Photo of the Day: Women in Mosul, 1902

Juan Cole 02/02/2014

From M. E. Hume-Griffith and A. Hume, Behind the Veil in Persia and Turkish Arabia: An Account of an Englishwoman’s Eight Years’ Residence Amongst the Women of the East (1909).

The authors note that these are Christian women, presumably Iraqi Chaldeans, and they alleged that Muslim women declined at that time to be photographed. Since there are many photos of Muslim women from this period, it is more likely that they declined to be photographed by British missionaries.

About the Author

Juan Cole is the founder and chief editor of Informed Comment. He is Richard P. Mitchell Professor of History at the University of Michigan He is author of, among many other books, Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires and The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Follow him on Twitter at @jricole or the Informed Comment Facebook Page