Facing Mecca (2017)

The hospital calls Fareed; his wife's situation is critical; the cancer has reached its terminal stage. Pensioner Roli comes to his help and takes him to see his wife who passes away shortly after. Her funeral falls under the jurisdiction of Amrikon council. Fareed wants to see his wife buried in accordance with Muslim rites. Roli is keen to help Fareed and his daughters but problems quickly arise: the graves in the local cemetery have not been aligned to face Mecca; the council is unable to carry out the burial within 24 hours after death. Councillor Thomas Künzli assures everyone that they'll organise things for the following week. Unimpressed by the council's tactical heal-dragging, Roli offers a more creative idea: a family plot would allow for the body to be buried diagonally - facing Mecca. But even family graves are exhumed after 25 years and allocated anew. For Muslims this disturbance of peace is an absolute taboo.