Recently I wrote about the Dubai Womens College‘s Second Life campus. Today I’m writing about another Islamic presence in Second Life, Al Haram Al Makki, a reproduction of Masjid al-Haram (the Grand Mosque), the desination of the legendary Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca. From all accounts Masjid al-Haram is a magnificent structure. You can see a photograph of it here. Apart from its spiritual power, it’s statistics alone are impressive. It occupies seven acres and can accommodate one million worshippers at a time. Its elevators alone can carry a hundred thousand people an hour.

Non-Muslims can never see Masjid al-Haram in person – it is in the Saudi Arabian city of Mecca, which is closed to non-Muslims – but we can get a sense of it in Second Life. The picture to the right shows the interior of Second Life’s Al Haram Al Makki, on the upper floor, near the front entrance. No picture does it justice, however. The builders have done a remarkable job. It’s one of the most impressive builds I’ve seen in Second Life.

This is Al Haram Al Makki seen from the rear, on the course of a Hajj that can be performed in Second Life. There are notecards along the way, explaining it in a variety of languages, but the English language notecards are not always written clearly. I need to speak with more Muslims to gain a better understanding before writing more about it.

The picture to the right is the interior of Al Haram Al Makkim, where you can hear Islamic prayers in both English and Arabic, and notecards explain the significance of some of what you will see there This may be a virtual construct, but it nonetheless is a sacred place. My real life spiritual home is a Native American ceremonial roundhouse where I expect visitors to be suitably respectful. When I’m in the spiritual home of others, such as this, I show at least the respect I expect from others in my spiritual home. If you visit Al Haram Al Makkim , please be respectful and behave appropriately. I hope to write more about this sim and its Hajj in the near future, after I understand it better.