| Part one | Part two | Part three | Part four |
| Part five | Part six | Part seven |
Nick and I trusted each other and we believed that each one of us was going to do our best to bring the best result.
I had already met with the team twice. We went through the details of what to do. First, we would approach people with a smile and “Salam.” Then, we would ask them if they were interested in having their picture taken.
“Photography is free. We want to show the pride and diversity of the Muslim community in the U.S. We will post these photos on a website and send you the links.” We agreed to vary our lines to make it comfortable for us individually, however, we would stick with the words “pride” and “diversity.” Then, we would take our guests to Nick for photography.
Before the shoot, they needed to sign the consent form and write down their names, email addresses, and phone numbers legibly. I emphasized good handwriting. “We need to be able to read their handwriting. Please make sure everyone is writing their names and email addresses legibly,” I requested.
Two days before the photoshoot Nick called me. He said he’d come with his assistant to do the project.
The end of Ramadan was near. I felt tired due to not eating and drinking during the day. At the Iftar, when I broke my fast after 16 hours, I couldn’t eat much, but I tried to eat good food. I started breaking my fast with two large dates and a cup of warm sweet black tea. The aroma of pleasant Persian black tea with rose, lemon, and cardamom smells in the air was nostalgic and soothing. The smell reminded me of my grandma’s house, as well as my mom’s big Iftar parties. There were lots of laughter and prayers in that home. I loved the smell.
After the tea, I went straight to the main food, usually a combination of kabob, or meat-based food, plus bread, and a cup of soup. I ate a handful of bites and then I was done. My stomach couldn’t let me fill in more than a few short bites. “If I ate as little as I have been eating during Ramadan, I would have disappeared within months,” I thought.
I kept checking my phone four days before the end of Ramadan. I was nervous. I wanted to know when the Eid was, so I could notify the team. As I wrote previously in I Wanted to Show that Muslims are Happy People, Muslims followed the lunar calendar for Ramadan. I never knew the last day of Ramadan until a few days before the Eid.
On August 6, I finally received the notification about the actual Eid day. It was on August 8th. Fortunately, I didn’t have to be worried about separate Shia and Sunnis announcements for Eid.
Fortunately, Madison was a small college town. We didn’t have many Muslims to divide them into Shia and Sunni. Therefore, all Muslims came to the same prayer and celebration no matter their religious sect. That was good news for me. Nevertheless, I started getting increasingly worried.
I had a misperception about the way Iranians and Americans dealt with the media interviews.
Iran, media, and people’s reaction
It is extraordinarily difficult to convince anyone in Tehran, Iran, to go on the record. Things have only gotten worse after Mahsa Amini, the 23-year-old woman who died while in police custody in September 2023. Every time I wanted to interview anyone on any social issues, the typical reaction was: “Why do you want to talk to me?” “Where will this interview appear?” “Are you a government agent?” “How do I know you are not collecting the info to use against me later?”
The mistrust between people and the media was, and still is, so high that I needed endless patience to find a few people to talk to me. I had an easier time when I went into detail explaining my newspaper, its strategy, and why I wanted to talk to them. Yet, in the end, they would agree to talk with me off the record. It was another marathon to convince them to go on the record. I sometimes won my subjects’ trust. But, I usually failed and ended up rephrasing my topic or dropping it altogether.
I assumed the same mindset in the U.S. I thought to myself “These people are Muslims. Most of them are from countries like Iran. I doubt they will agree to have their pictures taken,” My skepticism was high at that point. But, I was at the point of no return. I had to proceed.
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