Meetings with Mountains

A discussion with world renowned photographer Peter Sanders, in conversation with Baraka Blue

For nearly one half a century acclaimed British photographer Peter Sanders has traveled the earth to capture images of the saints of Islam. In the traditional world, these people of purity, knowledge and illumination have been the role models, benchmarks and exemplars of what it is to be human. The goal of this spiritual tradition is nothing less than direct experience or ma’arifa (gnosis) of God’s presence. The fulfillment and embodiment of this tradition is the Friend or Intimate of God. This lengthy search has finally culminated in the publication entitled Meetings with Mountains, Encounters with the Saints and Sages of the Islamic World. Join us for a presentation and discussion of his new book and its importance for our time.

Peter Sanders is the world’s pre-eminent photographer of the Muslim world. For more than 55 years, he has captured over half a million images reflecting a rich traditional civilization filled with warmth, humanity and compassion.

He began his career in the mid 1960s as one of London’s leading rock and roll photographers, and his images of Jimi Hendrix, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, among others, are today considered classics of the period. This was a springboard which led him to his early travels throughout India and then to Morocco documenting their various faiths. In 1971 he photographed the Hajj after obtaining a unique permission for a westerner at that time.