"[As a homosexual, Parvez Sharma risked punishment by death by undertaking a pilgrimage in the holy city...]

A Sinner in Mecca opened theatrically at New York's Cinema Village theater (on 4 September 2015), Los Angeles' Laemmle Music Hall, Detroit's Cinema Detroit and San Diego's Digital Gym Cinema.These runs were short compared to A Jihad for Love's theatrical run.