Bismillah (in the name of God)

DID YOU KNOW is the title of a new series of drawings I will be making for the coming month. My aim is to portray my personal experience of my religion Islam.

Since 9/11 Islamophobia has been on the rise and it has spiraled out of control in particular after the resent Paris attacks (on 13 November 2015). Hate crimes against Muslims are increasing and the media keep on portraying 1/5 of humanity (1.6 billion Muslims in the World) as a backward death cult which is a threat to humanity. Women are per definition oppressed, Men are always shouting: I will kill you in the name of Allah! And all that young Palestinian boys are up to is: throwing stones at the cops.

So as an attempt to defy stereotypes and also as a way to reflect on my own experience as a Muslim (I converted in 2014) I will make drawings accompanied by a short quote or sentence with topics such as: Muslim contribution to Science, Female Legacy in Islam, Equality of Men and Women, Jihad etc.

I will be extra careful to research the topics thoroughly, because I do not want to add to the confusion. However if you should see some gross mistakes I would appreciate constructive feedback.

Looking forward to this series, as it will be educational for myself too.

Salaam,

Isabella