The Muslim man with a ‘forbidden’ job: making Christian religious statues

ALETEIA
By Deacon Greg Kandra

BEIRUT---Mohammad Lahham is a sculptor in Lebanon who fled the war in Syria five years ago with his wife, two children and his parents. Now based in a southern suburb of Beirut, he creates sculptures of Christian saints at a roadside studio 40km south of the city. He says people tell him his job is forbidden – referencing Islamic tradition that discourages depictions of deities in physical form. But he enjoys the work, saying that breaking taboos can help bring people together. [More]