Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

v-50226 Inside Mecca directed by Anisa Mehdi follows three Muslims on their Hajj. The Hajj is a annual pilgrimage to Mecca and is one of the duties that a Muslim must carry out at least once in their lifetime. But what separates this movie from others on the religion of Islam is that the three Muslims comes from different countries and cultural backgrounds. The three Muslims that will be documented throughout the movie are Fidelma O'Leary (as herself) a American convert from Catholicism to Islam, Khalil Mandhlazi (as himself) a South African Muslim, and Ismail Mahbob (as himself) a Malaysian Muslim. When the three set off on their Hajj, each person has their own image and opinions of what will happen even though they are all reaching towards the same goal. However, not everything occurs without problem. All three pilgrims face different types of discrimination and internal suffering at different events throughout their pilgrimage. The movie perfectly shows each pilgrim's emotions and feelings without having any biased ideas or intentions. It shows the positive and negative sides of the Hajj. Thus, I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants a better insight on the religion of Islam, specifically about the Hajj. Personally, this movie was a big eye opener which cleared lots of my misconceptions and questions on Hajj.

Madison Passamonte The National Geographic documentary "Inside Mecca" follows three pilgrims from Malaysia, South Africa, and the United States on their sacred journey to Mecca for the Hajj. Overall this film is very informative, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about the rituals practiced in the Islam.Before watching the documentary I had little education and experience with the religion Islam. I knew that one of the five pillars of Islam was the hajj and it is required of all who can manage it, however I didn't understand the complicity this pillar embodied. What amazed me was how challenging yet personal the hajj journey is. In fact while watching this film, you feel somewhat connected to the three totally different lives of the Muslims being followed. In fact, you even get a sense of the claustrophobic feel experience during their pilgrimage.The contrast between the three lives followed shows how personal this journey is. Although the ultimate goal of the Hajj is the same (honoring the covenant), each non-traditional Muslim experienced the five-day quest for salvation differently. For example, not only is trekking through the hot deserts long and tiring, but having to deal with discrimination on arrival due to ethnicity and looks was another struggle both Fidelma and Khalil handled. Overall however this journey is about personal faith. Everyone is there for the same reason, they are all coming from different backgrounds, but they are all equal. This film informed us of the procedure upon entering the holy city. Before entering the holy city, pilgrims undergo a ritual cleansing and declaration of intent to enter ihram, a state of spiritual readiness. All pilgrims dress in simple, uniform attire—two white sheets for men, loose dresses, and head scarves for women. By looking similar and through this process, their goal is to become equal in the eyes of God. My favorite quote states, "All races, all nationalities, all people in one place, concentrated, all in one direction worshipping the one God." Overall this personal journey illustrates the immense faith a religion produces.

160813 Hajj, the ideal journey that every Muslim hopes to make to Mecca. The pilgrimage occurs from the 8th to 12th day of Dhu al-Hijjah, the 12th and last month of the Islamic Calendar. This journey is not only physically, but also mentally demanding. Each action reflecting something symbolic to the Muslim faith. Such as: circling the KA'ABA seven times, attending the Plain of Arafat, or throwing stones at the three pillars, etc... All of them have significant meaning to them. It is a life changing experience, it is said that you are a different person after Hajj. It gives you the experience of Ihram, a patient state of mind. It allows you to feel in the presence of God and Muhammad. But in order for the Saudi government to pull this off they must be the model of efficiency, the King of Saudi even said that it is like having five supper bowls simultaneously. It is estimated that 2 million people attend each year during Dhu al-Hijjah. But in the year of the movie filmed it was estimated to be at 3.5 million people embarking on Hajj. The overall concept and in depth personal experiences of non-traditional Muslims was quite entertaining. None of them being your stereotypical Muslim, yet you could feel a sense of pride in their religion. Each of the story lines providing different situations of Hajj. It was definitely a detailed incite of the Journey of Hajj in Mecca and worth watching.

Nancy Thompson When looking for a religious film to watch I knew that I wanted to watch one about Islam because I wanted to be more informed. After watching "Inside Mecca" I am extremely glad with my choice of film because it provided me with a much brighter and more knowledgeable outlook on Islamic beliefs and rituals. This movie explains and depicts Islam's hajj, which is a pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia that is one of the five pillars of Islam. One of my favorite aspects of this movie was that it showed the journey of hajj from the perspectives of three people who broke the mold of Muslim stereotypes. There is a white Texan female, a black South African man and a Malaysian man. Before watching this documentary I ignorantly presumed the majority of Muslims to be Arab this movie taught me that only about 20% of Muslims are Arab. I thought that these three characters all had beautiful stories and reasons for being Muslim, especially the man from South Africa who adores how Islam accepts all genders, races and social statuses because he has seen so much racism throughout his country that he is now looking for peace through hajj. This movie does not only give the audience insight into who actually worships Islam but it also gives history to why they travel on hajj and it gives specific reasons for why Muslims partake in the numerous days of rituals. From this movie I have learned that Mecca is not simply going to visit the Kabba, but instead it is a spiritual journey that people choose to join in order to strengthen their relationship with Allah. This movie did get slightly boring at times but seeing how much emotion people feel when experiencing hajj and simply seeing the masses that attend was certainly incredible and gives perspective to those like myself who know very little about the Muslim faith.