A photography exhibition of the work of Ahmad Krausen, “Dunya: Glimpse of Muslim Life in Europe”, is currently being held at the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization. Krausen is a Danish Muslim professional photographer who, after his conversion in 1992, has been diligently documenting the Muslim heritage, both historic and contemporary, in Europe. His photos span a number of European countries and refreshingly avoid the pictorial clichés that many a pro photographer falls into when covering the Muslim community and in turn gives a memorable insight into the lives of ordinary Muslims. Krausen’s compelling portfolio includes, in colour and monochrome, remarkable footage of Islam in countries least well documented such as Belarus, Poland, Lithuania, Hungary, as well as Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, France, Spain and the UK.

The images show a contextualised Islam at ease in its European setting; the variety of ethnicities such as Danish, French, English, Tatar, Turkish, Pakistani, Somali, Bosnian, and Arab, displayed in his work are a veritable testimony of the cosmopolitan nature of the Muslim experience in Europe. The exhibition also includes images of some of the most beautiful minarets in Europe, a project that Krausen completed only recently. These images defy the conventional opinion that mosque design is alien to native experience, or that they only follow set Turkish or Arabian patterns. Rather, many of the mosques that Krausen displays at the exhibition are those that have authentically and successfully merged the Islamic ethos with the local aesthetic, giving rise to a well balanced architecture that fits naturally with the built and natural landscape. Such new mosque forms, that make use of local craftsmanship and the local aesthetic palettes, are likely to be more powerful in combatting Islamophobia, or the attitudes that argue that Islam is alien to European culture and tradition, than any rhetoric produced by Muslim community leaders. The historical, cultural, visual and artistic context is just as relevant to recognise and appreciate, in any articulation of a Muslim European identity, as it is the theological and spiritual one. Krausen’s engaging images certainly bring that awareness to the forefront.

The Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization is to be congratulated for organizing the exhibition. It is also heartening to see, in public forums, the work of ever growing number of Muslim photographers such as Ahmad Krausen, who together with Nabeel Turner, Peter Sanders, Mohsin Kilby, Shems Friedlander, and younger photographers such as Omar Mullick and others, will hopefully change the way that Muslims and their faith are perceived through the art of their lenses.