Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Photograph © Bharat Choudhary
Muslims the world over are being viewed as 'Fundamentalists' and 'Terrorists.' Violent conflicts are often framed as conflicts between binary oppositions, such as "good versus evil." Terrorists are always the evil 'others,' and the 'other' is often viewed in general as the bearded or veiled Muslim. Fomenting a perpetual climate of paranoia and xenophobia, the 'War on Terror' and its propaganda have nurtured a widespread perception that the religion of Islam is principally flawed and that Muslims are inherently primitive, irrational, intolerant, and violent. These debates have consequences for Muslim social identities and are being internalized. This project, 'The Silence of Others,' aims to depict the impact of such ill-informed opinions on young Muslims. It illustrates how various socio-political discourses are constructing young Muslim minds and how their external world is influencing their internal sense of self.
This work, from over a decade (2008-2018), portrays activities, behaviors, emotions, personal spaces, and external interactions of young Muslims in America, England, and France. These photographs attempt to highlight subjective experiences and present insights into Muslim youths' motivations and actions. Simultaneously, this work focuses on the wider socio-political and legal hostility that Islamophobia has legitimized, like the systematic violations of rights of Muslims and the criminalization of any action taken to counter those violations. It investigates how wide-ranging security interventions against Muslims have encroached upon their constitutionally protected space for social and political dissent, and their right to freely exercise their religion. It aims to ask what reasons there are for thinking that Islamic beliefs produce or perpetuate terrorism, and why the acceptance of Muslims as fellow American, English, or French citizens should be conditioned on distancing themselves from any particular set of political, religious, cultural, and ideological beliefs.
20 November
