In a rare sight at the Grand Mosque in Saudi Arabia, a Muslim pilgrim was seen circumambulating the Kaaba on an electric skating board, sending social media in the kingdom into a tizzy after the video went viral.
Muslims circumambulate the Kaaba as part of an Islamic ritual called Tawaf, in which they must go around the holy building seven times in a counterclockwise direction.
In the video, a man in traditional attire is seen gliding around in the Grand Mosque on the electric board, in what is probably the first such instance, according to local media.
The video led to a flurry of reactions on the social media, with many slamming it as un-Islamic.
The man was reportedly using a level meant for the physically challenged and the elderly who often use wheelchairs to perform the Tawaf, Arab News reported, and several netizens criticised him for not using a wheelchair instead.
Some Saudi social media users also called for a ban on such electric gadgets at the Grand Mosque.
"I believe that a ban should be imposed on such gadgets because many people would try to use them if there were no restrictions," a blogger was quoted as saying by the Gulf News.
However, some netizens said the use of an electric skating board was not un-Islamic.
"As long as the pilgrim's feet are not covered by the contraption, it is all right. There is no problem with that. It is like doing circumambulation in a wheelchair," Riyadh-based Maulana Najeeb Qasmi Sambhali was quoted as saying by the Arab News.
The video has reportedly gone viral in Saudi Arabia after it was uploaded on the social media on Monday.
