Christians, Jews and Atheists: A Photo Guide to Western People

It has become customary for Western media to identify the religion of people that appear in stories and photographs about the Middle East in a very precise manner. This is a very helpful development, that allows the audience to form a complete opinion about the issues being discussed. For example, a story about a patient getting into an argument with a dentist would be different if the two were Sunnis or one was Sunni and the other was Shiite.  

Sadly however, the Middle Eastern press has lagged behind on that front when covering new stories about the West, treating Europeans and Americans as generic 'people', as if those categorisations don't matter. Nevertheless, we have noticed recently that some local outlets have begun to include this information and we have translated some of these instances. It's only the beginning, but Middle Eastern journalists are becoming increasingly aware of the need to build a whole picture. 

One Jew and four Catholics laughing 

One Baptist, two Lutherans, one Calvinist, one Jew, one Catholic and two atheists smiling  

Three Protestants laughing 

Two Christians, an atheist and one left-handed Jew texting 

Three Protestants, one agoraphobic Catholic and one atheist smiling

Three atheists, one Jew and Tow Christians sitting down

Two Lutherans walking in the park

A Christian and  a Jew with some more Christians behind

A Presbyterian and a blond atheist at the cinema.

A Protestant and a Catholic stepping out of a bus

Three Catholic shoppers. Faces have been concealed to protect their identity.