Gallery: Top Twelve-04

Malaysian Children at the Penang National Mosque (Jan 2002)

While visiting the National Mosque in Penang, Malaysia, I wandered outside the courtyard. As a non-Muslim, I was not allowed inside the mosque itself. The afternoon sun beat hard. Within the mosque grounds was a small day-care facility / religious school. Children started to emerge from the school and congregated around the drinking fountain.

I started taking photos of one of the children and soon more children started congregating, hamming for the camera. Of all of the photos, this is my favorite. The expression of each of the children has a story in of itself. It reminds me of the Last Supper, not to mix religious genres too much.

The girls are wearing the mini-tudung or headscarf. Although Malaysia has been an Islamic country for a very long time, women have not traditionally covered up. The pajama-like clothes are traditional costume. It has only been within the last decade that more and more women have adopted the tudung as an expression of religious belief. One should avoid reading this as a form of extremism, but rather as a development of new forms of piety.

From the Malaysia 2002 series.

Filename: 020106a-28b-Mosque.jpg
Equipment: Canon EOS-3, EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro, Fuji Provia 100