For 45 years, Peter Sanders has captured the Muslim world in powerful photographs which, in his words, reflect “a rich traditional civilization filled with warmth, humanity and compassion.” In this photo-gallery for The Guardian, Mr. Sanders focuses on images documenting Muslims and non-Muslims coexisting, despite a world often riddled with fear and division.
He explains a few of his images:
St Anne’s Mosque: “This was a convent in Seven Sisters, which only had four or five nuns left. It was bought by the Sultan of Brunei and converted to a mosque, as you see in the image. So as not to make the nuns homeless, they built a separate building in the grounds for them to live in. So they are respectful neighbors – a true example of integration.”
Maisah Sobaihi: “[She’s] the first Saudi to perform a one-woman show at the Edinburgh fringe. She was a seasoned performer back home, but this was first time she was doing anything abroad. We had a day together, so decided to visit the Highlands. Dressing up for the occasion, I took pictures of her in various quiet locations, before going back into the madness of the festival to photograph her performance.”
Yusuf Islam (AKA Cat Stevens): “‘Cat Stevens famously gave up music, but eventually started playing again and received some criticism from sections of the Muslim community. The title of the image comes from one of the tracks on one of his comeback albums. We did this shoot with him at the school he set up, Islamia, in Brondesbury Park.”
