While Hinduism dominates our perceptions of India, there is an amazing number of Muslims there as well, especially in the northern part of the country, which includes the capital, Delhi. That's where this man was photographed, outside of India's largest mosque, the Jama Masjid. Islam began its spread in India in the 12th century, many hundreds of years after Christianity's first appearance in southern India.
Indian Muslims total over 138 million, composing roughly 13% of the Indian population. That's equivalent to almost half the people in the United States in a land mass two-thirds smaller. Islam is especially prevalent in the northwest of the country, increasing in frequency–even ubiquity–nearing the Pakistani border.
This man and others were proud to have their portrait made on the spot, with the sun recently set behind the mosque and the bystanders gathering like the dusk around my camera. He is featured with his friend in one of the spreads of my new book.
