Description
Heaven, Earth and the 10,000 Things: The Lives of the Muslims of China offers a representative selection from the first ever comprehensive photographic essay on China’s Muslims, curated by British photographer, Peter Sanders.
Islam was introduced into China nearly 1,400 years ago, within 20 years of the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Gradually interwoven into the social and spiritual fabric of China, it has evolved into a peaceful and tolerant way of life, harmonising with Confucian and Taoist principles.
The Islamic presence in China has led to unique regional subcultures. The Uyghurs, a Turkic minority, reside in north-western Xinjiang and south-central Hunan. The Hui people, ethnic Chinese-speaking Mandarin, are primarily in the northwest, but also in smaller communities throughout the country.
Join us for the launch of Sanders’ book, exploring links between Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, and Islam, with Sanders and renowned master of Arabic calligraphy from China, Haji Noor Deen.
About the Speakers
Peter Sanders
Peter Sanders began his career in the mid 1960s photographing the rock n’ roll icons and documenting the culture of that time. In 1970, he set off for India, cameras in hand travelling for seven months. This trip became a spiritual odyssey that led him onto Morocco and thereafter to the Holy cities of Makkah and Madinah, where he photographed the Hajj, at a time when few professional photographers had access to Islam’s holiest sanctuaries. During the following fifty years he has travelled extensively around the world documenting societies and cultures often hidden from view.
Amongst his published works are: Meetings With Mountains Encounters With the Saints and Sages of the Islamic World, Exemplars (with Michael Sugich) and in 2024 he launched Heaven, Earth and The Ten Thousand Things at the Bradford Literature Festival. Through exhibitions, the Art of Seeing workshops, presentations and his photographic books he encourages broader and deeper interactions between people of different races and faith.
Haji Noor Deen
Haji Noor Deen Mi Guang Jiang is a renowned master of Arabic calligraphy. Bringing an immense amount of knowledge in Islamic art and traditional thought to a modern audience, the focus of his work is a masterful calligraphic technique which uniquely fuses both the Chinese and Arabic arts. He is currently concentrating on research of manuscripts of the Qur’an and Arabic calligraphy theory.
About the Chair
Nadir Nahdi
Creator, filmmaker and presenter Nadir Nahdi has made a name for himself online through his captivating content and writing that articulates the unique experiences of young people from diverse cultures. Nadir uses food, fashion and travel, and most recently his videos exploring the intersection of food, politics and history take the audience through recipes that are intertwined with culturally significant moments, all wrapped up into a tantalisingly fascinating and innovative format. His new podcast Nadir Meets: has already clocked 4 million listens in four episodes. Nadir has been dubbed the ‘Brown Bourdain’ for his ability to connect authentically and intimately with this engaged and global audience.
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