The new Al Rashid Mosque app offers real-time prayer notification alerts for Muslims living in Edmonton. The app issues the alert prior to Adhan, the call to prayer.
Muslims pray five times a day, but the exact time changes depending on the sunrise and sunset.
“What makes this app so unique is it presents the local prayer time of Edmonton as opposed to other apps where they’re hooked up to a location just through GPS. Sometimes it’s not exactly accurate,” Al Rashid communications officer Nada Selim explained.
“This is hooked up to the prayer at Al Rashid so that would make it a little unique and much more reputable.”
The app, which went live last week, also has other features, including prayer transcriptions and dictations, a donation tool and a calendar of mosque events and programs.
“We’re targeting the youth group for this app because we think that the youth… are engaged with their cellphone and they are so hooked up to it,” Selim said.
“We have a lot of community events in here and I believe that an app would be very important for the specific youth demographic.
“They’re the future… It’s important for them to get in touch with the community here and the mosque.”
The Al Rashid app is available for free for both Apple and Android devices.
It launched on Friday and developers are still working out a few kinks.