In a moment of important and tragic events in china which also dont allow me to post regularly in this blog (as you aware blogspost as well many other popular sites has been closed down by Chinese Authority) I would like to introduce a book of reportage
by Magnum Photographer Abbas, the book tell more about the wide community of Muslim, a travelogue which also crossed the region of Xinjiang where chinese and muslim are in an hard and violent confrontation. Is a popular book which does not need
extra coverage but i thought was useful to remind as important book to understand the complexity of the Islamic world. Here a note from the publisher
Publisher's Description
Invited by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo to unfold a striking exhibition, Abbas gathers his work on the three monotheistic religions for the first time in its catalogue, with written extracts from his travel diaries.
From 1978 to 1980, Abbas covered the Iranian Revolution. Later, from Xinjiang to Morocco, from London to Timbuktu, he photographed the daily lives of Muslims, the rituals of their faith, and witnessed the emergence of some more radical voices. Driven by a desire to understand the internal tensions at work within Muslim societies, he exposed the conflict between a rising political ideology looking for inspiration in a mythical past and the universal desire for modernity and democracy. From 1995 to 2000, Abbas photographed Christian communities throughout the world with the same critical eye. On both journeys, he also recorded the lives of Jewish communities. Heralding the dawn of the "Third Millennium," the year 2000 seemed to impose itself as the universal calendar, and therefore a symbol of Western civilization. That year, Jews celebrated the year 5760 and Muslims the year 1420. Abraham—"the first Jew"—is also claimed as a common ancestor by Christians and Muslims.
Publisher's Description
Invited by the Nobel Peace Center in Oslo to unfold a striking exhibition, Abbas gathers his work on the three monotheistic religions for the first time in its catalogue, with written extracts from his travel diaries.
From 1978 to 1980, Abbas covered the Iranian Revolution. Later, from Xinjiang to Morocco, from London to Timbuktu, he photographed the daily lives of Muslims, the rituals of their faith, and witnessed the emergence of some more radical voices. Driven by a desire to understand the internal tensions at work within Muslim societies, he exposed the conflict between a rising political ideology looking for inspiration in a mythical past and the universal desire for modernity and democracy. From 1995 to 2000, Abbas photographed Christian communities throughout the world with the same critical eye. On both journeys, he also recorded the lives of Jewish communities. Heralding the dawn of the "Third Millennium," the year 2000 seemed to impose itself as the universal calendar, and therefore a symbol of Western civilization. That year, Jews celebrated the year 5760 and Muslims the year 1420. Abraham—"the first Jew"—is also claimed as a common ancestor by Christians and Muslims.
Editions Intervalles, Paris, 2007. 240 pp., 140 b&w illustrations, 6¾x9".
