Seven Wonders of the Muslim World

Six of the seven structures highlighted here—Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque; the Alhambra in Granada, Spain; the Blue Mosque in Istanbul; the fascinating Great Mosque (built of mud) in Djenné, Mali; the Imam Mosque in Esfahan, Iran; and the Badshahi Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan—serve as a jumping-off point for a Muslim believer setting off for the hajj, or pilgrimage, to the seventh edifice, the Grand Mosque in Mecca, the holiest site in Islam. Along the way, narrator Art Malik explains the five pillars of Islam: belief in one God (and that Muhammad is the messenger), prayer, charity, fasting, and the hajj. Director Faris Kermani also devotes considerable screen time to explicating the meaning of each of the daily prayers, although the longest segment details the experiences of the profiled pilgrims successfully arriving in Mecca. The all-too-brief shots of the seven mosques are breathtaking, and the continual movement of the pilgrims around the Ka'aba (the black-silk-covered semi-cubic structure that is at the heart of the Grand Mosque) is mesmerizing. More of an introduction to the basic tenets of Islam than the architectural tour suggested by the title, Seven Wonders of the Muslim World is still recommended, overall. Aud: C, P. (J. Whiting)