Muslim pilgrims, donning face masks and moving in small groups after days in isolation, began arriving at Islam’s holiest site in Mecca on Wednesday for the start of a historically unique and scaled-down hajj experience reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic.
When a group of Muslims from the Boston area make the Hajj, the annual pilgrimage for millions of Muslims around the world, they discover it’s a test of their patience and endurance. It was equally so for the group of PBS filmmakers who followed the pilgrims to Mecca.
Muslims typically make the hajj just once in a lifetime — and it’s a signature moment in their lives. So it’s understandable that they would want to document the trip. But that has some religious leaders upset. Meanwhile in Russia, the government is mounting a full-court press to convince Western journalists that Russia is a good guy. Sadly, that campaign has not affected its treatment of LGBT individuals. We have those stories and more in today’s Global Scan.