Presented By: Global Islamic Studies Center
Islamic Virtual Reality: "Pilgrim VR: Hajj & Umrah" and "Al-Aqsa VR"
Dr. Ermin Sinanović, Shenandoah University
Wednesday, March 25, 2026, 4:00PM
555 Weiser Hall (5th floor)
500 Church St, Ann Arbor MI 48109
RSVP: http://myumi.ch/n1dZN
Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) and Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Shenandoah University) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 4:00PM in 555 Weiser Hall for a demo of and conversation on two new virtual reality apps for Islamic holy sites: one for experiencing and learning how to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca, and another for visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds or Jerusalem.
Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah is a one-of-a-kind interactive training through realistic, geospatially accurate 3D environments. It shows holy sites, offers ritual tutorials, and is made for prospective pilgrims to Mecca. Al-Aqsa VR, a brand-new VR app, is made for students, educators, historians, and explorers to experience the beauty of the Al-Aqsa Mosque without leaving home.
The Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University and Siraj Studios (Amman, Jordan) are co-developers of Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah and Al-Aqsa VR.
For this talk and demonstration, we will use the Meta Quest 3 with controllers headset, and have several on hand for audience members to try out the VR apps!
Meet the speaker:
Dr. Ermin Sinanović is a scholar, educator, and thought leader in contemporary Islamic Studies whose work bridges academic research, policy analysis, and community engagement. He serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University, where he leads initiatives that advance research on Muslims in global contexts, cultivate American Muslim leadership, and deepen intellectual engagement between Islamic tradition and modern challenges. He also holds an appointment as a faculty associate in research in the Southeast Asia Program, Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University. Under Sinanović's leadership, CICW has expanded its scholarly programming, built international partnerships, and established new platforms for research on Muslim futures, American Muslim institutions, and global Islam.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sinanović experienced firsthand the tumultuous transformations of the Balkans in the 1990s, an experience that shaped his scholarly interest in religion, conflict, identity, and global politics. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) before completing graduate studies in political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, specializing in comparative politics, Islamic political thought, and Southeast Asian politics.
Sinanović’s research spans Islamic governance, transnational religious networks, decolonial thought, and the evolving role of Muslim intellectual traditions in the 21st century. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals and edited volumes, and he is frequently invited to speak at universities, policy institutes, and international conferences. He has contributed to public debates on topics including Southeast Asian Islam, Muslim political parties, Islamic revivalism, and the relationship between Islam and modernity.
This event is brought to you by the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center, as part of our ongoing "Muslims in the Digital Age" series. It is sponsored in part by the Rabbi Elliott T. Spar “Politics and Culture in the Muslim World” fund.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies.
*Accommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
Email: -- islamicstudies@umich.edu
555 Weiser Hall (5th floor)
500 Church St, Ann Arbor MI 48109
RSVP: http://myumi.ch/n1dZN
Join the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center (GISC) and Dr. Ermin Sinanović (Shenandoah University) on Wednesday, March 25, 2026 at 4:00PM in 555 Weiser Hall for a demo of and conversation on two new virtual reality apps for Islamic holy sites: one for experiencing and learning how to perform the Hajj and Umrah pilgrimages to Mecca, and another for visiting the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Al-Quds or Jerusalem.
Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah is a one-of-a-kind interactive training through realistic, geospatially accurate 3D environments. It shows holy sites, offers ritual tutorials, and is made for prospective pilgrims to Mecca. Al-Aqsa VR, a brand-new VR app, is made for students, educators, historians, and explorers to experience the beauty of the Al-Aqsa Mosque without leaving home.
The Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University and Siraj Studios (Amman, Jordan) are co-developers of Pilgrim VR: Hajj and Umrah and Al-Aqsa VR.
For this talk and demonstration, we will use the Meta Quest 3 with controllers headset, and have several on hand for audience members to try out the VR apps!
Meet the speaker:
Dr. Ermin Sinanović is a scholar, educator, and thought leader in contemporary Islamic Studies whose work bridges academic research, policy analysis, and community engagement. He serves as the Executive Director of the Center for Islam in the Contemporary World (CICW) at Shenandoah University, where he leads initiatives that advance research on Muslims in global contexts, cultivate American Muslim leadership, and deepen intellectual engagement between Islamic tradition and modern challenges. He also holds an appointment as a faculty associate in research in the Southeast Asia Program, Einaudi Center for International Studies at Cornell University. Under Sinanović's leadership, CICW has expanded its scholarly programming, built international partnerships, and established new platforms for research on Muslim futures, American Muslim institutions, and global Islam.
Born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sinanović experienced firsthand the tumultuous transformations of the Balkans in the 1990s, an experience that shaped his scholarly interest in religion, conflict, identity, and global politics. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master's degrees from the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) before completing graduate studies in political science at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School, specializing in comparative politics, Islamic political thought, and Southeast Asian politics.
Sinanović’s research spans Islamic governance, transnational religious networks, decolonial thought, and the evolving role of Muslim intellectual traditions in the 21st century. His scholarship has appeared in leading journals and edited volumes, and he is frequently invited to speak at universities, policy institutes, and international conferences. He has contributed to public debates on topics including Southeast Asian Islam, Muslim political parties, Islamic revivalism, and the relationship between Islam and modernity.
This event is brought to you by the University of Michigan Global Islamic Studies Center, as part of our ongoing "Muslims in the Digital Age" series. It is sponsored in part by the Rabbi Elliott T. Spar “Politics and Culture in the Muslim World” fund.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies.
*Accommodation: If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange.
Email: -- islamicstudies@umich.edu
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