Photographer/filmmaker Sheryl Shapiro travels extensively throughout the Islamic world. She is touched by the genuine kindness and hospitality of the people she encounters, despite being a woman, a Jew, and an American.

Islamic Journey dispels the myth of the “fear culture.” The stunning images and narrative will challenge your perception about the Islamic world and stir your wanderlust.

I am a woman,
I am a Jew,
I am an American,
I am a traveler.

I travel the world to experience ancient cultures; to witness traditional ways of life before they disappear; to connect with people from all walks of life.

My friends ask me, “Aren’t you afraid?”

Afraid of what?.

A nomad tends his flock. A boy hunts with an eagle. A woman spins wool by hand. The wool becomes a carpet infused with history.
 
My lens captures these images and my heart remembers.

So what should I fear? A boy crippled by a land mine? An old man wearing a turban?
 
A dirty child clutched my hand and led me down an alley… She took me home to her family. They served me bread and tea while they watched me eat.
 
Yes, I was afraid. Afraid they’d given me their whole day’s food, but I could not refuse their gift.

I am touched by the kindness I’ve been shown. People welcome me—a stranger—into their homes and into their hearts. They feed me, shelter me, and ask for nothing in return.

How can I repay their kindness? By telling you my stories and sharing my conviction that people are connected as brothers and sisters, parents and children, husbands and wives.

One traveler making one friend at a time.