The inspiration for this blog came from my father who encouraged me to start a photo journal for my travels. A first generation immigrant from Bangladesh to the United States, now living in Canada, I love exploring new places. Some of my fondest memories from childhood are from my visits to Malaysia, India and Nepal with my family. I received my Ph.D. in sociology from UCLA in 2018 and moved to work as a professor at University of Toronto that same year. As grad school had kept me away from traveling for far too long, I am now determined to make up for lost time!

 

As a sociologist, I study the lives of immigrants who, much like me, have come from Islamic countries to the West. And much like the people I study, I often find that as a Bangladeshi American Muslim woman, while I traverse both worlds, I feel completely at home in neither. I want to explore the diverse societies of the Muslim world to see their vibrant cultures, rich histories and magnificent architecture. Perhaps my travels will bring me closer to the home I left many years ago and, in becoming a more aware global citizen, help me better understand my Muslim identity. 

 

Although my main motivation for taking pictures is to share them with my family in the States, I will share snapshots of my experiences here with the hopes that they will reveal a different glimpse of the Muslim world  from the one we Westerners are too used to seeing in the news. While I know of many friends who frequently travel to tourist destinations in Europe and North America, I know far few who have ventured out into Islamic lands.

 

There is a Hadith that used to be my grandmother's favorite:  To travel the world in search for knowledge is a path that leads to paradise.

With that noble pursuit in mind, I begin my journey.