This new app helps you search nearby mosques and heritage spots

Today’s jet set Muslims are travelling in their droves in search of a slice of Islamic history. But while cities such as Mecca and Istanbul are home to fine religious architecture, it can be difficult to soak up historic details when in a busy tourist group, or worse when there is no information available at all. 

To solve this problem, a group of UK entrepreneurs has teamed up to create a virtual reality (VR) app that allows users to become their own tourist guide for Islamic landmarks. The Islamic GPS app has generated 10,000 downloads in its first year, said Mujahid Ali, the firm’s chief product officer. 

According to Digi-Capital’s Augmented/Virtual Reality Report 2015, by 2020 the VR market is projected to reach $30 billion, and VR will transition from early adopters to mass consumers. 

The Islamic GPS team hopes to dually capitalise on VR and the explosion of Islamic tourism, which a Thomson Reuters report says will be worth in excess of $200 billion globally by 2020. 

Ali said: “Islamic GPS offers a way of finding halal places and Islamic heritage spots in a more interactive way. You can do this by holding your smartphone up to the landmark and seeing in-depth 360° information and photos. 

“Augmented reality is taking off and this app has got people excited. The technology is now there for us to develop. We can now make Islamic information very interactive.”

He said that most users download Islamic GPS when abroad, particularly during Hajj and Umrah. So far the app has mainly been downloaded in Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Malaysia.

Rival app Mecca 3D from German developers Braintree Factory is also counting on demand from tech-savvy Muslims. Mecca 3D provides a comprehensive virtual tour of Mecca, and a VR experience for Hajj and Umrah which allows first-time pilgrims to be better prepared for their visit.

Ali explained: “These apps meet a need for Islamic knowledge and Islamic travellers. A lot of Muslims are starting to travel more owing to higher disposable incomes. Islamic GPS is also relevant for historic and cultural tourism, so it’s not just Muslims who use our app.”

The product officer said there are many Islamic heritage sites throughout the world and a lot of them remain unlisted or only partially referenced.

“At the moment we are still a beta site and we are uploading content constantly. Our aim is to cover as many sites as possible globally.”

Ali admitted that it is an enormous task to collate details from mosques and landmarks globally.

“Basically we are using existing online information and filling it out with on-the-ground resources. We have hired one person in Mecca and two people in Istanbul.

Ali explained that he expects it could take up to two years to be able to monetise the app.

“At the moment, our researchers are unpaid and they understand it’s about supporting our vision to unearth better Islamic information globally. That’s the way we’re approaching it; the more content we have, the more Islamic landmarks we can expose in an engaging way.

“Our long term vision is to expose more types of Islamic places, such as halal restaurants and women’s praying places. We understand that we have picked up a need and it has so much potential. We believe we can monetise Islamic augmented reality.”

Founder of halal intelligence firm Imarat Consultants, Abdalhamid Evans, believes there is market for Islamic apps that can fill in knowledge gaps.

“Apps like these are not essential but they can be useful. I believe Muslims would pay for an app like this that delivers on its promises. There’s lots of amazing mosques from the Ottoman times and it’s not easy to find out about them.

“The launch of Islamic GPS has coincided with the trend for religious tourism. It’s on the up and something like this is a value add when travelling.”