Terror Net

IslamOnline.net will be offering regular guided tours of its completely overhauled virtual hajj island inside Second Life where visitors can see and learn everything about hajj rituals.

“Our experience last year with the hajj was wonderful and insightful,” says Wael Shihab,deputy manager of IOL Shari`ah Department.

There will be regular guided tours in both English and Arabic taking place under the guidance of counselors from IOL Shari`ah department.The tours will be fully voice-enabled and will allow the visitors to ask any questions they have, getting live answers from the guides.

The first tour, which will be in English, will start on Wednesday, November 19 2008.Last year, the hajj training simulation in Second Life attracted more than 2,000 visitors. IOL plans to use the simulation as a training tool for people who are going to hajj this year in Qatar.

A trainer will take his avatar through the hajj step by step and explain to the trainees what happens at every stage.

Overhauled

IOL has done a complete overhaul of its virtual hajj training simulation inside Second Life. “Last year we only had two weeks to finish the hajj training island. It was hectic and crazy but we managed to do it to the best of our abilities,” says Ahmed Fawzy, the lead designer in the project.

“This year, however, we are going for realism. We may have got 60 percent of the hajj right the first year, now we want to take it up to 85 or 90 percent.” The bulk of the upgrade work went into the Safa and Marwa, the Jamarat Bridge, and the Haram Al-Makki, which houses the Ka’bba.

“We expanded the Haram to give it more of the breathtaking effect it has in real life,” explains Fawzy. “We also made the Ka’bba bigger and gave it much better textures. As one enters the mosque, the effect now is spectacular!”

The upgrade project took more than 150 collective hours from three different designers from Bahrain, Egypt and Saudi Arabia. “This is the most important project inside Second Life that I worked on,” says Ali Assiri, the designer from Saudi Arabia.

“The first challenge I faced was finding the material to work with. This was tricky because there aren’t enough pictures on the internet,” he explained. “

Assiri, who designed Namira and Kheef mosques in the simulation, found the experience very inspiring.

Interfaith

IOL will hold regular seminars and lectures targeting both Muslims and non-Muslims on the issue of hajj. “We want the simulation to be the best reference for people who want to learn about hajj, whether Muslims or non-Muslims,” says Ahmed Fathy, the Arabic material coordinator of the project.

IslamOnline.net is the first major Islamic media organization to have a presence inside the computer-generated world. It launched its first Ramadan tent in the virtual world in 2007, drawing hundreds of visitors. IOL hajj island still remains the most highly visited Islam-themed place in Second Life, a fully 3D virtual world that is maintained entirely by its visitors.

Flip Side

IOL activities and inter-faith dialogue services in SL have unfortunately attracted some unwanted attention. Attackers, called ‘griefers’ inside the virtual world, have targeted the island several times. The latest attack occurred only two days ago.

“The first attack was pretty devastating,” recalls Fawzy. “Since then, however, we have learned how to deal with griefers.” The attackers usually flood the island with indecent sexual pictures.

Article Excerpts from: http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1226908809967&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout