The muslim theological doctrine says that, after his death, the believer which during his life has not followed the right path will suffer an early corporal punishment, while waiting for the Judgment Day.
Besides, according to Islam even the worshippers of other divine inspired religions could enter Paradise, because in the end of days only Allah can decide their faith.
Is it then possible, that some Mexican people with Maya heritage but converted to islamic religion could already enjoy a divine prize in advance?
This is what the photographs Giulia Iacolutti took in Chiapas among a muslim community of tzotzil actually wonder. Having embraced the new beliefs thanks to the coming, in 1995, of a few Mirabitum muslims, these women and men are inheritors of an indigenous millenary tradition but nowadays are living a form of syncretism that has lot to teach to everybody, and that transpires from the serene and never forced portraits, landscapes and details photographed by Iacolutti during her experience in their homes and of their rituals.
The most recent chapter in a professional path focused on identity, dignity and sense of belonging, “Jannah” (from the the word for the islamic paradise garden) is a direct and intimate representation where everything, from the colors to the ratio of the images, from the looks to the composure of the people potraied, tells about a pacific cohabitation of different but clearly not so dissimilar instances.
Thanks to this work, on display at Antiche Carceri in San Vito al Tagliamento from June 22nd to September 1st, Giulia Iacolutti has won the 33rd Friuli Venezia Giulia prize as best regional author, held by Centro di Ricerca e Archiviazione della Fotografia of Spilimbergo (Pordenone).