Dr Martin Lings, a writer and scholar revered all over the world, performed the Hajj, or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca in 1948. Using unique archive material, he recollects his experiences along with his insight into its historical background. The original beauty and simplicity of the Hajj is brought to the viewer through the sheer presence and eloquence of Lings' narrative.
In the early 1920s Leopold Weiss, a Viennese Jew, alienated by the materialism and spiritual emptiness of the West, travelled to the Middle East, visiting Jerusalem, Egypt, the Transjordan and Saudi Arabia. After studying the Koran, he left his Jewish roots behind, converted to Islam and changed ...
The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded a research project at the British Museum that underpinned their 2012 international exhibition Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam. Hajj: journey to the heart of Islam was the first major exhibition dedicated to the Hajj; the pilgrimage to Mec...
Masjid al Haram, or the Great Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, is the holiest site in the Muslim world. “In Arabic, Harām means sinful or forbidden, but with a slight inflection in pronunciation it also means sanctuary and sacred,” says filmmaker and creative director Kazim Rashid. “It is this c...
