Opportunistically takes advantage of the current stereotypes of the Muslim world. Incorrect and skewed portrayal of Islam. Takes one tiny aspect and zooms in. How is a picture of people praying to God an image of "militant" anything? Abbas is a professional photographer, so he makes a living from his pictures. But this is simply taking advantage of the current mood to make a mint for himself. It does educate, vivify, inspire or teach. He is hiding behind the cover of the great Magnum Photos umbrella. If you really want to see what photojournalism of different cultures is like, see Cartier-Bresson's book about India. Poor HCB must be turning in his grave.
Allah O Akbar begins the call to prayer that resonates around minarets in towns and villages from Sinkiang to Morocco, from Paris to Timbuktu. Wherever in the world you are, the message is the same: 'God is Great.' It is also, however, the cry of fundamentalists throughout the lands of the faithful. Abbas, a member of the prestigious photo agency Magnum, has spent seven years travelling through the Islamic world to capture the diverse and striking images that make up this extraordinary personal diary. As a photojournalist he has covered major political events in the developing world including wars and revolutions, driven by a desire to understand and expose the intricacy of the internal strains pulling within Muslim societies. Abbas is undoubtedly one of the world's leading makers of the 'telling' picture, and the combined immediacy and subtlety of the photographic images create a constant visual stimulus.
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