The Converts
Claire Beckett

Photographer Claire Beckett investigates the contradictory representations conveyed by how Islam has been taught and learned in the American context post-9/11. In 2012, she began to attend a class in Islamic Studies in Boston in order to better understand what it means to be a Muslim living in the US today. The work The Converts combines portraits of persons converted to Islam she met during her studies; images of the environment in which the course was taught; study materials she received and the notes she has gathered since 2012. In a complex political climate in which religion is sometimes instrumentalized, Beckett’s photographic work is aimed at examining the different representations tied to the teaching of Islam today.