Lenses of Belonging

Lenses of Belonging: Muslim America in Focus, is a photographic showcase curated by CME-US, featuring visual reflections on everyday Muslim life in America. The images capture moments of faith, family, friendship, study, and community that reflect the beauty, diversity, and humanity of Muslim experiences across the country.

Submitted by American-based college students, these photographs offer personal perspectives on belonging and lived experience, contributing to a broader visual narrative that situates Muslim life as an integral part of the American story.

The images below are submissions to the inaugural Lenses of Belonging photo competition in 2025, and were featured as part of CME-US’s Muslim American Heritage Month programming. We are grateful to each participant for the care and thoughtfulness reflected in their work. Information about the next round of the competition will be shared in Fall 2026.

Lenses of Belonging: All Submissions

Slideshow Thumbnail Image for Lenses of Belonging Submissions

A warmly lit room with red patterned walls, chairs arranged in front of a decorative wooden screen, and soft ambient lighting. Chairs sit on a patterned rug in a red-walled room, illuminated by lamps and string lights around a carved wooden divider.

The interior of a mosque shows a green carpeted prayer hall and an ornate mihrab wall, illuminated by natural light.

Two men stand smiling on a beach at sunset, one holding a football, with the ocean and sky visible behind them.

Two women stand close together, smiling and embracing in front of a tiled wall with Arabic calligraphy and blue decorative borders.

An aerial view of Tempe, Arizona, showing the Islamic Community Center of Tempe (ICC Tempe) with its domes and minaret surrounded by apartment buildings.

Hands paint a colorful design on fabric at a table covered with art supplies. A close-up of a person painting on fabric, surrounded by brushes, paint bottles, and paper plates.

Several people stand and converse outside a mosque at night, with illuminated Arabic signage above the entrance.

Three women wearing hijab stand side by side, lit by natural light and looking slightly off camera. Sunlight falls across the faces of three women standing together against a textured wall.

A group of students sit around tables indoors, smiling and sharing food during a gathering. Students gather for a social event around tables with plates, drinks, and games inside a campus space.

A mosque building illuminated at night, with a domed roof and Arabic calligraphy visible on the exterior. The exterior of a mosque at night, lit against a dark sky with nearby buildings in the background.

A teen boy stands quietly at the edge of a lake, facing the water as sunlight reflects across the surface.

People kneel, their back's to the camera, in rows for prayer inside a mosque with patterned, green carpet, chandeliers, and arched architectural details. Worshippers sit shoulder to shoulder on a green prayer carpet inside a mosque prayer hall.

A large group of male college students sit closely together on a prayer carpet inside a mosque, facing the camera. Men sit in rows on patterned rugs inside a mosque prayer space, some smiling toward the camera.

Two women sit on a sandy shoreline near calm water at dusk, wrapped in prayer garments, with desert hills and an open sky in the background.

A large group of students pose together indoors beneath a basketball hoop, many wearing matching black hoodies. Students gather for a group photo in a gymnasium, standing and kneeling in rows with a banner behind them.

People gather outside a mosque at night, standing and talking near the entrance under streetlights and Arabic signage.

A decorative hanging with Arabic calligraphy is displayed on white branches at an indoor market or community space, with clothing racks visible in the background.

A man wearing a white prayer cap recites the call to prayer into a microphone indoors, with his hands raised near his ears.

An open book written in Arabic (The Holy Quran) rests on a prayer rug, viewed from above, as two women sit nearby reading.

A prayer mat is laid out on the floor between rows of filing cabinets inside a modern building, with sunlight streaming through a large window.

Three women wearing hijab sit together indoors, reading and discussing books, with soft daylight coming through a window behind them.

First Place

Two women sit on a sandy shoreline near calm water at dusk, wrapped in prayer garments, with desert mountains and an open sky in the background.

Stillness Between Prayers — Muhammad D.

"Two Muslim women pause for prayer along the water’s edge, turning an ordinary outdoor moment into an act of faith. In the quiet of the American Southwest, devotion blends naturally into everyday life—unannounced, unperformative, and deeply personal."

Second Place

Friendship — Dimas H.

"We began as strangers, but faith made us brothers. Grateful for this beautiful connection, Alhamdulillah."

La Jolla Beach, San Diego, California.

Third Place

Pages of Remembrance — Malia S.

"A shared moment of study between three sisters, reading Islamic poetry books from their hometown of Herat, Afghanistan."

Honorable Mention

A large group of men sit closely together on a prayer carpet inside a mosque, facing the camera.

NDMSA Jummah Prayer — Osman D.

Terms & Permissions

By submitting your photo(s), you grant the Center of Muslim Experience in the United States (CME-US) permission to:

Display your submitted images (credited to you) on CME-US’s website, social media, and print or digital materials related to the contest.
Exhibit your photo(s) during January 2026 “Muslim Heritage Month” events at Arizona State University and future CME-US exhibitions.
Use the photo(s) in promotional or educational contexts to highlight Muslim life and culture in America.
All photographers retain full copyright ownership of their work.
CME-US will credit the photographer’s name wherever the image is used.

Muslim America in Focus:

1st Annual CME-US Photo Competition

Lenses of Belonging: All Submissions