Among the believers

A unique photography project that believes all people are the same

The Silence of ‘Others’ project documents the emotional struggle of young Muslims in the face of negative perceptions in the post 9/11 and 7/7 era. Amidst the growing hatred and violence in the name of Islam, many Muslims in Western countries are finding it difficult to dissociate themselves from extremism and are battling socially demonising debates.

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These debates have consequences for Muslim social identities and are being internalised. My images intend to reveal what many young Muslims are silently enduring — frustration, depression and confusion — as they continue to live in an Islamophobic society. I started working in Mid-west America and I am now in the United Kingdom. Using in-depth interviewing I have sought to better understand their perceptions.

n Caitlyn Green (right), 19, and her friend Khadija Noor (29), clicked in a field

n Kaiser Aslam, 19, sketches the Chicago skyline at the Ohio Street beach.

I am further investing time with Muslim families at their homes and on the streets, exploring their socio-emotional fabric and trying to reveal an in-depth understanding of the young Muslim community. In order to set things right, it is important to understand the problem from the perspective of a Muslim mind too.

n Yaser Aslam, 22, walks past an installation at the Stained Glass Museum in Chicago, Illinois. In January 2002, after the failed shoe bombing incident, a store employee walked up to him and said,