Why Peter Sanders
Converts Islam
Peter Sanders was born in London in
1946. His professional career in photography began during the mid-sixties
where he photographed most of the major stars in the music business including
Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, The Who, the Rolling Stones etc.
Towards the end of the 1970’s, Sanders’
attention turned inward which set him on a spiritual search to India and then
eventually to the Muslim world where the spiritual beauty of Islam left an
indelible impression upon him. After his return to England, he embraced
Islam and was given the name Abd al-Adheem.
In 1971 he was granted the unique opportunity
to photograph the rituals of Hajj or annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca.
These images appeared in the Sunday Times Magazine, The Observer, among many
other major journals in recognition of their rareness.
For Peter Sanders, faith and photography have
both been part of his spiritual development. It was his search to capture
the essence of reality that led him to Islam and, with camera in hand, to the
door of the Kaaba.
From photographing the most famous of idols
in the music industry to the most sacred places in the Islamic world, Peter
Sanders’ journey encompasses more than a change of focus for his camera lens.
“Having photographed almost every famous
person in the music industry I got bored and started getting in to spritual
things.
I just wanted something else, and so I
decided to go to India. I packed everything up and went, looking for a
teacher. Eventually I found one, who was basically a Hindu but had a lot
of what we consider ‘Muslim Qualities’.
I studied with him for about six months and
when I cam back to England, some of my friends had become Muslim. Then
there were other friends who had gotten heavy into drugs and alchohol. It
was as if God was saying to me, ‘which direction do you want to go?’.
“I didn’t know very much about Islam but I
had dreams and various other things happened to me. So I made a decision
to become Muslim without knowing too much about it. I was 24 years old at
the time and within three months of becoming Muslim, I decided to go on Hajj.
I didn’t have the money but I just made the
intention. My elderly Muslim teacher at that time had also made the
intention and I knew that I wanted to go too. Someone gave me a ticket
and I went. It was at the Kaaba that I learnt that my teacher had died on
the way.”
At the time, back in 1971, photographs of the
Hajj were quite rare. Peter Sanders was granted special permission to
photograph the sacred places; a decision that still amazes him.
“It was pretty unique for a Westerner to have
taken pictures of the Hajj. I had to sl;og from offices to offices in
Jeddaj and Makkah and eventually I found a man that had the authority to grant
me permission.
A lot of people didn’t want to take
responsibility at the time, and they were generally not too keen on photography
anyway, especially by a convert. But this man was in a position to
authorise me and he did so purely on trust.”
For Peter Sanders, photography is essentially
a means to capture the spirit of Islam. As he describes his efforts to do
this, the words of an Urdu poet come to mind: ‘To see the reality of Madinah
you need more than just sight; you need vision’.
As if seeking to possess this vision is not a
great enough mission in itself, Peter Sanders attempts to then convey it to
others. He has spent the last thirty years documenting the remains of
traditional Islamic societies that are fast disappearing from the earth.
One of his ongoing projects in trying to
capture dying traditions has been the compilation of a photographic album of
the great scholars and saints of our time. The two volumes, that he hopes
to raise funds to publish, include pictures of people who were photographed for
the first time and some of whom have passed away in recent months and years.
Peter Sanders, internationally recognised as one of the
worlds leading photographer of the Islamic World.
The photographer began his career in the
mid-1960’s covering Londons’ seminal rock and roll scene, capturing now
legendary music icons in a collection that is considered a classic by
collectors.
Towards the end of the 1970’s, Sanders’
attention turned inward which set him on a spiritual search that took him to
India and led him in the end to the Muslim world. All the while the
photographer captured his surroundings on film, creating a striking and disparate
record of the last vestiges of traditional Muslim societies in
transition. Sanders’ own deep commitment to and love of traditional
Islamic culture has brought him into intimate contact with people and places
few photographers reach.
“My photography has always been an extension
of my life,” he said. “Photography is a wonderful process - a gift from
God - that has allowed me to learn so much about myself and the world around
me. Its like chasing a moment, trying to capture a beautiful bird in
flight.” “The photographs are extremely, extraordinarily beautiful,”
claims Japanese Art Critic, Tsuyoshi Kawasoe.
“One should not under-estimate the importance
of Peter Sanders’ work,” said American writer Michael Sugich. “He is the
only photographer working today who has systematically and with great devotion
to the task, covered vast areas of the Islamic world as an insider.
Because of his deep understanding of the culture and his impeccable spiritual
courtesy, he has been able to photograph places and people that virtually no
western photographer would be able to access. He has left an indelible,
poetic and ravishing record of an extraordinary time and a rich and fascinating
culture.”
It has also been quoted, “he captures the
spritiual beauty of creation itself.”
Sanders’ photographs have appeared in many
international publications, including Time Magazine, Paris Match, The Observer,
The Sunday Times Magazine, Aramco World and the London based pan-Arab news
magazine Al Majalla who published his work as a cover story.
His intimate photographs of the sacred cities
of Makkah and Madinah are in great demand.
Peter Sanders Photography Limited includes
travel, location and studio photography, a photographic library of over 120,000
slides, as well as the production of fine art prints.
This year will see the publication of his
first photographic book, ‘In The Shade of The Tree.’ Another three are in
mid-production, including one about the muslims in China.
..
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.