From the moment I saw Muneeba’s photograph of the children’s book, It’s Ramadan, Curious George, I was thoroughly intrigued. I had never seen a book like this and I couldn’t wait to hear the story behind it! She was encouraged to bring the book to our next Interfaith Photovoice meeting. My instinct was that people would be interested in paging through it. Indeed they were very interested.

Looking at the photograph, one can see that it is a rather deliberate representation with the book posed, standing up on what appears to be a pink bedspread. The book itself is a board book, the kind that is constructed with thick cardboard-like pages intended for younger children. Together, the bedspread color (pink) and type of book might suggest the gender and age of Muneeba’s child. Pages have built-in tabs that seem to summarize the story. Tabs on the edge of the book include drawings of cookies described as “treats for the iftar,” an alarm clock to symbolize the beginning of the fast, and a sunset to mark the breaking of the fast. These drawings encapsulate the story of fasting during Ramadan. A little tear in the front cover, visible just above the letter R in Ramadan hits at the possibility that the book is not a new addition to the family library and perhaps suggests that the book gets a fair amount of use. 

During our Interfaith Photovoice meeting that night, which was hosted Muneeba’s mosque, the photo and book helped Christians gain new understandings of Ramadan. Around the table that night, as Dawn recalled in an interview, “we talked about faith, but . . . also got to know a person a little better too. Because, it wasn’t just, you know, showing a Curious George book.” Indeed, the ensuing conversation opened up a window to something beyond a children’s book.

As Muneeba shared about Curious George, she spoke about her desire for media to portray stories in a positive way. She saw the book as an important example: “It’s done in a very endearing way,” Muneeba explained. From her perspective, the book presented Ramadan as a positive, normal celebration. What could be more normalizing than a major religious holiday being explained and treated with respect by Curious George? Sarah, who was seated at Muneeba’s table that night, asked if she could see the book, and Muneeba passed it around the table. Sarah remarked that she thought the book illustrated “genuine curiosity” and the idea that “it’s okay to ask” questions about Ramadan. 

And then, something really interesting and formative happened as Nazneen and Muneeba—two Muslim women—exchanged observations about the book. Nazneen pointed out that there were women wearing hijab in the book; Muneeba added that there were women pictured without hijab too. Nazneen remarked that the book showed “the big picture,” the cultural and theological diversity within Islam. Muneeba and Nazneen continued on about the diverse array of food depicted in the book. Curious George was at an Iftar dinner that included both traditional Middle Eastern and American cuisine: kebabs and pizza. Kareem (the main Muslim character in the book) and Curious George are given bananas dipped in chocolate as a special treat to mark George’s first Ramadan. The diversity of the group—in this case two Muslim women with different forms of religious expression—added nuance to the conversation. Each of them wanted their conversation partners to see the book through their Muslim eyes. In the process, participants caught a glimpse of the different lenses through which these Muslim women see the world—and each other. 

Wanting to point out the finer points in a children’s book about Ramadan is one thing. But what about more significant differences of opinion: how were they expressed? These same two women in Grand Rapids contrast sharply in several ways. For example, Nazneen wears an abaya and hijab in public, while Muneeba dresses in a contemporary fashion and only wears hijab in the mosque. Nazneen believes that men and women who are not married should not touch, which most frequently manifests itself in her explaining that she does not shake hands to people she meets or with whom she does business. Muneeba feels at liberty to shake hands. At each of our project sites, differences like these are expressed, discussed, and experienced by participants. By including different kinds of Muslims and Christians in Interfaith Photovoice projects, their presence, photographs, and narratives make it possible to see a wider spectrum of belief and practice in groups who previously may have been seen as homogeneous. 

Conversations in which people from the same religious background express a difference of opinion can be meaningful to participants. Nazneen and Muneeba helped others appreciate variations of Islam. Reflecting on moments like these, Dawn recalled how interesting it was that a fellow Muslim “kind of jumped into that conversation and disagreed . . . it’s not like I didn’t think anyone never disagreed, but it’s just like how Christians disagree on different things too.” It was amazing to see how a photo of a children’s book added depth to participants’ understandings of one another.

Many Americans never move beyond bland stereotypes of Muslims. Perceptions of Islam can be quite narrow, flat, and one-dimensional. Pictures like those in a Curious George book don’t come to mind. Instead, in the words of Interfaith Youth Corps founder Eboo Patel, “When it comes to Islam, the images of terrorism come immediately to mind. And so people’s view of an entire tradition is colored by an infinitesimally small but shockingly violent fringe.” 

Interfaith Photovoice is one way to help remedy these narrow and inaccurate views of people from other religious backgrounds. By providing a context in which to interact with people who are religiously, ethnically, and culturally different from one another, we create an opportunity to build bridges of understanding and develop empathy. We invite participants to not only understand why someone like Nazneen isn’t shaking hands but also to empathize with someone who is sincerely practicing their faith in everyday life.

According to the work of political scientists Robert Putnam and David Campbell, this kind of work has positive effects: “As people build more religious bridges they become warmer toward people of many different religions, not just those represented within their social network.” In other words, as people like Dawn develop warm relationships toward people like Muneeba and Nazneen, her views of Muslims and people from other religions in her daily life become more positive. 

Activity 9 

Spend time this week reflecting on how you view the members of a religion other than your own. Pick a group that you have little or no contact with, people whom you don’t really know. What are the stereotypes presented to you by society? How are they represented in the media? Do any of these ideas and images shape your own understanding?