In a splendid tidbit that highlights the disparate Islams that exist throughout the world, today’s installation of the BBC Online’s photojournalism series illustrates the quotidian life of Sulayman Ag-Mohamed, a Tuareg nomad in northern Mali. This piece is visually stunning and highlights the diversity of Islamic life and practice that exists within the Islamic world.

Tuareg men wear indigo clothing, and against the backdrop of their desert environment, their blue robes are striking, as is the fact that Tuareg men also wear, from about the age of twenty, a blue turban that covers the face. Women and girls are proudly and culturally appropriately unveiled. In another inversion of popularly accepted norms, Sulayman Ag-Mohamed’s wife was selected by his brother.  

In addition to being an educational and beautiful morsel — the piece consists of a mere seven photos and short pieces of commentary — this item is timely. In an era when the Bush administration can rightly be accused of treating political Islam as the monolithic and evil heir to international communism, bringing attention to this diversity in the Islamic world should disabuse the world of such a feeble understanding of Islam. Contrary to what some policy makers may imagine, Tehran is not the only, or even dominant, type of Muslim society. The shocking blue robes of the Tuareg men are a fascinating counterpoint to the black robes of the mullahs in Iran.  

This informative piece of photojournalism should chip away at the myth of a monolithic Islam and instead underscore the richness of the disparate Islams that exist throughout the world.  

Mimi Hanaoka