Peter Sanders, internationally recognised as one of the Islamic world's leading photographers, exhibited his work at the British Council on 27 March. Sanders' photographs highlight the everyday life of Muslims in Britain and their ordinary but extraordinary contribution to their country of choice.

Originally covering London's rock and roll scene in the mid 1960s, Sanders' attention turned towards the spiritual richness of the Muslim world at the end of the 1970s. Sanders' love of traditional Islamic culture and his own deep religious commitment has brought him into very close contact with people and places few other photographers have managed to reach.

"My photography has always been an extension of my life," Sanders says. "Photography is a wonderful process - a gift from God - that has allowed me to learn so much about myself and the world around me. It’s like chasing a moment, trying to capture a beautiful bird in flight."

When embarking on the project Art of Integration in early 2005, William Blake’s poem Jerusalem marked the photographer’s vision: to portray a spiritual place where people of all faiths could live in harmony:

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic mills?

Art of Integration was an event organised by the British Embassy and hosted by the British Council.

The speakers
Mr Dave Prodger, Deputy Head of Mission of the British Embassy Brussels
Prof. Dirk Jacobs, Associate Professor of the Universite Libre de Bruxelles
Prof. Marco Martiniello, Research Director FMRS/ULG
Mr Navid Akhtar, Executive Director FAIR, the Forum Against Islamophobia & Racism

Our work in this area
In relation to the event, Mr Martin Hope, Director British Council Brussels briefly presented the British Council project Our Shared Europe. The aim of Our Shared Europe is to create more understanding and awareness of the many contributions that Muslims have made in history and continue to make in present-day Europe. By doing so, Our Shared Europe seeks to strengthen the bonds of mutual knowledge and trust between Muslims and other majority and minority communities in Europe.

Find out more about Our Shared Europe