Friday, October 06, 2006
Thursday, May 11, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Andrew's B'day!!
Happy Birthday Andrew!!
Brooklyn 2006. It was more than just a party, it was an open mike and everyone enjoyed the festivities.
Brooklyn 2006. It was more than just a party, it was an open mike and everyone enjoyed the festivities.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Lovers in Connecticut
Mercy and her boyfriend Andy spend a last weekend together in Connecticut before Mercy leaves to spend a semester abroad in Greece.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The following is a photo story I completed while living in London. It was begun to build upon a previous work and to further my own understanding of a religion that is so central in our lives today.
FACTS ABOUT ISLAM
Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in Great Britain and in the world.
- www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/
The world Muslim population is growing at about 2.9% annually.
The world population is growing at about 2.6% annually.
-US center for World Mission
In the United States, women converts out-number men by four to one. In Britain they constitute the majority of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Muslim converts.
-http://www.jannah.org/sisters/England.html
Saleha Islam, 41-years-old, is a management consultant, mother of four and a trustee at the Muslim Cultural Heritage Center. “People are sometimes surprised at me being a professional, being very articulate and a woman with opinions,” Saleha said. “I have 20 years of professional social care experience. Some people think women stay in the home and are subservient. The home is a very respectable job and very difficult. When I come home from work, I leave my job there. You can’t do that with the home.” Saleha trained as a social worker but spent the past 11 years as a management consultant in the social care field. A year ago Saleha took an option of redundancy when the company downsized to spend more time with her family. The Muslim Cultural Heritage Center often requests that she attends various events and conferences to add her perspective to the discussions. In above photo, Saleha attended a conference with representatives from the Mayor of London office discussing how best to incorporate the Muslim community in the Mayor’s “Towards an Older People’s Strategy for London.” “No one will remember me as a high-flying management consultant,” Saleha said. “They’ll remember me as a mother or a friend.”
Saleha eats a late lunch and talks with her two oldest daughters, Nilufa, 20 (far left) and Yasmin, 16. Her other two daughters are Hanifa, 12 and Jannah, 7. Saleha was born in Bedfordshire and raised in London to Muslim Bangladeshi parents. Saleha’s father was very “forward thinking” and stressed education. “He made sure that as a woman I didn’t think I was less than a man in terms of intellect,” Saleha said. “I remember him telling me that if I educated myself, than no matter what happens I can always take care of myself and my family.” She said that his views probably stemmed in part from his background and lack of formal education. At 13-years-old, her father drew himself a mustache and ran away from home to join the British Navy during World War II. In 1947 he “jumped ship” in London and built his life in the UK. He was one of the first Bangladeshi Muslims to bring a wife to London and one of the first to open a restaurant.
Saleha’s father encouraged her to return to university for her social work degree despite a good, respectable job in a hospital. “He said, ‘If I didn’t apply then I’d never know if I was capable of becoming a social worker,” she said. He died that January, her second daughter Yasmin was born the following August and the course started that September. “I rely totally on Allah because everything comes from God,” Saleha said. “Even something negative that happens, it happens for a reason. It teaches a lesson. I’m not in control. There is a greater force in my life even though I have free will.”
Saleha speaks at an Eid party celebrating the completion of Ramadan for the 55 and older woman’s group at the Muslim Cultural Heritage Center. The purpose of the center, when it was built, was to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together to teach them about Islam. Many of the services offered by the center reflect this goal by being open to everyone in the community, according to Abdeslam Aarab, the building supervisor.
Saleha prays in her kitchen in the afternoon while her husband Nazrul watches television in the living room. Muslims pray five times a day. Normally, Saleha and Nazrul pray the evening prayer together in the living room but he had finished his prayer earlier. Saleha did not wear hijab until about 12 years ago. “I’ve always been religious and done my outer practice. I see the world, I see everything and I know there has to be a creator,” Saleha said. She began to reflect more on her religion after her father passed away. Soon after she participated in an Islamic Counseling Sufi Wisdom course, went to Hajj and left her job. “The Koran says that you come to this world and you’ll be tested and through those tests you will find out about your creator,” Saleha said. “If you pause and reflect, that will bring you closer to your creator. A career and running from one thing to the next is outward, outward, outward. But when you pause and turn inwards, that’s what is lasting.”
When Saleha began wearing hijab she chose a method to wrap it that is not a traditional Bengali style. Instead, she says, it is a style she found that balances her religious life, her professional life and her own personality. Saleha says that one of the most common questions she receives is about wearing hijab. “They [non Muslims] can’t understand why people wear the veil,” Saleha said. “They can’t because they don’t follow the faith. When you believe in something you can do it. [Muslim Women] do things to get closer to Allah. Not to please their husbands or fathers. Although some might, the real reason should be for Allah.”
