HIDDEN ISLAM
Nicolò Degiorgis
With an introduction by Martin Parr
Published in 2014 by RORHOF
1st Edition of 1000 copies (2014)
2nd Edition of 1000 copies (2014)
3rd Edition of 3000 copies (2015)
Hardcover with dust-jacket
90 pages
16 x 24 cm
ISBN 978-88-909817-0-8
HIDDEN ISLAM is a cadastral catalogue of makeshift Islamic places of worship located across the Italian regions of the Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino and South Tyrol.
Inside a sequence of gate folds lies a life lived behind closed doors: men kneeling into prayer; men washing their feet; men conversing; women and children praying in separate rooms; an esplanade of rugs on the floor of a parking; the leftovers of a Middle Eastern meal on the tiled floor of a praying room next to an Italian flag.
HIDDEN ISLAM maps the geography of a religion forced to exist secretly because, despite its 1.5 million adepts living on Italian soil, Islam has not yet officially been recognised by the State.
The question is raised whether for anything to survive in today’s world it is necessary for it to keep hiding.
RORHOF