This personal series is a documentation that encompasses different religious rituals in Islam from the prayer, ritual washing to the funeral of my uncle as an attempt to capture the more immaterial spaces within moments that are created and transformed by the Islamic ritual itself.
The effort is to break free from the traditional perspective and typical image of the gorgeous sacred buildings. Looking at Islam, it is different. Instead of seeing Muslim Communities praying in great Mosques, you often see them in Shops, storehouses, sports halls, or even parking spots.
Also taking in consideration the fact that in the recent years Germany has accepted a great number of people fleeing from conflicted regions, often Muslim countries, Islam now is debated and questioned more than ever. Even I, as a Moroccan woman, who grew up as a Muslim in Germany, was questioned about my identity.
This questioning, forces the Muslim communities to practice their belief in secular places. But still, they are able to transform those into sacred worlds.
But how is that possible? To answer that question I try to see Islamic tradition from a theoretical view. The artistic concept of my work is inspired by Michel de Certeau, who writes, ''Space is a practiced place“. Meaning that space emerges out of an act.
Btihal Remli Photography
Btihal Remli PhotographyBtihal Remli ( b. 1987, Germany) is a visual storyteller focused on art and documentary photography. Based in Morocco, where her family is originally from, Btihal explores stories related to identity, religion and belief, gender and socio-cultural representation in her home country. She has also attempted to convey the juxtaposition between her German identity and Moroccan deeply rooted origins.