“We have a very loving relationship, trust and understanding. I’m very fortunate because he has helped in my career. Some men may be quite jealous that their wife is doing very well, but he has always encouraged me. It’s not that he has a masculine role, and I have a feminine role. We just do what works for our family. He likes ironing and irons my shirts. It also helps our marriage that we have individual identities and we’re not just relying on our identity as husband and wife. “
Saleha and her husband Nazrul Islam discuss plans to market his restaurant in Sylheti, a dialect of Bengali, before Saleha leaves to pick up her youngest daughter Jannah from school. Because she usually works during the day and he runs the restaurant in the evenings. Nazrul usually takes the younger children to school and picks them up in the afternoons. Saleha married Nazrul Islam at 16-years-old, which was unusual. Saleha explains that being the eldest and having a very particular role in the family at 16 she was quite mature. Their families were friends from Bangladesh and she had met him on a visit there when she was 11. The family traveled to Bangladesh for the wedding, however, Nazrul didn’t join her in London until she was 18. “I’m glad I got married young,” said Saleha. “ I was able to have my family and my career.” Arranged marriage is part of the culture in Bangladesh and her two older daughters expect that their parents will arrange a marriage for them. However, Saleha has told her daughters, that if they find a man they are interested in, they should let her know.
Firdousi Ahmed, the younger of Saleha’s two younger sisters, laughs with Saleha and her mother Saya Noor in the living room of Saleha’s home one evening. In Bangladeshi culture, the mother usually lives with her son, but Saleha’s mother Saya had only daughters and lives with Saleha because she is the eldest. Nazrul’s mother has three sons and alternates with whom she lives. The family is very close and Firdousi’s daughter Medina and Jannah are not only cousins, but also best friends.
Saleha stands outside a girls’ elementary school waiting for Janah. All of her daughters have gone to school here. “Because of dress and skin color, people think of me as a foreigner, but I don’t think of myself as a foreigner. I’m British. When I go to Bangladesh, they know right off I’m a foreigner,” said Saleha. “We’re all human beings and underneath we’re all similar. Because people don’t interact with Muslims or visa versa, you have these views about the ‘other.’ One woman said one day she thought all Muslims live in a colorless room and sit there chanting or something… When you’re home you can wear whatever you want. You can be stylish and fashionable. It is a complete misconception that how women dress outside is how they dress inside. It’s about my modesty, nothing else…I do think it’s important for people to have a glimpse of Muslims in society right now, which is why I’ve taken a risk… It’s just normal life, even if we dress different or have slightly different beliefs.”
FACTS ABOUT ISLAM
Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in Great Britain and in the world.
- www.cnn.com/WORLD/9704/14/egypt.islam/
The world Muslim population is growing at about 2.9% annually.
The world population is growing at about 2.6% annually.
-US center for World Mission
In the United States, women converts out-number men by four to one. In Britain they constitute the majority of the estimated 10,000 to 20,000 Muslim converts.
-http://www.jannah.org/sisters/England.html
Saleha Islam, 41-years-old, is a management consultant, mother of four and a trustee at the Muslim Cultural Heritage Center. “People are sometimes surprised at me being a professional, being very articulate and a woman with opinions,” Saleha said. “I have 20 years of professional social care experience. Some people think women stay in the home and are subservient. The home is a very respectable job and very difficult. When I come home from work, I leave my job there. You can’t do that with the home.” Saleha trained as a social worker but spent the past 11 years as a management consultant in the social care field. A year ago Saleha took an option of redundancy when the company downsized to spend more time with her family. The Muslim Cultural Heritage Center often requests that she attends various events and conferences to add her perspective to the discussions. In above photo, Saleha attended a conference with representatives from the Mayor of London office discussing how best to incorporate the Muslim community in the Mayor’s “Towards an Older People’s Strategy for London.” “No one will remember me as a high-flying management consultant,” Saleha said. “They’ll remember me as a mother or a friend.”
Saleha eats a late lunch and talks with her two oldest daughters, Nilufa, 20 (far left) and Yasmin, 16. Her other two daughters are Hanifa, 12 and Jannah, 7. Saleha was born in Bedfordshire and raised in London to Muslim Bangladeshi parents. Saleha’s father was very “forward thinking” and stressed education. “He made sure that as a woman I didn’t think I was less than a man in terms of intellect,” Saleha said. “I remember him telling me that if I educated myself, than no matter what happens I can always take care of myself and my family.” She said that his views probably stemmed in part from his background and lack of formal education. At 13-years-old, her father drew himself a mustache and ran away from home to join the British Navy during World War II. In 1947 he “jumped ship” in London and built his life in the UK. He was one of the first Bangladeshi Muslims to bring a wife to London and one of the first to open a restaurant.
