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Harbor Style magazine, my main client, asked me to write and photograph a story about the dedication of the Islamic Community of Southwest Florida's new mosque in Punta Gorda.
My friend Hasan Hammami, a senior member of the mosque, was kind enough to obtain permission for me to interview Imam Azhar and photograph during Sunday School class and the men's portion of a service.
Imam Azhar and the congregation were happy to promote a positive image of their often-misunderstood faith.
Unfortunately, Harbor Style was only able to use two of the images, both outdoor shots, in the May 2008 issue.
I offer these selections with my thanks for your trust and a chance to observe your devotion to your faith.
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 | Above: leader of the mosque's youth group.
Left: Hasan Hammami, a frequent and respected public spokesman for the southwest Florida Muslim community.
All photos ©2008 Malcolm J. Brenner/Eyes Open Media. All rights reserved. |
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This is Imam Azhar, the mosque's spiritual leader or minister.
He wouldn't let me use his last name. Maybe that's why the magazine didn't use these photos.
(From my other experiences with Arabs I know everybody's got family somewhere in the Old Country to protect.) |  |
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 | Imam Azhar is a native Canadian schooled in Louisiana.
The beard and robe are traditional for a Sunni imam.
Muslims of all traditions (Shi'ite, Wahabi, or Sufi, for example) are welcome to attend services there, Imam Azhar said. |
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| Although he delivered his service in Arabic, Imam Azhar's English when I interviewed him afterward was fluent and colloquial with a mid-Atlantic accent, as you would expect of any modern Canadian. |  |
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 | During the service, some sit near the front, some in the back, just like any other house of worship.
And, of course, somebody had left his cell phone on... ;-) |
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I was touched by this image of a devoted father and his young son.
The women and girls attend the same service in a separate room, where they hear the imam on an intercom system.
I did not ask to take photos in that room, but Sarah Coward, a very talented photographer with the Charlotte Sun, did. |  |
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 | On a visual level, this shot works because of the rhythm.
On a spiritual level, it invokes the strong feelings of community, humility and devoted submission of the will to God.
These are the credos of any worthwhile religion when it is practiced to help other people, rather than to fleece them or enslave them. |
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The mosque has a small playground and sports field out back where the children gather before Sunday School classes.
Like children everywhere, they love to make goofy faces and bunny ears on each other.
This is looking south toward the mosque and community meeting hall. |  |
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 | Imam Azhar speaks to the children in English mixed with Arabic religious phrases. As you can see, he has an eager audience for the lesson! |
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He's reading them the Muslim account of Noah and the great flood.
Each time Imam Azhar speaks Noah's name, he adds "Praise be unto him," as a gesture of respect.
Muslims do this for all Old Testament prophets and for Jesus Christ as well as Muhammed, the Prophet of Allah. |  |
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 | Altogther, I feel privileged to have been able to take these pictures in the mosque, and to acquaint myself with this spiritual communtiy.
I hope these photos give a human face to the practice of modern Islam in the United States of America. |
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Technical data: All images taken with a Fuji Finepix S2 Pro.
Available light shots in the mosque with a 70-200mm f4 Series E Nikkor and a monopod, ISO 1600.
All these shots required extensive noise reduction in Photoshop Elements.
Other shots, 18-70 Series G Nikkor. Polarizer outdoors, Vivitar 285 flash fill outdoors with Lumiquest Pocket Bouncer or fill card on interiors. |  |
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