The project has taken 25 years to bring to fruition. In order to make this beautiful photo-essay available, we need your support. Please give what you can.

Over a period of twelve years, internationally acclaimed photographer Peter Sanders travelled throughout China to capture images of Chinese Muslims and their unique spiritual culture, which began only sixty years after Hijra, when Saad ibn Abi Waqqas and other Companions of the Messenger of God settled in this majestic land at the invitation of the Tang Emperor. Between 2000 and 2012 Peter made four journeys across China from East to West, from North to South and captured the great diversity and beauty of an indigenous civilization that is under threat from the modernization and secularization of Chinese society. Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things, an expression referring to the Way of Islam, is the title of the most comprehensive photo-essay ever produced on Chinese Islamic civilization and Peter’s latest masterpiece. Our aim is to launch the book at the Bradford Literature Festival by mid-2024 but we urgently need your help to cover design, production, and printing costs.

Why we need your support

For over half a century Peter Sanders has devoted his life to capturing the beauty and spirituality of Islam on film. Through his books, exhibitions, and workshops, he has revealed the richness, diversity, and incredible beauty of a global civilization that has long been misunderstood in the modern world. He has carried out his remarkable work for the sake of God and His Messenger, from his own resources, without any commercial motive. Peter has spent twenty-five years and his personal assets to bring Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things to completion. At this stage, he cannot proceed without additional support for this project.

The Significance of this Project

The Companions of the Messenger of God were the first Muslim ambassadors to China and established Islam peacefully and without confrontation through their excellent character, wisdom, deep piety, and luminous spirituality. Their descendants and successors presented Islam in a vocabulary that allowed the Chinese to accept Islam as a continuation of the Confucian and Taoist teachings they already followed. Islam has flourished and survived in China for 1,400 years in the face of overwhelming challenges. There is much that we can learn from the Chinese Muslim experience. Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things tells that story. 

Haji Noor Deen Mi Guang Jiang

Haji Noor Deen is a renowned master of Chinese, Arabic calligraphy. He brings an immense learning in traditional thought and Islamic art to a modern audience. His work is exhibited and sought after throughout the world and features heavily throughout Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things.

What We Offer

By contributing to this campaign, you become an integral part of this journey. We offer various tiers of rewards for our sponsors, including, 

• Printed Copies Beautifully bound copies of the book dedicated and signed by Peter Sanders
• Acknowledgement Your name will be acknowledged in the book as a supporter of this significant cultural endeavour. (select levels only).

 After May 30th 2024, supporters acknowledges will be listed on the website, which can be accessed through the QR code printed in the book 

How Your Contributions Will Be Used

• Design and Layout: Ensuring the book is visually compelling and professionally designed.
• Printing: High-quality printing to bring out the best in each photograph and calligraphy.

Distribution: Making the book accessible to libraries, educational institutiions and bookstores around the world.

Breakdown of the funding required includes:

Design - £18,000
Proof Reading - £2,500
REPRO - £3,600
Map - £1,000
Promotional Film - £2,500
Film Editor - £1,000
Printing - £60,000
Storage for 2 years - £7,200
Banners for promoton - £432

Total: £96,232

Join Us in Making History

Your contribution is not just a donation, it is an investment in preserving and celebrating a rich cultural heritage. Join us in bringing Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things to life and sharing the incredible stories of China’s Muslim communities with the world. Together we can make a difference and create a lasting impact.

About Peter Sanders

Sanders began his career photographing the music icons of the 1960s. He was amongst the first European to photograph the Hajj in 1971 and has continued to travel internationally, creating exhibitions, presentations and undertaking photographic workshops. In 2019, he launched a fifty-year project Meetings with Mountains, Encounters with the Saints and Sages of the Islamic World, followed afterwards by a collaboration with Michael Sugich entitled Exemplars for Our Time, a box set containing 9 monographs.

This year sees the conclusion of a twenty-five-year old project about Muslims in China which he plans to launch at the Bradford Literature in July this year. Sanders continues to act as a translator of Islam to those interested in acquiring a greater understanding and to encourage broader and deeper interactions between people of different races and faiths.

Thank You for Your Support!

Peter Sanders and the Heaven, Earth & The Ten Thousand Things Team

DONATIONS:

Any donations greater than £1,000 will receive a 20% discount on any prints or books from the Peter Sanders website. (petersanders.com) Offer does not include postage.