Snapchat's Live Stream Of Ramadan Prayers From Mecca Hailed For Its Portrayal Of Islam

The app stitched together images and videos from hundreds of worshippers.

Snapchat live-streamed Ramadan prayers on Monday night in Mecca, the holiest place for Muslims all over the world.

More than 2 million people prayed at Makkah #mecca_live

Snapchat's live stories allow users to submit images and video to the service, which are then curated into a live stream. According to the company, "The end result is a Story told from a community perspective with lots of different points view." The service launched the streams in August 2014.

Snapchat users urged the company to live-stream the prayers in commemoration of the holiest day of Ramadan, called "Laylat ul Qadr" — known as the "night of power."

Most Islamic scholars deem the night to be when the first verses of the Qur'an were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the Angel Jibril (Gabriel).

According to the BBC, more than 300,000 people tweeted the stream, using the hashtag #Mecca_live.

The live stream featured posts of hundreds of worshippers in the holy city, as well as those traveling from abroad to partake in Umrah pilgrimage.

Many also took images of people praying toward the Ka'ba, which Muslims believe to be the "house of God."

Some people also documented volunteers, who make meals for pilgrims as well as the poor and homeless in the city.

On Twitter, many Muslims praised Snapchat for its decision to stream the event.

Thank you @Snapchat for showing #mecca_live and we appreciate you being neutral and unbiased on showing snaps from around the world

Looks like the #mecca_live snap undid years of negative portrayals of Islam by media and Islamaphobes. Much appreciated @Snapchat #Peace✌🏿

Hey @Snapchat, thank you for showing #mecca_live today & letting people see what a beautiful religion #Islam really is! So much beauty, mA!

Watch #mecca_live on @snapchat today. What a gift for the last ten nights of #Ramadan.

And it wasn't just Muslims who were watching the live stream — many non-Muslims also tuned in.

I'm not Muslim but the #mecca_live snapchat story really is beautiful! Shows how peaceful Muslims truly are, despite the media's portrayal

Not a Muslim, but #mecca_live is something so beautiful that it makes me really want to be one... Maybe one day💕

I'm not a Muslim but have family who are and for once it's nice seeing an accurate representation of Muslims. #mecca_live

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