WHAT'S NEXT FOR MAGNUM PHOTOS? IS IT BLASPHEMY?
Aquila non capit muscas
To Whom It May Concern;
"Magnum is a community of thought, a shared human quality, a curiosity about what is going on in the world, a respect for what is going on and a desire to transcribe it visually" - Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson, being one of the founders, has expressed the existential philosophy of Magnum Photos succinctly and yet beautifully in a unique way. What an inspirational discourse that embraces our mutual humanity.
The changing socio-economic and cultural conditions of the world are degenerating all kinds of humanistic, religious, cultural and moral values that make humanity special today. Magnum Photos recently shaken by a series of scandals, seems to have suffered from this degeneration as an institution. It appears today, the agency is almost the embodiment of the exact opposite of Henri Cartier-Bresson's discourse.
Let’s take a quick stroll down the alley of the recent events that took place in Magnum Photos.
On August 2020, a story published on the website ‘Fstoppers’ reported that Magnum was selling explicit photographs of sexually exploited minors on its website, including photographs from a series taken by David Alan Harvey in Bangkok in 1989.
On August 20, Magnum announced that it has suspended Harvey after receiving a “specific allegation” in relation to his personal conduct and hired an employment lawyer to conduct an investigation. Magnum also said they would review the archive in response to the allegations of which it contained exploitative photos of children, and eventually ended up removing Harvey’s Bangkok series from the website.
On October 28, Magnum announced it had suspended Harvey for one year after determining that he has breached the agency’s code of conduct and bylaws. The statement referenced a single “historical allegation” that it did not describe.
On December 21, 2020, Kristen Chick's article 'Magnum's moment of reckoning' was published, in which she penned the sexual harassment allegations of 11 women at CJR.
On January 27, 2021, these were followed by Benjamin Chesterton’s publication on child molestation titled “Olivia Arthur – now can we talk about Magnum Photos and child abuse?”
Finally, David Alan Harvey whom has faced a series of accusations, announced his resignation via a tweet from his personal Twitter account on March 17, 2021, just days before Magnum photos voted for his expulsion.
There has never been a case or a process in the history of Magnum Photos, such as this. During this critical period, Magnum Photos' executives also failed to manage this crisis and inform the public in a timely manner. They took an insincere and disingenuous stance from the founding principles of Magnum Photos by constantly applying a "wait and see policy".
What will follow these endless allegations of racism, misogyny, child exploitation, sexual predation, outing of child survivors of sexual abuse, outing of children who are HIV positive in Magnum Photos? Is it blasphemy?
The answer to this is hidden in Sabiha Çimen's 'Hafız: Guardians of the Qur'an'
Sabiha Çimen whom is recently married to Jason Eskenazi, a photographer like herself, apparently has long been a photographer and involved in various projects. However, it is just her recent project ‘Hafız: Guardians of the Qur’an’ earned her a place amongst the below mentioned grants and won her a significant international media space. Well, you know what they say “weddings and babies work wonders...”
PH Museum, Women Photographers Grant, 3rd prize – 2018
Gomma Grant, Honorable Mention – 2019. KKK (Qur’an School for Girls)
W.Eugene Smith Fund recipient 2020
Canon Female Photojournalist Grant – 2020.
World Press Photo, Long-Term Projects, 2nd prize – 2020.
Apart from the financial upsides, she was nominated for Magnum Photos in 2020 along with 5 more photographers, thanks to this series’ sensitive subject matter.
Before I add any more depth into the subject, I would like to share a few links to some images below.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9OpIRcAgUJ/
https://www.instagram.com/p/B9WE0LIgqJs/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CNH_TY_Hp8p/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CM153kppsZl/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CG5iXjPMBIz/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CKgeq6rpaii/
Links provided above belong to some of the photographs given in the IG feeds of various Qur’an courses in Turkey. I have shared these links with you because I believe these images will allow me to provide you with necessary proof of what I am yet to explain.
As seen in the given images, it is inappropriate to share photographs of a child or a young girl not of full legal age. This is now illicit, in accordance with Islam religion. There is no single authority, or a party that would allow you with the permission to take photographs of such content. In short, such photographs are an invasion of privacy.
Hence, these types of Qur’an courses do not coed. As a matter of fact, muslim women and men generally gather in the areas specifically designated for them for so called practices. They pray and educate in seperate quarters as far as such courses and/or religious places are considered. The concept of ‘Public and private’ is a very delicate issue in Islam religion. Frankly, this precision cannot be overthrown in order to create a series of photographs by using personal contacts. I’m confident that being a faithful Muslim, Sabiha Çimen sure knows all of the above mentioned by heart. Because, herself, too has been educated in a similar Qur’an course.
On the other side, it would clearly be unjust to call the photographs in this series “Blasphemy”. However, it is evident that these photographs are unethical and regretfully violate Islamic beliefs. Furthermore, such examples can be a stepping stone for others to find their way into making photography projects that are libelous to Islam and Muslims.
‘Hafız: Guardians of the Qur’an’ series has to be evaluated legally.
Subjects in the photographs are between the ages of 8 to 17... meaning they are not of legal age. For that matter, Sabiha Çimen must have taken letters of parental consent from the guardians of the students.
- Were they taken?
In addition, for these courses which are directly affiliated with Presidency of Religious Affairs, one must submit a letter of intent in order to apply for an official permission for any photography shoot.
- Has any submission of a letter of intent been made and/or permission been taken?
Sabiha Çimen states that her past acquaintances, friends are now teachers and administrators in the mentioned Qur’an courses and she has taken permissions from them.
- Are these permissions documented letters?
- Do these mentioned documents hold any legal value or validity?
The subjects of these photography series are not only visually staged but also made public by sharing their names in subtitles. Locations of where the photographs were taken were given. If all necessary permissions were not taken, and competent authorities were to uncover the situation, wouldn’t these friends of hers find themselves in a tough spot?
I believe, once again, the agency has to evaluate these within the frame of Magnum Photo’s code of conduct. Hafız: Guardians of Qur’an series is intentional and rather manipulative...
Many of the images consist of what I call “a staged reality”. These are not the reflection of the reality in hand, a personal interpretation of a distorted version of the truth and quite biased as well as misleading.
In an interview* which she gave for Hafız: Guardians of Qur’an series, Sabiha Çimen sums her 3 years in the course as follows; “I couldn't memorize (Qu’ran), I couldn’t achieve that... I was always getting punishment... how can I say... discipline. I was terrible. I was wearing punk dress(es)... Rebel”
One might ask would these series be a photographic avenge...?
I personally don’t know Sabiha Çimen. By translating one of her past interviews into Turkish, I tried to introduce her to the photography community in my country (TR). However, after sharing this interview, I received many criticisms regarding her photographs. Eventually, this situation has brought me to a point where I needed to share the rightful precision of the Muslims. I kindly ask the reader to bear in mind this last remark whilst strolling through these lines...
Sincerely,
Cenk Mirat Pekcanattı
(This letter was replied by the CEO of the agency.)
- aynı mızrapla bir başkası daha iyi çalar...
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