Hajj from home
Saudi TV allows people to follow the pilgrimage from their living rooms
IF YOU CAN’T ATTEND THE HAJJ, THIS MONTH’S ANNUAL ISLAMIC PILGRIMAGE TO MECCA, there are other ways to bear witness to the event. Saudi Arabian Television channel 1 (Arabic) and channel 2 (English) broadcast a plethora of coverage.
As well as live feeds of Muslims performing their rituals, the channels air interviews with visitors from around the world, who share their experiences and impressions. Also look out for special programmes which teach viewers more about Islam and how to prepare for their pilgrimage.
(If you’re on a plane to Saudi Arabia today, then you can see a similar documentary on our in-flight entertainment system. Turn to page 106 for more details.)
Ali Al-Hwaider, an engineer from Riyadh, says: “Watching the Hajj live on television always excites me when I see people from all over the world. Saudi television has a good habit of bringing on scholars to discuss how a Muslim should perform Hajj and what Hajj means to a Muslim.”
And Mary Ann Shubaily, an American expatriate who lives in the Kingdom, says, “For me watching Hajj on Saudi Television is the next best thing to being there.”
Yet this isn’t the only event in the Islamic broadcasting calendar. Islamic holy days are prime times for Arab Television channels to air special programming similar to those screened in the West during Christmas and Easter. Comedies and soap opera specials are often screened during Ramadan. Proof that, while faiths may differ, high ratings figures and holidays always go together.
Carol Fleming (www.americanbedu.com)
