But as I began to travel internationally in high school & college, I started to recognize the common elements in all of those imago Dei — made in the image of God.

As I sifted through images from 13 years of living and working in sub Saharan Africa as a community/spiritual development practitioner and photographer/filmmaker, the theme of GALLERY OF MUSLIM EXPRESSION came to mind. The media and our peers too often define what we should believe and think of “others” and we’re often too content with that to explore further; to get out of our comfort zones and be willing to engage those who may be very different from us.

My family helped me to choose each image based on quality & visual impact but it also came down to two simple rubrics: 1) would we be eager to have the photo hanging on our own walls, 2) does it say something about Muslim culture?

Nine images come from the Muslim Yawo world I was intimately embedded in for 13 years in Malawi and Mozambique; one image is of a Makhua Muslim baker living on Mozambique Island; two images are from Kazakhstan where I traveled on a documentary project and a lone image comes from a layover in Doha, Qatar.

Invariably, no matter where I find myself, the Muslim peoples I interact with are warm and caring. None have fit the stereotype I was given in my formative years and to which much of my extended network still may believe. Perhaps this is because they’ve never actually befriended a Muslim.

I still very much identify with my faith as a follower of Jesus, but find myself struggling with labels. My experiences in other cultures shape the work I do now as a people-oriented digital storyteller for various non-profits and businesses.