Available online
Description
This programme looks at the Hajj. Every year, millions of Muslims from all over the world converge on Mecca, the sacred centre of the Islamic faith. We follow a group of pilgrims from their suburba...n mosque in Manchester, witness their farewell prayers and those of their community and we hear of the pilgrims' hopes and aspirations for the journey. In mecca, all pilgrims merge in a classless brotherhood of faith. They follow the pattern of devotion initiated by the Muhammad: passing between the hills of Safa and Marwa, praying on the plain of Arafat and spending a night in the desert. When they have offered their farewell prayers at the Ka'ba, our pilgrims return home and tell us of their reactions to their devotions.
This programme looks at the Hajj. Every year, millions of Muslims from all over the world converge on Mecca, the sacred centre of the Islamic faith. We follow a group of pilgrims from their suburba...n mosque in Manchester, witness their farewell prayers and those of their community and we hear of the pilgrims' hopes and aspirations for the journey. In mecca, all pilgrims merge in a classless brotherhood of faith. They follow the pattern of devotion initiated by the Muhammad: passing between the hills of Safa and Marwa, praying on the plain of Arafat and spending a night in the desert. When they have offered their farewell prayers at the Ka'ba, our pilgrims return home and tell us of their reactions to their devotions.
| Module code and title: | AD208, Man's religious quest |
|---|---|
| Item code: | AD208; 07 |
| First transmission date: | 18-02-1978 |
| Published: | 1978 |
| Rights Statement: | |
| Restrictions on use: | |
| Duration: | 00:22:50 |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Ken Patton |
| Contributor: | Francis Clark |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Keyword(s): | Hajj; Mecca; Muslim religion; Pilgrimages |
| Footage description: | After footage of the Mosque at Mecca Clark introduces the programme from the studio. He explains the importance of pilgrimage to all religions, and of the Muslim Hajj in particular. He introduces the Bangali-speaking Muslims who are about to travel from Manchester to Mecca. The pilgrims explain what they will achieve by doing the Hajj. Throughout the programme translations of interviewees who speak in Bengali are displayed in subtitles. The group of Muslims are observed offering special prayers at a suburban mosque in Manchester immediately before their departure. The prayers are translated in sub-titles. Film of the group travelling by coach to Heathrow, over which Clark comments on the strains of the long journey. A number of the travellers are interviewed about their expectations of the Hajj. They are seen at prayer in the coach. Shots of their luggage being searched at Heathrow. Shots of Jeddah airport. Film of the crowds at Mecca following the timetable and rituals of the Hajj. Pilgrims are seen circling the Ka'ba; processing along the covered colonnade between Safa and Marwa; praying in the Valley of Mima; praying at Mount Arafat; sleeping in the desert; making sacrifices; returning to the Ka'ba. Clark provides commentary throughout. The Mancunian pilgrims are interviewed in the coach on their way home from Heathrow. They describe the experiences at Mecca and conclude they have been substantially changed. Clark concludes the programme from the studio. He comments on the nature of religious pilgrimage. Over a number of medieval Islamic representations of the Ka'ba at Mecca Clark quotes lines by a 13th century Muslim mystic on the Hajj. |
| Master spool number: | HOU2582 |
| Production number: | 00525_3277 |
| Videofinder number: | 3599 |
| Available to public: | no |
