Beautiful portraits of Muslims use humanity to fight prejudice
A photo project is hoping to destroy misconceptions about the Muslim community, by inviting the viewer to sit down and learn.
The photo series, Faces of Islam, by Australian photographer Matt Palmer shares the stories of dozens of Muslims from all backgrounds, walks of life and careers.
The result is a beautiful display of the humanity from a group of people who often shoulder the misdirected blame about global issues from ignorant people.
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"After the Paris attacks last year, I found there was a lot of misinformation being distributed in the media," Palmer said. "I thought to myself, 'what can I do as a photographer that can help the Muslim community and the wider community come together?'"
It was then that he came up with Faces of Islam, in which he would share the stories and photographs of a range of Muslims who are living in Australia. The project has no religious or financial backing.
Palmer said he found people interested in the project through friends who are social community workers and Muslims. They put him in touch with their network and he spent three days interviewing and photographing 40 Muslims to create a moving body of work.
The subjects of the project were definitely diverse; one woman had family ties to the First Fleet, another was an Indigenous Australian. Some people involved were refugees who had recently arrived in Australia while others were lawyers, doctors or other professionals.
"We ended up photographing a very diverse group of people to represent the different facets and also different backgrounds," Palmer explained. "We have got Muslims from 15 to 20 different countries, and many of them from Australia."
His focus was not on Islam, either. He instead asked the subjects a series of questions including one that opened up a discussion about beliefs. "I asked each of them what their beliefs meant to them, and for some people there beliefs might not be religious at all," Palmer said. "It was pretty much an invitation to allow them to talk about it if they wished."
Faces of Islam's main goal is to change the incorrect view some people have of the Muslim community. To discredit misconceptions and to show the giving, caring and open side of their tight-knit community.
"I see comments online, and I feel if people could just sit down and have a conversation with some of the people that we featured, that it would radically change how they think about it or at least open up a few avenues for them," Palmer said.
"The project is really just about getting people sitting down and having a look, I don't have to change their minds or their opinions but I just hope that people think about whether the people that are in the project relate to what they already believe or not."
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Topics Social Good
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