IRIE

In the name of God, The Most Gracious, The Dispenser of Grace.

“(20) Say: Go all over the earth and behold how [wondrously] He has created [man] in the first instance: […]” (Quran 29:20, Muhammad Asad English Translation). And with that said and continuing in the spirit of that passage that was just mentioned, I too believe in embarking on that worldwide, travel and more specifically when it comes to my photography, I love to capture the beauty and the essence of everything (including the bad, the good, & the ugly) that is within God’s creation on earth. Not only is it my goal to capture the beauty and essence of things, but also it’s to be able to share those things with people who might have not been able to get the opportunity to see those things. And before I go onto the rest of my statement, I do want to thank IRIE magazine for giving me the opportunity to spread the photos that I’ve taken, and hopefully people will greatly enjoy seeing the things that I’ve seen through the lens of a camera. On a final note and in conjunction with the previous chronic passage that was mentioned, in order to travel the world and to engage with it you must also act in a just manner (Quran 4:135).

Returning to my journey into photography, it started when I was young and I was being taught how to use an SLR by my uncle who is also a photographer as well. So it is because of him, I have developed an interest in photographing urban landscapes, candid moments and black-and-white vignettes. With a large emphasis on attempting to turn every day subjects into abstractions and capturing them in a new light. And by capturing them in a new light, I’m also capturing their hidden beauty.

And on a final note and a bit more about me, I’m a Lebanese-Colombian human rights activist with a global perspective and have taken that global perspective and have advocated for the human rights of all and have had the opportunity to meet with government officials and community leaders to get that accomplished. And in the continued spirit of advocating for the human rights of people, I took the spirit and advised social media companies to counter hate speech and misinformation. No matter what I’m currently working on, human rights and dignity is at the core of said work.