World
14:05, 12-Aug-2017
Muslim American Faces: Telling 'real stories' of US Muslims on social media
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A project "Muslim American Faces," created by US photographer and filmmaker Heidi Naguib, has gone viral on social media. The project aims to bring the "real stories" of Muslim Americans to the public during the time that their lives have been becoming precarious.
The Instagram page of Muslim American Faces.
The Instagram page of Muslim American Faces.
Between Donald Trump's ban of all Muslims entering the US and following Muslim hate crimes caused by the 2015 San Bernardino attack, the role of Muslim-Americans in the US society has repeatedly been challenged as Muslim-Americans are always linked to extremism.
Heidi's project is to reverse this growing social prejudice. As a Muslim herself, Heidi launched the Instagram and Facebook account for capturing Muslim-Americans' stories in photos from all backgrounds.
"The reason I wanted to launch a project like this is that Muslims are more than just [their] religion,” said the 32-year-old, who believed that the travel ban of Trump has made it more difficult to be a Muslim in the US.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim woman.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim woman.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim woman.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim woman.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim man.
A screenshot of Muslim American Faces capturing a story of a Muslim man.
With hopes, fears, experiences and dreams in mind, Heidi didn’t show much about Islam in the captions. Instead, she put a focus in her photographs about issues that every American cares about – love, loss, ambition, well-being, job, death and family.
Heidi's camera always puts the focus on the individual rather than Islam. One story in Heidi's album is about a woman telling her struggle with her hijab and the reality of always having to explain herself.
Heidi said she wanted to present the portrayal of Muslim as either bad or good and nothing in between.
“As long as Muslim Americans will continue to share their stories with me, I will continue to share their stories with the world,” she said. “That is my objective.”