Every Friday, for eight months, people attending Jummah at one of four mosques in Tower Hamlets became familiar with the same sight: a man with a camera and a woman with a clipboard, chatting to men as they entered and left the mosque, as part of a special project.
Jummah, or Friday prayer, is a spiritual highlight of the week that brings the spectrum of Muslim communities together. And ever since it was established by the prophet Muhammad – who described Friday prayers as an “Eid” or celebration – there has been an idea of wearing your “Friday best”. What comprises this uniform is wide-ranging, from monochrome ankle-length Arab thobes to colourful south Asian kurtas, easy tracksuits to stylish blazers. The project set out to document the whole range, and forms the basis of a new exhibition in London’s Bethnal Green called Jummah Aesthetics: British Muslim Men and Their Sartorial Choices.
