PRESS RELEASE

02 February 2018

A Birmingham charity has hosted the UK premiere of a ground-breaking documentary which gives a unique perspective on the heart of the Muslim world.

Islamic Help organised the screening of One Day in the Haram with its UK premiere at the Genesis Cinema in London, followed by another screening at the Odeon Broadway Plaza in Birmingham the following night.

The shows, which also included a Q&A with the documentary’s director Abrar Hussain, at the 500-seat Genesis and the 355-seat Broadway Plaza cinemas were sold out. Further screenings are now being planned in a number of other cities.

The 1 hr 20mins long documentary is a behind-the-scenes feature about the Haram in Makkah, which is visited by millions of Muslim pilgrims every year. It is the direction towards which Muslims pray daily.

The film is centred around the inner workings of the Haram, as seen through the eyes of the army of workers who maintain the complex, during a one-day period.

It is the first time cameras have been allowed such access and the film shows the work of the different departments of the Haram including its social media team, the cleaners, the Imams, the dispensers of ZamZam water, maintenance crews and the specialists who weave and care for the Kiswah cloth that covers the Kaaba.

It took Abrar Hussain over a year of research for the documentary. He said he hoped that as well as Muslim audiences, it would provide a unique and valuable insight for non-Muslims.

“It was great to see that the screenings were sold out. I feel privileged and honoured to be part of this historic film and the audience feedback was really amazing,” he said.

As well as the documentary, the events included fund-raising for Islamic Help’s Umrah for Orphans programme which has so far taken more than 1,500 Palestinian orphans on Umrah to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.

Islamic Help’s campaigns manager Toyris Miah said: “Islamic Help was delighted to have co-ordinated this ground-breaking event. Everyone who saw it was hugely impressed. We are proud to have worked with Abrar Hussain to deliver such a great service to the community.”