12,348 views | 22 Mar 2010 | min

Malaysians have taken for granted much of the hidden realities of life because we claim to celebrate unity in diversity.

However, recent events in Malaysia have revealed that there are still hardcore bigots and xenophobics who continue to hold myopic and intolerant views towards other religions and races.

Sharing with participants at the Advanced Citizen Journalism workshop conducted by Malaysiakini, an Iranian-born photo journalist Nafise E Motlagh spoke of her views on religion and how by searching for similarities rather than differences, Malaysians might learn to live harmoniously together.

Nafise was born in 1980 in Iran and is a PhD candidate of Mass Communication.

She has worked as a photographer for newspapers in Iran and other print media since 1999.

A brief bio of Nafise:

- has participated in photo exhibitions in Iran and elsewhere around the world.
- joined OnAsia photo agency in 2005
- instructed in photojournalism at the Malaysian news agency, Bernama and at University Putra Malaysia.
- translated numerous articles on photography and photojournalism from English to Persian.

Her latest photo book \"\"A Given Path\" is a work of art, passion and professionalism focussing on religious practices in Malaysia.

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