photo book review

In Whose Name?

photographs by
Abbas

Abbas, a member of Magnum since 1981, takes us along with him on a journey among the believers. This journey started on September 11, 2001 when Abbas watched live on Siberian television the tragedy taking place thirteen time zones away. A year later, confronted with a giant cross erected on the ruins of the World Trade Center, he asked, "Does one form of religious intolerance lead to another?"

This led him to embark on a seven year project completed in the book In Whose Name? and soon to be exhibited at the Magnum gallery in Paris.

Driven by a desire to understand how the Ummah, the polity of Muslims throughout the world, let violent jihadism develop in its midst, he traveled through 16 countries. From New York to Jakarta, from Kabul to Zanzibar, through Baghdad, Teheran and Dubai his quest was the same:

“My relationship with God has always been of a professional nature, I have never been on first name terms with Him. It’s not so much God who engrosses me as other people’s perception of Him and the unacceptable things they do in His name."




In Whose Name?
The Islamic World after 9/11
by Abbas / Magnum
Publisher: Thames & Hudson
Year: 2009
27.9 x 21.4 cm
Hardback
272pp
173 b/w illustrations
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— With more than 150 images spread over 272 pages, this photobook showcases the remarkable range of Abbas' photographs. Although the utilitarian design makes it feel more like a textbook than a fine art book, it's an abundant selection of important content. Abbas asks some strong questions, and his outrage at war in the name of religion can be strongly felt.