This short 1950s clip covers some of the history and beliefs of Islam, one of several major world religions.
The clip begins with a map of Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.
Another map shows the spread of Islam, covering North Africa and a large region south of Russia, north of India, and mostly west of China up to the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea.
Hands open an old, well-used Koran. Its pages are turned.
A mosque’s tower stands over lower rooftops. A person, like a watchman, is looking out from the top of the tower. Several people stand outside a mosque’s entrance; one person bows his head to the ground.
The camera captures the ornate exteriors of several mosques with domes and towers.
Several older men stand with their eyes closed in a mosque, praying and looking solemn. They bow once, kneel, and then touch their heads to a rug-covered floor.
In the clip’s final shot, a non-clerical imam leads the group of men praying.
