For over
1,400 years, Muslims have been performing the pilgrimage, or Hajj, to the sacred
site of Mecca. In modern times, approximately two million Muslims make the
pilgrimage to Mecca each year, a trip required of all Muslims at least once in
lifetime if they are financially and physically able. During the Hajj, Muslims
from all over the world come together for a few days to participate in common
rituals, joined together by their shared faith in the most holy places of Islam,
the city and surrounding areas of Mecca. As the birthplace of the Prophet
Muhammad and the site where he first received Qur’anic revelation, Mecca is a
place of great spirituality and tradition.



Since only Muslims may enter Mecca, it is a place that few Americans will get to
see, which makes this piece especially interesting.  Following writer/producer
Michael Wolfe, the film documents his second trip or Hajj for ABC News’
Nightline. One of the more than seven million Muslims in the United States,
Wolfe is a convert to Islam, born to a Christian mother and a Jewish father. 
Speaking live from the Ka’ba, the Great Mosque in Mecca, in an interview with
ABC News’ Ted Koppel, Wolfe takes viewers step-by-step through both the physical
and spiritual aspects of the pilgrimage, explaining the origins and meanings of
the various rituals.