Hafiz
Sabiha Cimen
Winner of the 2020 Canon Female Photojournalist Grant
Muslims who memorize the entire Quran earn the title of “Hafız” to be placed before their name. The belief is that whoever memorizes the holy book and follows its teachings will be rewarded by Allah and will be raised to high status in paradise. The practice dates back to days when illiteracy was widespread, and paper and vellum were prohibitively expensive. The Quran has a total of 604 pages and 6,236 verses, so the hafızes, as the guardians of the holy word, have helped keep the text alive. The tradition of committing the verses to memory, dating from the time of Mohammed, has been practiced and passed on through the generations for almost 1,500 years.
Preview
In Turkey, thousands of Quran schools exist for this purpose, and many are for girls. The students, aged from eight to nineteen, usually take three or four years to complete the task which requires discipline, focus and devotion. After the girls graduate, most of them marry and have families, but they will always remember the words of the holy book. My aim is to show the everyday school life of female pupils in Quran schools preparing to become hafızes, including moments outside their studies when having fun or even breaking the rules. The narrative showing the girls’ individual experiences stands as a record. Through these photographs I want to give the girls the possibility of speaking for themselves, thus avoiding any misconceptions or misinterpretations. Outsiders will see a rare view of the female perspective, with nuanced perceptions. My goal is to cast light on the experience, offering insights into the hearts and minds of young girls just like me and my twin sister as we were 18 years ago.
My sister and I attended a Quran school from the age of twelve. I can therefore reveal this unknown, unseen world. My project shows not only the journey of the students on their way to becoming hafızes, but also shows that they can, as young hafizes, entertain dreams and have the same spirit of adventure as other young women of their age. Hafiz is my first long-term project and began in 2017. Thanks to the support of the Canon Female Photojournalist Grant (2020), I have been able to develop the project with additional content and images.
Sabiha Çimen
