Islam: The Month of Ramadan

© Reuters/Sugit Pamungkas
© AP/Dar Yasin
Ramadan is the Muslim religious observance that occurs during the 9th month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from true dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility.

The Boston Globe's Big Picture has gathered 35 photographs of Muslims during Ramadan from across the world. Two of my favorite photographs are by Reuters' Sugit Pamungkas and by AP's Dar Yasin. The first is of Muslim women praying at a mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia. The second is of Kashmiri Muslims inside the Jamia Masjid, or Grand Mosque, in Srinagar, India. Click on them for bigger versions.

If you haven't visited The Big Picture yet, you're missing out on a visual delight.

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Project Kashmir

"Project Kashmir" is a feature documentary co-directed by two American women, Senain Kheshgi and Geeta V. Patel, who also appear in the film. Both friends, Geeta's family is Hindu from India; Senain's is Muslim from Pakistan, displaced from India at the time of the partition. The two travel to cover the war in Kashmir: for over 50 years, an area divided by deep-seated tensions between Hindu and Muslim, Pakistan and India.

The Digital Journalist (link) carries an interesting article about the making of Project Kashmir...which is well worth a read to know what it took for these two women to make this documentary. "Project Kashmir" will air on PBS in 2009.


Project Kashmir from Digital Journalist on Vimeo.

I'm not sure whether the trailer manages to explain the background on the conflict over Kashmir, but for more information, the documentary's website is here

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Ami Vitale: Frontline: Kashmir

Here's a PBS/Frontline multimedia feature on Kashmir with photographs by Ami Vitale. It's not a new feature, but I thought it timely as I am traveling to this area in July.

Kashmir has been described as a paradise on earth but it's a disputed area that has seen more than its share of violence and bloodshed in recent years. Indians insist Kashmir is an integral part of their country, and without Kashmir, they could not embrace their secular credentials. Indian Kashmir is more than 60 percent Muslim, making it the only state in India with a Muslim majority. Pakistanis say the "k" in "Pakistan" stands for "Kashmir" and that they will continue to offer moral and diplomatic support to the separatists.

However Kasmir has been calm since this feature has been published, and tourists have returned to the area, enjoying the magnificent views and the hospitality of Kashmiris in this paradise on earth.

Frontline's Kashmir slideshow.

Ami Vitale Interview

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Kashmir: Photo Expedition & Workshop

I'm pleased to announce that a photo expedition-workshop in Kashmir (India) is planned for July 27-August 9, 2008. The Kashmir: Paradise On Earth photo workshop-expedition is set in this beautiful mountainous area of India, set deep within the Himalayan mountains on its frontier with Pakistan, China and Tibet.

The floating city of Srinagar is the workshop-expedition's base, and the initial days in India will be spent photographing Delhi's Islamic character.

This workshop-expedition will involve extensive fieldwork shooting stories in Delhi and Srinagar (and beyond), one on one portfolio reviews, nightly slideshows, panel discussions, and working dinners.

Eric Beecroft and Tewfic El-Sawy are leading the Kashmir: Paradise On Earth photo workshop-expedition. Both have extensive experience in leading workshops and photo expeditions to India, South East Asia and elsewhere. The workshop is supported by Soundslides, and other corporate support is currently being arranged.

To log on to the photo workshop-expedition website for further details, go to:

Kashmir: Paradise On Earth

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