.