My Kama Matam At Bargah Ashura 2012

My Kama Matam At Bargah Ashura 2012, a photo by firoze shakir photographerno1 on Flickr.

I normally dont carry a kama when I travel out of Mumbai, and in Mumbai I use the kama of the guys who are using it ..

But last year I had bought my kama from the town of Pushkar the land of Lord Brahma , Tilak who sold it to me dd not charge me the hefty price that he had quoted when I told him I would use it cut my head in Moharam , my personal act of protest against the killers of Imam Hussain the Martyred Grandson of the Holy Prophet ..who was brutally murdered and the so called sanctimonious Muslims of that time watched this dastardly act of barbarism but out of fear of Yazid and cowardice did nothing..Imam Hussain died but he saved Islam from the clutches of Evil.

And it is extremely sad that the rituals we perform of our blood shedding to remind the somnolent Muslim society of the blackest chapter in Islam gets on the goat of others.

It is very sad this documentation has made Flickr support .. block all my Moharam sets from public view and I am forced to moderate my photostream showcasing a important part of Islamic history .

I respect all religiosity all traditions cultural events I shoot , be it Hinduism Christianity Sikhism Jainsm Judaism or Sufism I show utmost respect I dont ever ridicule the right to religion .. a fundamental human right.

And this restriction imposed on me for an aspect of photo journalism is unfair , I can understand the restriction on my images of the Naga Sadhus at Kumbh Mela because of nudity , and I adhere by Flickr rules regulations but this imposition or censorship on my Shia images has hurt me deeply.

But I adhere by them , my Imam was the essence of Humility and Humanity .. I dont believe in spiritual defiance ..and I have never flagged another mans picture for what he shot ..


I only hope this thinking will change I have no sponsors I am not backed by any school of thought I am a simple street photographer I have shot over 50000 images on Hindu culture on Sufism and it is the 50000 images on Shiasm in India that hurts those who dont like our Faith the documentary of our Faith.

So this is my series of my head cutting with a Pushkar dagger ..that you wont be able to see publicly unless you are a Flickr member .. the images after this are graphic and will be moderated as per Flickr demand.

I did my Kama Matam on the Noha Aye Shere E Nayastane Hyder Abbas .. and my friend Ejaz who held my camera my camera bag shot it for me .