Book review

MUSLIMS OF NEW YORK

„Photographers are doomed to frame. In that photographic frame we can squeeze as much as a fraction of what we see and what passes in front of the lens. That frame would rarely explain something but it can raise questions, it can imply, it can bring us closer to the subject in the photographs and eventually force us to emphasize with it. So is the project “Muslims of New York”. It is merely a collection of sketches from vast, different and complex Muslim communities in New York, just a glimpse into their world.” Zijah Gafic

New York is the city, in which, a large number of Muslims of different ethnic origin live. According to some estimates, that number is around 600 000.

However, no matter how much we know the statistics data, we shall not get to know much about life of the Muslims of New York, until, via photographic documentary form, are not recalled all those moments which make a daily life of the Muslims of this megapolis. Since they come from all parts of the world, including the domestic Muslims, we could say that in „a Large apple“ lives the Ummat in small, what enriches the life and broadens the horizons of that community. Thus, the Muslims of this city are relieved from many prejudices which they would possibly have at some other place, attempting to live their American dreams inspite of many challenges.

All of this made the Bosnian photographer Zijad Gafic to produce an important artistic opus, who, for the theme took the world of Muslims of New York, their daily life filled with faith and tradition, and in their attempt that in the civilizational multitude of the present, find their place under the Sun. Documentary and specific estetic which the photographer managed to link in his work clearly reflects that life, to the point that we can „touch“ it, is what makes a particular artistic and ethic value of this monography.

The rest of the article you can read in the magazine.