Every year, two million pilgrims journey to Mecca.  As described in the Koran, every Muslim has to make a journey to the holy city of Mecca once in their lives.  They are to go between the 7th and 12th days of the last month of the Islamic year.  This is known as the Hajj.  Non-Muslim people are not allowed into the Great Mosque or to follow the pilgrims.  Nightline, the ABC late evening news show, was allowed to have a camera crew follow an American Muslim on his journey and broadcast his report.  This interesting, if brief, look at one of the most holy rituals of the Muslim faith in now available on DVD.

Michael Wolf is a Muslim, and he is the guide for this approximately 15 minute long look at what the Hajj is.  He starts with a brief background on Islam, relating that Allah is merely the arabic word for God, and that it is the same God that Jews and Christians worship.  He then explains the acts that pilgrims go through, and the various parts of the Hajj; walking around the Ka'ba, journeying across the plains through the city of Mina to the plain of Arafat.  One the return journey pilgrims pass through Muzdalifa where they collect 49 pebbles to cast at pillars representing Satan the following days.  The Hajj ends with a return to the Great Mosque and another circumnavigation of the Ka'ba.

Following this overview of the Hajj, Ted Koppel interviewed Michael Wolf from the Great Mosque in Mecca.  He talks a little about what the Hajj means to him, and how he feels about being with millions of fellow Muslims along with some of his experiences.
 
While this show was factually accurate, it was much too brief in nature, and much too sterile.  I never got a notion of what the host or the other pilgrims were feeling on this holy journey.  The show explains the acts that the pilgrims go through, but not the reasons for many of the things that they did.  When they did go into the background it felt like an afterthought.
 
They also skimmed over a couple of areas, like the animal that is sacrificed every year, and the whole production had a rushed feel to it.  The show was very informative for someone who wants to know more about the Muslim faith, but it doesn't go far enough.  It talks about what the Hajj is, but only scratches the surface of what the journey means to the people who undertake it.

Audio:

The two channel audio was adequate.  It was easy to hear and understand the people talking, and there wasn't any distortion or audio defects.  The soundtrack was perfectly suited to the subject.

Video:

The video quality was pretty good.  The full frame image was fairly clear, though there was some light aliasing in the picture.  Not a bad looking show, but being a documentary it wasn't outstanding either.

Extras:

There were no extras.

Final Thoughts:

This was a very good introduction to the Hajj, but it was just an overview.  The show didn't really explain what the Hajj means to Muslims and how it affects them.  Given that it is only a half hour show, that is understandable, but it still would have been much stronger had they spent a little more time on the pilgrims themselves.  This would make a good rental.