Saleha’s father encouraged her to return to university for her social work degree despite a good, respectable job in a hospital. “He said, ‘If I didn’t apply then I’d never know if I was capable of becoming a social worker,” she said. He died that January, her second daughter Yasmin was born the following August and the course started that September. “I rely totally on Allah because everything comes from God,” Saleha said. “Even something negative that happens, it happens for a reason. It teaches a lesson. I’m not in control. There is a greater force in my life even though I have free will.”
Saleha speaks at an Eid party celebrating the completion of Ramadan for the 55 and older woman’s group at the Muslim Cultural Heritage Center. The purpose of the center, when it was built, was to bring Muslims and non-Muslims together to teach them about Islam. Many of the services offered by the center reflect this goal by being open to everyone in the community, according to Abdeslam Aarab, the building supervisor.
Saleha prays in her kitchen in the afternoon while her husband Nazrul watches television in the living room. Muslims pray five times a day. Normally, Saleha and Nazrul pray the evening prayer together in the living room but he had finished his prayer earlier. Saleha did not wear hijab until about 12 years ago. “I’ve always been religious and done my outer practice. I see the world, I see everything and I know there has to be a creator,” Saleha said. She began to reflect more on her religion after her father passed away. Soon after she participated in an Islamic Counseling Sufi Wisdom course, went to Hajj and left her job. “The Koran says that you come to this world and you’ll be tested and through those tests you will find out about your creator,” Saleha said. “If you pause and reflect, that will bring you closer to your creator. A career and running from one thing to the next is outward, outward, outward. But when you pause and turn inwards, that’s what is lasting.”
When Saleha began wearing hijab she chose a method to wrap it that is not a traditional Bengali style. Instead, she says, it is a style she found that balances her religious life, her professional life and her own personality. Saleha says that one of the most common questions she receives is about wearing hijab. “They [non Muslims] can’t understand why people wear the veil,” Saleha said. “They can’t because they don’t follow the faith. When you believe in something you can do it. [Muslim Women] do things to get closer to Allah. Not to please their husbands or fathers. Although some might, the real reason should be for Allah.”
“We have a very loving relationship, trust and understanding. I’m very fortunate because he has helped in my career. Some men may be quite jealous that their wife is doing very well, but he has always encouraged me. It’s not that he has a masculine role, and I have a feminine role. We just do what works for our family. He likes ironing and irons my shirts. It also helps our marriage that we have individual identities and we’re not just relying on our identity as husband and wife. “
Saleha and her husband Nazrul Islam discuss plans to market his restaurant in Sylheti, a dialect of Bengali, before Saleha leaves to pick up her youngest daughter Jannah from school. Because she usually works during the day and he runs the restaurant in the evenings. Nazrul usually takes the younger children to school and picks them up in the afternoons. Saleha married Nazrul Islam at 16-years-old, which was unusual. Saleha explains that being the eldest and having a very particular role in the family at 16 she was quite mature. Their families were friends from Bangladesh and she had met him on a visit there when she was 11. The family traveled to Bangladesh for the wedding, however, Nazrul didn’t join her in London until she was 18. “I’m glad I got married young,” said Saleha. “ I was able to have my family and my career.” Arranged marriage is part of the culture in Bangladesh and her two older daughters expect that their parents will arrange a marriage for them. However, Saleha has told her daughters, that if they find a man they are interested in, they should let her know.
Firdousi Ahmed, the younger of Saleha’s two younger sisters, laughs with Saleha and her mother Saya Noor in the living room of Saleha’s home one evening. In Bangladeshi culture, the mother usually lives with her son, but Saleha’s mother Saya had only daughters and lives with Saleha because she is the eldest. Nazrul’s mother has three sons and alternates with whom she lives. The family is very close and Firdousi’s daughter Medina and Jannah are not only cousins, but also best friends.
Saleha stands outside a girls’ elementary school waiting for Janah. All of her daughters have gone to school here. “Because of dress and skin color, people think of me as a foreigner, but I don’t think of myself as a foreigner. I’m British. When I go to Bangladesh, they know right off I’m a foreigner,” said Saleha. “We’re all human beings and underneath we’re all similar. Because people don’t interact with Muslims or visa versa, you have these views about the ‘other.’ One woman said one day she thought all Muslims live in a colorless room and sit there chanting or something… When you’re home you can wear whatever you want. You can be stylish and fashionable. It is a complete misconception that how women dress outside is how they dress inside. It’s about my modesty, nothing else…I do think it’s important for people to have a glimpse of Muslims in society right now, which is why I’ve taken a risk… It’s just normal life, even if we dress different or have slightly different beliefs.”
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