Finding insight through his lens

“IN the 70s, I started to think more deeply about things and looked for something more spiritual,” said renowned photographer Peter Sanders.

His career in the mid-60s began mostly photographing musicians such as Bob Dylan, The Who, The Doors and the Rolling Stones.

In 1970, Sanders managed to take photographs of Jimi Hendrix performing during the Isle of Wight Festival. It would be Hendrix’s last concert as the iconic musician passed away two weeks later.

“At the time, I was trying to get money to go to India and suddenly I had these pictures and they were worth a lot of money, so I sold them and with that money I went to India.”

Sanders travelled around India for seven months studying different religions such as Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism, of which he knew very little about then.

“And when I came back to the UK after having that experience, I started to carry on looking for something that would carry on that interest,” he said.

He eventually found Islam, which resonated deeply with him and was given the name Abd al-Adheem.

“Now, you have to remember, it was not like now,” said the 69-year-old Londoner.

“It was a very different time. People knew very little about Islam, particularly the West. There was no extremism, there were no terrorists, and it was just a religion that believed in one God. And it was what I believed in, it made sense to me. So, it was kind of a leap of faith that I made, I did not know much about it.”

When he returned to the UK, he discovered some of his friends had converted to Islam while others had gotten heavily into drugs and alcohol.

“So it was like a clear thing that I needed to go in that direction, even though I was not sure. And then, over a period of time, I had various dreams and things happened, and then I realised that that was what I wanted to do,” said Sanders.

As he pursued his spiritual journey, he became a renowned photographer in the Muslim world. Sanders was one of the few in the 70s to be permitted to photograph the Haj — a rare opportunity for photographers, let alone Western ones, during that time.

He also photographed Muslims in different parts of the world as well as iconic Islamic buildings and architecture.

“I still photograph musicians, occasionally. I photograph Yusuf Islam, Sami Yusuf — I would not do it generally as a business. It was really different from what I did during the 60s. In the 60s, people knew me, and I could just go the concert and they would let me in,” said Sanders, who admits that he pursued his interest in rock and roll with the same curiosity about life.

“But to see me, it is not that different, if you look at my life, because I was interested in rock n roll, they were like poets of the time, I was trying to understand what life was. They for me were inspiration, giving me ideas and things to think about.”

In the Islamic world, he found people who devoted their lives to praying, fasting and studying, “very spiritual people, so they replaced the rock and roll stars. It was like a progression”.

Since converting to Islam, he has used photography a tool for those who can’t travel with the same freedom he has.

“So, my job is like, ‘okay you can’t go, but this is what is there if you go there.’ It’s my job,” explained Sanders.

Having been in the industry for almost 50 years, he said travelling has helped to keep him inspired and motivated in photography.

“For instance, this is the first time I have come to Sarawak, and I am looking at everything — how different the culture is — I really like that. Going to somewhere different, and understanding how the people live, what is their culture, what is their quality, what is good about their culture … I love all of that, really. I hope I can continue to do it,” he said. His favourite subject to photograph continues to be people.

“I think human beings are amazing. I do like portraits. Whether I am a great portrait photographer, I don’t know, because I am quite shy, so it is quite hard for me. You need a certain confidence, you need to kind of engage in it. I like to observe people. So, when you have a bit that’s you, a bit that is unique, it is going to go to that photo as well,” said Sanders.

Due to his shyness, he usually asks his wife Hafsa Sanders to talk to his subjects while he takes their photographs.

With several photography books under his belt, one could never imagine a skilled photographer like Sanders doing anything else.

“My, wife, Hafsa and I met a woman, a great healer in Istanbul (who has since passed away). But when we met her, she was a really interesting woman, she would look deeply into you, she looked at your tongue, she looked at your hand …

“She did this to Hafsa and she told Hafsa you need to do something creative, and her job is like a healer. Then she looked at me and said ‘Hmm … you’re like me, you should do what I do.’ So, she thinks we should do the opposite. So, I am quite interested in traditional medicine,” he said with an amused smile.

Sanders has a collection of a quarter of a million transparencies with which he hopes to build a photography archive in the future.

His first book ‘In The Shade of the Tree’ is now in its second reprint and gives a wonderful insight into the diversity of Muslim cultures around the world. His second book ‘The Art of Integration, Islam in England’s green and pleasant land’, shows an alternative picture of Muslims integrated completely within British society, from Eton, Sandhurst, District Judges and the House of Lords, to supermarket and transport workers, poets, artists and musicians.

His third book ‘Meetings with Mountains’ is the result of a 40-year project, about the extraordinary scholars and living saints who Sanders has had the privilege to meet during his 40 years of travel. His empathy with both spiritual masters and ordinary people has opened many doors, allowing him to be the first person to photograph them.

Sanders was granted a commission by the King of Morocco’s Ministry, to document all the important mosques, madrassah and zawiyas in Morocco and was given access to the whole country over a four-year period. This archive of images will be edited to produce a series of beautiful books and an exhibition.

Sanders was in Sarawak last month for the ‘Art of Seeing Sarawak’ programme, a series held by the World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation. The workshop was held in Pending and saw Sanders visiting various sites in Kuching with 20 participants.   For more information on his photography, go to www.petersanders.co.uk.