MORE AND MORE AND MORE ISLAM

I now feel as though i have a very strong base understanding of Islam. When we watched the movie about the American girl converting to Islam and participating in the Hajj i could successfully follow along with what was going on and which of the 5 pillars were being done. It was very interesting to see Mecca, though, and how many millions of people were there. It seemed impossible that so many people were fitting in the small town of Mecca. As she went through the specific certain ceremonies necessary i become more and more entranced. Specifically when everyone thew stones at the 'devil', which are represented by pillars. I thought this was very unique and rather magical. However there are dangers to the actual people, for many people have died by being hit by stones and being trampled. Overall i thought it was amazing that this American Muslim girl was willing to go to Mecca with all of these other Muslims. She even had to get permission from her son, which i think is a little ridiculous. Again, the one thing i dont like about Islam is the gender segregation and sexism. However as she mentioned people didnt give her a hard time at all. All of the Muslims come together and become united as one big family in Mecca, which truly inspires me. Also in response to the government's attempts to re-construct Mecca i dont think it is at all a good idea. Basically, i think its a little ridiculous that the government wants to add all of this construction. It seems as though it is only for money, even if they won't admit it. The Hajj is about muslims coming together for an amazing experience in which they leave behind worldly things. Its not about the fancy construction, in fact that may be a distraction. I understand that they need to accommodate the millions of people going to Mecca, but i don't think they need to bring New York to Mecca. It doesn't need to be untraditional and fancy just for the money.