Martin and Peter Kalinski, who are brothers, are Polish photographers and musicians. They are colleagues at the Warsaw branch of the Dziennik News agency. They travelled to Iran to take a few pictures and analyse the Iranian Muharram music. When asked why they wanted to travel to Iran, they told a Mehr news reporter: “It was very interesting for us to see the ceremonies which take place during Muharram. These ceremonies are truly unique.” They also compared the people of Iran to a family, who cry and mourn the loss of their most loved member.
These two brothers also said: “It was very fascinating for us to see that old men cried like infants for Imam Hussein (as). In Europe they only show the head slashing.”
Martin Kalinski also talked of the picture the Western media portrayed of the Iranian Islamic ceremonies and said: “The Muharram I saw differs greatly with the Muharram I knew of in the past. I first became aware of Muharram by looking at a picture on Reuters, which showed a Pakistani man slashing his chest, but I found it to be very calm and beautiful in Iran.”
Martin Kalinski said that his pictures portrayed how he viewed Muharram and added: “The way we pictured Muharram was very different and we used to think that the Shia in Iran hurt their bodies during Muharram, but we didn’t see anything like that. The ceremonies of Muharram in Iran were held with the calmness and beauty.”
He was also shocked at how widespread these ceremonies were and at how they were unrelated to the government. He further added: “I have travelled to many countries and taken many pictures from different ceremonies, however none were so instilled in the minds of the people. During the time in Iran we felt as if we were the only people who were not mourning the loss of Imam Hussein (as).”
Martin Kalinski also talked of his trip to Bandar Abbas and added: “Although it seems that in Iran professional actors acted in the Taziyas, I saw Taziyas acted out and directed by ordinary people in Bandar Abbas. That was very interesting for me.”
Peter Kalinski said that he found the Muharram music serene and sad even though he did not know what the words meant.