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 Diary >> Affan Chowdhry My Name is Rachel Corrie Malls and minarets Gaddafi, the Opera Unholy Alliance O Layla, where art thou? In defence of the nation Can you survive 48 hours in Guantanamo Bay? >> Isra Iqbal and Fauzi Waraich An Islamic history of Europe >> Rageh Omaar The day women merely became more like men >> Yasmin Mogahed Forcing the debate on the future of Muslim women >> Humera Khan Not in my name >> Khalida Khan A new beginning with the British Muslim Forum >> Gul Muhammad Out of control orders >> Saghir Hussein St George, The Ubiquitous Rather dull, actually >> Sarah Hussain The Friday prayer blues >> Hamzah Moin Experiencing Q-News >> Isla Rosser-Owen Wonderfully Blessed >> Clement Cooper Do we dare be European Muslims? >> H.A. Hellyer Voting is not enough >> Svend White A bolder ambition >> Salma Yaqoob Is there a muslim vote? >> Dal Nun Strong The long and winding road >> AbdelWahab El-Affendi A progressive victory in East London? >> Aysha Ali and Adam Riaz Khan Paving the way for Nick Griffin >> Azhar Hussain Scotland’s quiet revolution >> Arifa Farooq Labour’s struggle to get Welsh Muslims onside >> Shabnam Ahmed “Our votes are useless” >> Hizb ut-Tahrir’s Abdul Wahid Tashkent to Blackburn >> Craig Murray Still our safest bet >> Baroness Pola Uddin “A close and productive partnership” >> Tony Blair “We value your contribution” >> Michael Howard “We will live up to Muslim expectations”>> Charles Kennedy Constituency Watch >> Abdul-Rehman Malik |
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Wonderfully
Blessed Page 7 “I was working at a hotel in 2001 and was
increasingly shocked at the behaviour and the promiscuity of the young
women who worked and came there, and the reaction of the young men
around them. This all happened around September 11, when
there was so much coverage and discussion about Islam. With the
invasion of Afghanistan, limelight was thrown on how Islam views women
and behaviours the Quran sets down instructing the relationship between
men and women. It got me thinking about how Western society
views women and the way Western women view each other (usually as
competition). I began talking to Muslims and thinking about my own
ideas of femininity and examining my own conscience and questioning the
way I looked at women. I started working on a book as a way of
exploring these issues through photography. Sisters was a part of a
process. It took almost a year after 9/11 to really get underway. My
attitudes to Islam were very negative, like those of most people in the
West. Even though I’d grown up around Muslims, I was
very ignorant of the whole Islamic culture. So approaching the
‘Sisters’ project and Islam was a real process of working through
ignorance, ill thoughts and badly held assumptions. I had no problem getting people involved
because I approached them with respect and they were more than helpful.
They knew what I was trying to do - show the incredible variety of
Muslim female experience in Britain. My favourite is a picture of a 6 year-old
child. She wore hijab and had an incredible sense of her own identity.
She knew herself more than anyone else I met. She had a relationship
with herself and a genuine bond with her other sisters. Look into her
face and you see the incredible strength and vitality of that
self-knowledge. This is a child wonderfully blessed with her
parents’ instruction, advice and communication. You don’t find that
kind of personality in non-Muslim schools. The last image in the book
is of a young teenager who also has this kind of knowingness. These pictures symbolise what Islam has given
to women in terms of dignity, nobility and inner strength. The reaction
of people who have seen the exhibition has been shock, at times awe.
They are absolutely and completely stunned with the beauty of the work
and by these young women. I used only natural light, so the pictures
are personal and intimate, yet respectful. There is no make up; there was no fashion
designer. I wanted the portraits to show real people with their
individuality and flaws. It is wonderful to present a view of young
Muslim women, which has never been exhibited before. I am not attempting to objectify Muslim women.
‘Sisters’ is an attempt to seriously document them. The whole process
of making the pictures has changed me. I started off with assumptions,
which were wrong. My next project is to look at Muslim brothers.
It is ambitious and I want to travel the whole of the UK to do it. I
think it will take at least four years. The saddest thing about the ‘Sisters’ project
is that after the show closed at the Oldham Gallery, no other gallery
in the UK has come forward to exhibit the work. Many galleries have
seen it, but they are not interested even though it will be beneficial
for the community and break down the barriers between Muslims and
non-Muslims. For the time being, the pictures are going to
go to storage and an opportunity for Muslims and non-Muslims to come
together through art is going to be lost.” Published to accompany the exhibition ‘Sisters’
held at Gallery Oldham earlier this year. The book is published by
Cornerhouse Press and includes a CD soundtrack featuring the young
women speaking about their experiences of wearing the hijab. |