Getting the Picture
When people who inhabit very different social and cultural worlds converse, initially they may not realize how different those worlds are. A Christian’s mental image of someone’s daughter engaged in an everyday activity may be quite different than the one in the mind of the immigrant Muslim woman relating a story about their daughter. Reflecting on the value of using photographs in interfaith dialogue, one of our Muslim participants in Fredericton (New Brunswick, Canada) named Widad noted, “If I say, ‘My daughter is skiing [or] my daughter is swimming,’ . . . they don’t see, they don’t have the image.” Incorporating a photograph into a conversation about a Muslim girl skiing or swimming opens up a new dimension of understanding: “when they see it . . . they get it easier and they understand it.” In a moment like this, “when they see it,” the photograph helps an outsider to someone’s everyday life appreciate nuances and differences—they “get it” without their conversation partner having to interrupt their story with an aside about someone’s appearance. In an Interfaith Photovoice project, participants help to expand one another’s field of vision.
Photo 1. “Finding alternatives in order to enjoy swimming without breaking the Muslim dress code” (Widad).
Not only do people have a hard time imagining the experiences of others—conjuring up a girl swimming in a hijab, for example—they also tend to tune out information that is unnecessary for navigating their everyday lives. We ignore myriad products on the proverbial shelf of a grocery store, partly out of self-preservation and partly because we know our preference. One might look for something new out of boredom or necessity or impulse. Perhaps a friend recommended giving something a try or a new recipe calls for an unfamiliar ingredient. That new product is seen through someone else’s eyes and we desire to replicate their positive experience. Advertisers go to great lengths to arouse our attention toward their new and improved versions of what turns out to be essentially the same thing. And so it goes, we walk by countless shelves of cultural products in everyday life with blinders on, a survival strategy in the age of plenty. Interrupting taken-for-granted aspects of everyday life with conversations about photographs can create opportunities for understanding and empathy.
Photo 2. “There is a growing demand in grocery stores for a variety of halal meat at reasonable prices” (Widad).
Photographs shared across interfaith differences can be disruptive of conventional and experiential knowledge. They interrupt by drawing attention to aspects of religion in everyday life that may be routinely overlooked. Seeing and hearing about someone else’s photos in an interfaith meeting invites participants to step back from their everyday lives and to see the world from a new perspective. In Emma’s words,
You’re seeing through someone else’s eye. Like not—obviously, not perfectly because you’re interpreting, but what’s great about those photos is you are confronted with this perspective and . . . whether it’s seeing that halal meat, you’re like “Wow . . . that [product] is in Victory [Meat Market]. I go there! But I don’t see this.”
The next time Emma went grocery shopping, she was on the lookout for halal meat. By seeing food “through someone else’s eye,” she was “confronted” with a new perspective.
Activity 7
Are there religious or spiritual aspects of everyday life—of your workplace, school, community, or neighborhood—that others might overlook? While this feature may be visible and obvious to you, it may be “invisible” to others. Compose a series of photographs that explore some overlooked part of who you are. Identify something connected to your own spiritual or religious life that would help to expand your conversation partner’s field of vision, something that could lead to insight, understanding, and/or empathy. Share these photos and the stories behind them during your next photovoice meeting.