I am a fine artist who explores evolving notions of cultural identity. I first became interested in Islam in the late 1970\'s, when I became passionately interested in Islamic architecture. I travelled to Morocco to photograph Moorish building styles and had a great time. I found the people (well, men actually, I didn\'t meet any women!) there to be both friendly and courteous. It wasn\'t until the following year that my generally positive impressions (of Islam) were challenged. Time and again I encountered men in political meetings who objected to the presence of women in such meetings or at social gatherings, would argue at length about the apparent inferiority of women. My English friends (white and black) would never have uttered such reactionary rubbish, so I began to appreciate the extent to which Islam needs to be reformed.