ID :
41928
Wed, 01/21/2009 - 14:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/41928
The shortlink copeid
MUSLIMS THROUGH THE LENSES OF PETER SANDERS BY VOON MIAW PING
KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 21 (Bernama) -- At a photo exhibition at the Islamic Arts Museum' gallery here, the photo of a lone woman covered in white prostrating in prayer at the St. Anne's Mosque in North London captivated visitors.
Interestingly the photo caption at the bottom states that the century old
mosque building used to be a church still have a small quarter being reserved
for the church's remaining nuns.
The photo is one of the 50 pieces of artwork by Peter Sanders, a
renowned British photographer. The photos are from his collection themed "The
Art of Integration: Islam in Britain".
The photos depicting the breadth and depth of Muslim life in Britain
are on exhibition from Jan 20 to April 20. The exhibition was opened by the
Regent of northern state of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah on Jan 19.
The London born Sanders started his career as a photographer in the mid-60s,
where he photographed major music icons of the era including Bob Dylan and the
Rolling Stones.
But all that changed in 1970 when his conscience turned inward, setting him
on a spiritual path that led him to Islam.
Since then, his focus has been the Muslims all over the world especially
from the more remote and traditional societies such as Mauritania, Hadramawt,
China and Japan.
And in 2004, again conscience prompted him to embark on a project to present
Muslims from a different light, free from prejudices.
"I really wanted to give the silent Muslim majority a face. Because if you
read the media, you will get a different opinion on what is going on", he said.
He had initially planned to carry out the project in the United States, but
a funding from UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office prompted him to look at the
subject closer at home.
"The point is to highlight the silent majority of Muslims who don't appear
in the media shouting and yelling.
"These people (in the photos) are British and they are really working
towards contributing to the society making it a better place", he said.
The project, which was initially planned only for 40 days, eventually took
him three years to complete.
The quest took him all over Britain and helped him to discover the history
of Islam in Britain that could be traced back as early as the 15th century.
Today, Muslims are the biggest religious minority in the UK representing
almost 3 percent (two million) of the country's total population.
In the project, Sanders photographed Muslims of all walks of lives, from the
ordinary folks to the celebrities like musicians Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens),
Richard and Danny Thompson, to members of the House of Lord like Lord Patel of
Blackburn, Baroness Uddin and Lord Ahmed.
The same exhibition has been to 33 destinations including in Tel Aviv,
Baghdad, Morocco, Washington, Pakistan and Algeria.
"I hope this effort would help to change the misconception the world has on
the Muslims", he stressed.
Most of Sanders' subjects are women and photographing Muslim women has been
his biggest challenge.
He notes that the Muslim women are the core of the society, contributing
significantly to the strength of the community they lived in.
"My biggest challenge is to get the Muslim women photographed. But when I
explain to them the rational behind this project, they are ever willing to
help", Sanders said.
-- BERNAMA
Interestingly the photo caption at the bottom states that the century old
mosque building used to be a church still have a small quarter being reserved
for the church's remaining nuns.
The photo is one of the 50 pieces of artwork by Peter Sanders, a
renowned British photographer. The photos are from his collection themed "The
Art of Integration: Islam in Britain".
The photos depicting the breadth and depth of Muslim life in Britain
are on exhibition from Jan 20 to April 20. The exhibition was opened by the
Regent of northern state of Perak, Raja Dr Nazrin Shah on Jan 19.
The London born Sanders started his career as a photographer in the mid-60s,
where he photographed major music icons of the era including Bob Dylan and the
Rolling Stones.
But all that changed in 1970 when his conscience turned inward, setting him
on a spiritual path that led him to Islam.
Since then, his focus has been the Muslims all over the world especially
from the more remote and traditional societies such as Mauritania, Hadramawt,
China and Japan.
And in 2004, again conscience prompted him to embark on a project to present
Muslims from a different light, free from prejudices.
"I really wanted to give the silent Muslim majority a face. Because if you
read the media, you will get a different opinion on what is going on", he said.
He had initially planned to carry out the project in the United States, but
a funding from UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office prompted him to look at the
subject closer at home.
"The point is to highlight the silent majority of Muslims who don't appear
in the media shouting and yelling.
"These people (in the photos) are British and they are really working
towards contributing to the society making it a better place", he said.
The project, which was initially planned only for 40 days, eventually took
him three years to complete.
The quest took him all over Britain and helped him to discover the history
of Islam in Britain that could be traced back as early as the 15th century.
Today, Muslims are the biggest religious minority in the UK representing
almost 3 percent (two million) of the country's total population.
In the project, Sanders photographed Muslims of all walks of lives, from the
ordinary folks to the celebrities like musicians Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens),
Richard and Danny Thompson, to members of the House of Lord like Lord Patel of
Blackburn, Baroness Uddin and Lord Ahmed.
The same exhibition has been to 33 destinations including in Tel Aviv,
Baghdad, Morocco, Washington, Pakistan and Algeria.
"I hope this effort would help to change the misconception the world has on
the Muslims", he stressed.
Most of Sanders' subjects are women and photographing Muslim women has been
his biggest challenge.
He notes that the Muslim women are the core of the society, contributing
significantly to the strength of the community they lived in.
"My biggest challenge is to get the Muslim women photographed. But when I
explain to them the rational behind this project, they are ever willing to
help", Sanders said.
-- BERNAMA
