These images, taken from December 2023 through May 2024, document the Muslim community of Oxford, Mississippi, and their friends from nearby Memphis, Tenn. As many University of Mississippi students began protesting against Israeli genocide in Palestine in October of 2023, I began documenting their efforts, as did many photojournalists in their own communities around the country and the world. I heard many of my fellow students wonder aloud why the United States should care about something happening to people thousands of miles away. Through this work, I sought to show that those people aren't actually thousands of miles away at all. They are classmates and coworkers and friends. The title of this project comes from a conversation I had with several women sitting on the grass outside the Oxford masjid. We are all from many countries and many cities, from Lahore, Pakistan to Gaza to Memphis, TN, USA, yet at that particular time, we all called Oxford, Mississippi, home.
Fouzia Awan shares a grin with her niece Minahil Iqbal during a gathering for Muslim sisters and their friends to decorate each other's hands with henna before the upcoming celebrations of Eid al-Fitr on April 6, 2024, in Oxford, Miss. Adorning the hands with henna on the night before Eid al-Fitr is a tradition across many cultures.
HG Biggs