Religious moments are a bit different. There is a certain stillness to them — something deeply personal, yet shared with everyone around. Whether it is prayer, reading the Qur’an, or even moments of mourning, there is a quiet intensity that is hard to put into words, let alone capture.

And that is really where it becomes delicate. Photographing spaces like this isn't just about showing up with a camera. It is about knowing how to exist within the moment — how to ask for permission without interrupting the atmosphere, and how to capture spirituality without pushing into something too personal. It is a difficult balance, and not everyone manages to hold it.

So here, we look at photographers capturing religious life across the region — and the different approaches they take to move through these spaces carefully and naturally.

Marwan Bassiouni is an Egyptian photographer based in Amsterdam, whose work often circles around religion, identity, and how Islam is perceived in the West. You might recognise him from one of his largest and most recent projects, which focused on photographing mosques across the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom between 2018 and 2022 — looking at these spaces not just as places of worship, but as part of everyday urban life.

But here, the focus shifts to another project — one that, in many ways, feels even more personal. I am talking about Prayer Rug Selfies. At its core, it follows the places where the artist pauses to pray in the middle of everyday life — almost like a quiet diary of his connection to God.

The key detail: each image is taken after the prayer. In that way, Bassiouni avoids stepping into something deeply personal, while still letting you feel that it happened.

That is also where the title becomes interesting. These aren’t “selfies” in any conventional sense, but something closer to a self-portrait through absence — a way of marking presence without ever showing the body.

The series wraps up with a three-part poster release titled The Sand Station, which also ties into a wider context. It arrives at a moment when conversations around prayer in public spaces are becoming more visible — and, for many, much more complicated.

Ali Khara is an Arab photographer working between Lebanon, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Much of his work sits within the realities of war and conflict — spaces where religion isn’t separate, but deeply woven into everyday life.

But even in moments of uncertainty, there are always pauses that feel like life continues quietly in between. And this is where his images from the large Catholic Mass in Beirut in 2025 come in.

The scene itself is striking in its simplicity: an open street, broad daylight, and tens of thousands — sometimes even hundreds of thousands — gathered together for the Mass. And what makes it feel especially powerful is the context surrounding it. Beirut is a deeply layered and complex city, with a Muslim-majority population of around 60%. Which is exactly why moments like this begin to feel larger than religion alone. They become about coexistence, and mutual respect.

Alongside the images, Ali also shared words from the Pope’s message that stayed with him: “Disarming our hearts is the only way… let us cast off the armour of our ethnic and political divisions and reawaken the dream of a united Lebanon.”

And somehow, looking at the photographs, you can feel exactly that.

Arthur Larie is a new-generation photographer working across East Africa and the Middle East. Much of his work focuses on everyday life in the region, where religion naturally appears as part of the landscape — whether through weddings shaped by tradition or the quiet prayer of a homeless person.

But in this series, he turns towards something far larger and more emotionally charged: the 2025 funeral of Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut.

The event carried significance far beyond politics. For a large part of the Shiite Muslim community, particularly in Lebanon, Nasrallah was seen not only as a political leader, but also as a religious figure connected to ideas of sacrifice, resistance, martyrdom, and protection of the community.

The funeral itself followed deeply rooted religious traditions: funeral prayers, religious speeches, black mourning clothes, and enormous public gatherings filled with grief. At the same time, there was also a strong sense of unity among the people, with many Shiite mourners treating the gathering almost like a sacred pilgrimage or devotional act.

And while the event itself feels deeply heartbreaking, Arthur manages to capture something beyond the mourning — the emotional strength of the people within it, and the raw honesty of collective grief.

Houssem Boulifa is a French-Algerian artist and filmmaker whose work often returns to the legacy of his home country, offering glimpses into everyday life in Algiers — from policemen on horseback to crowded local markets and moments of shared prayer.

When photographing people, Boulifa is careful about trust and boundaries.

But when it comes to prayer, his approach shifts slightly. For Houssem, the atmosphere inside a mosque feels like a shared sacred space, one that naturally carries a sense of trust. Because of that, he avoids interrupting anyone mid-prayer, choosing instead to step back and let the moment unfold. If anything, he would approach people afterwards, once the prayer has ended.

At the same time, his interest in religion goes beyond the mosque itself. He often turns his lens to the quieter transitions of daily life — the moments just before or after prayer, when the city returns to its rhythm. On the streets of Algiers, these in-between spaces — between prayer and work — become just as important as the ritual itself.

Gailan Haji is a Kurdish photojournalist from northern Iraq, known for capturing everyday life in Kurdistan. And while his focus mostly lies in documenting contemporary life and the changing rhythms of the region, his lens always seems to return to something deeper — the religious moments that shape it.

One of his recent series focuses on the Good Friday evening Mass — one of the most important moments in Christianity. Set in Alqosh, a historic Christian town in Iraq, the scenes feel especially powerful.

Inside St George’s Chaldean Catholic Church, you see people standing in prayer, listening to the sermon, surrounded by familiar symbols — the figure of Jesus on the cross. All the key elements of the ritual are there, but what stands out is the atmosphere: a sense of stillness, focus, and shared presence that runs through the images.

Then, just a few days later, he turns towards an entirely different celebration: Charshama Sor (Red Wednesday), the Yazidi New Year and one of the most important moments in the Yazidi faith. In the photographs, pilgrims arrive at Lalish in traditional dress, oil lamps light up the temple, and brightly dyed eggs appear as part of the rituals.

What feels especially interesting is the way he moves between these worlds so naturally. Different faiths, different traditions — yet approached with the same calm sensitivity. It never feels like he is simply documenting events, but more like quietly entering the atmosphere around them.