MOHAMMED AND ME - DAILY LIFE WITHIN MUSLIM SOCIETIES

With 200 million Muslims, Indonesia is the world’s largest Islamic country. Its Muslims represent many strands, which differ strongly from one another. For example, after September 11 fundamentalism grew rapidly, but so did concerns about radical Islam. Curator Alex Supartono asked three young Indonesians to photograph the Islamic society in which they live. The commission was a consciousness-raising process. Not only were the photographers witness to a continuing politicization of Islam, they were also impressed by the enormous wealth of Islamic currents in their society. Furthermore, the emphasis on their personal experience reveals – and revealed – the everyday character of Islam – both to the viewer, and to the photographers themselves.MOHAMMED AND ME is intended to grow into a worldwide project that will provide more insight into Islam and its effects. ‘Mohammed is changing,’ says Alex Supartono (b. 1972), ‘and our world is quickly changing as a result.’