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Pilgrims' progress

Channel 4 has gained rare access to the haj in Mecca. Bader Ben Hirsi is one of those filming the event

Tuesday 04 February 2003 01:00 GMT
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Three million people from around the world are today heading for Islam's holiest site. Each is aiming to fulfil one of the five pillars of Islam – the haj pilgrimage to Mecca. Here in the desert of Saudi Arabia, the sun is hot, people are pushing and shoving, but nobody cares; the sheer enormity and importance of the event is enough to make even the strongest of people cry. They are, after all, in Mecca, the beating pulse of Islam.

If you look closely at today's crowds, you might see a number of people who stand out. They are not wearing the white clothing required for the haj. Some are in jeans, some in cotton combat trousers. Technical equipment surrounds them: cameras, tripods, boom microphones. It's us, the Channel 4 haj season film-crew.

Most of the crew of 10 have visited Mecca before, but each of us has been excited for months about this moment. Work or no work, as Muslims we will get the chance to go inside the Mosque of Mecca and circle the Kaaba in the middle.

But to do the haj, you must be in Mecca for the sole purpose of doing the pilgrimage. Our reason for being here is to film, and this is our priority. The heartbreak of not being able to do both is softened by the fact that we are experiencing the haj by documenting the emotions of our five central characters from around the world: two Britons, a Kuwaiti, a Pakistani and an American.

Filming in Saudi Arabia is always a memorable experience. Very few people are allowed into the country to film and, in my experience, at least half of the requests made are turned down.

So when the managing editor of Channel 4 News, Guy Ker, negotiated permission for this project from the Saudi Arabian Government, we knew we were among a select few. There is rarely a chance these days to do something on Islam and the Arab world without it being linked to terrorism or extremism, but the Channel 4 series is about the haj, so it is a huge opportunity to show the world a different side of Islam and of Saudi Arabia. We know that Muslims have been looking forward to our coverage.

But there is an even bigger responsibility on the Mecca production team and on the characters featured in the series. This is an opportunity for us to help to educate those who know very little about Islam and particularly about the holy pilgrimage that is the haj.

The logistics of filming here are very different from most overseas shoots. This is an event that lasts for one week and is attended by up to three million people from all over the world. We are surrounded by all nationalities, colours and creeds. There is no common language apart from the verses of the Holy Koran, which bonds everyone together, as all visitors to Mecca must be Muslims.

This is, of course, why all the crew members are Muslim. And this in itself is a rare occurrence: an all-British Muslim crew of directors and camera and sound people. The very term "British Muslim film-maker" seems bizarre – how many times have we heard "British Christian film-maker" or even "British Jewish film-maker"? What religion we are only becomes relevant when there is a shoot in a Muslim-only territory.

I often wonder how many of the Muslim crew members in Mecca would be working on such projects if non-Muslims were allowed in. But this is a time when we are in demand. If we can speak a language such as Arabic, Farsi or Urdu, we are at an advantage.

Let's put it this way: before 11 September 2001, my e-mails to commissioning editors would go unnoticed and unanswered. It usually takes about five minutes before I get a reply from them these days.

'Hajj – The Greatest Trip on Earth' begins with a documentary on Channel 4 on Saturday at 7pm. There will be daily updates 10–15 February

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