How to Set Up Digital Signage for Your Mosque

Why digital signage for mosques

Walk into most mosques and you will see one of two things: a paper printout taped to the wall with this month's prayer times, or a whiteboard that someone updates by hand every day. Both work, but both have problems.

Paper printouts go stale. Someone has to print a new one every month. The font is usually small. And during Ramadan, when times change daily, it is almost impossible to keep up.

A digital display solves all of this. Mount a TV in the prayer hall, connect it to the internet, and your prayer times stay accurate automatically. Your imam changes the iqama time from his phone and it shows on screen within seconds. No printing. No erasing whiteboards. No confusion.

What hardware do you need

The good news: you do not need specialized equipment. Here is the minimum setup:

The screen

Any TV or monitor with an HDMI port works. For a mosque prayer hall, 43 inches is the minimum for readability from the back rows. A 55-inch or 65-inch TV is ideal.

You can often find deals on commercial displays, but a regular consumer TV works perfectly fine for this purpose. Many mosques use TVs donated by community members.

The media player

You need something to drive the display. Options from cheapest to most capable:

• Amazon Fire TV Stick ($30-40) - plug it into the TV, open the Silk browser, navigate to your display URL. Done.
• Chromecast with Google TV ($30-50) - similar to Fire TV, use the Chrome browser.
• Raspberry Pi ($35-75) - slightly more technical to set up, but runs reliably 24/7 and can auto-launch the display on boot.
• Mini PC ($100+) - the most capable option, runs a full browser, useful if you want to display multiple things.

For most mosques, a Fire TV Stick is the best balance of cost, simplicity, and reliability.

Internet connection

The display needs an internet connection to load prayer times and receive updates. Your mosque's existing WiFi is usually sufficient. If the TV is far from the router, consider a WiFi extender or a powerline adapter.

Setting up with AzanCast

Step 1: Register your mosque

Go to myazancast.com/mosques and create your mosque account. Enter your mosque name, address, and time zone. This takes about 2 minutes.

Step 2: Configure prayer times

In your mosque admin dashboard, set your:

• Calculation method (ISNA, MWL, Egyptian, etc.)
• Madhab for Asr timing (Hanafi or Shafi'i)
• High latitude rule if you are in a northern location
• Iqama times (fixed times or relative to adhan)
• Prayer time offsets if your imam uses slightly adjusted times

Step 3: Get your display URL

AzanCast generates a unique display URL for your mosque. This URL loads a full-screen prayer time display designed for TVs. Copy this URL.

Step 4: Set up the TV

1. Plug your Fire TV Stick (or other device) into the TV
2. Connect it to your mosque's WiFi
3. Open the web browser
4. Navigate to your display URL
5. Go full screen

That is it. The display is now live and will update automatically.

Step 5: Auto-launch on boot

For a truly hands-off setup, configure the device to launch the browser and load your display URL automatically when it powers on. This way, if there is a power outage or someone accidentally unplugs the TV, it comes back on its own.

On a Fire TV Stick, you can use apps like "Fully Kiosk Browser" to achieve this. On a Raspberry Pi, it is a simple configuration change.

What the display shows

A well-designed mosque display includes:

• All five prayer times in large, readable text
• Iqama times next to each prayer
• A countdown to the next prayer or iqama
• Current date in both Gregorian and Hijri calendars
• Mosque name and logo
• Jumuah time highlighted on Fridays

AzanCast includes all of these out of the box, with multiple layout options to match your mosque's style.

Managing your display remotely

One of the biggest advantages of a cloud-based display is remote management. With AzanCast:

• Change iqama times from your phone, anywhere in the world
• Multiple admins can manage the display, so the responsibility does not fall on one person
• Instant updates show on screen within seconds of saving
• Seasonal adjustments happen automatically as prayer times shift throughout the year

During Ramadan, this is especially valuable. Your imam can update Taraweeh times from home, and the display reflects the change immediately.

Multiple displays

If your mosque has more than one room (main hall, basement, sisters' section, lobby), you can run multiple displays from one account. Each screen loads the same URL and stays in sync. Update once, and every screen reflects the change.

Cost comparison

| Solution | Upfront cost | Monthly cost | Effort | |----------|-------------|--------------|--------| | Paper printouts | $5/month | $0 | High (monthly reprinting) | | Whiteboard | $20 | $0 | High (daily updates) | | Dedicated mosque hardware | $300-800 | $20-50/month | Low | | AzanCast + Fire TV Stick | $30-40 | Free to $20/month | Very low |

AzanCast gives you a professional-looking display at a fraction of the cost of dedicated hardware, with less ongoing maintenance than any manual solution.

Get started

Ready to set up a display for your mosque? Register for free and have your prayer time display running in 15 minutes.