Islam, War and Peace

 

 By HOUDA ALKHATIB

 

My art work describes the topic of War and Peace in Islam. It is a 75x117 cm piece. It is a photo collage produced digitally of many photographs by known and unknown photographers describing War and Islam. Originally, I wanted to take my own photographs but due to the many circumstances, I was not able to. I used the contrast of colors in the background to differentiate between the corruption of the war and hope. In my opinion, when I think of Islam, the first word related to it is Peace. 

 

In the foreground of the photo collage, people are represented as victims of the war that has been affecting the Middle East for the past few years and lead to become refugees.I tried to portray the power that is found in people. This power is them believing in God  watching over them and trying to get them out of their misery. A person with no hope does not live. As my collage shows, all age groups and genders are fighting to cross that part in their lives (War) by praying and hoping it will get better.

 

I was influenced by many War Photographers as they show you a scene in war but with a message behind. Some names such as Javier Manzano, James Nachtwey, Paul Hansen, Walter Astreda, and Manu Brabo. These modern war photographers inspired me with their use of simplicity in explaining something.

 

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My name is Houda Alkhatib, I am currently a junior studying Architecture in the American University in Dubai. I am from Syria, and for the past 5 years, I have not lost hope that someday Syria will be back better than it was before. It is our generation that will build and restore beautiful Syria.

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References:

Reza, Hasnain. Please. 2011. Web. 21 Nov. 2015. 

<https://500px.com/photo/30661925/please-by-hasnain-raza>.

"Islam Times - Muslims Arrested for Praying in America." Islam Times. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. <http://islamtimes.org/en/doc/news/21501/>.

 

N.p., n.d. Web. <http%3A%2F%2Fthemetapicture.com%2Fpage%2F3%2F>.

"Facebook Logo." Drive for Syrian Refugees. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Nov. 2015. <https://www.facebook.com/events/1506952399621528/>.