Sheikh, Fazal. Ramadan Moon and a Camel for the Son by Fazal Sheikh. Two volume set.

Steidl, 2001. [Second in a series of projects by Fazal Sheikh intended to further awareness of human rights issues. Includes chronology concerning Somalis in the Netherlands. Born in New York City in 1965, Fazal Sheikh, a Princeton University graduate, is a MacArthur Fellow and Guggenheim Fellow who specializes in photographing marginalized and displaced communities. He has published more than a dozen books since 1996 (A Sense of Common Ground) and has had numerous exhibits in prestigious museums.]  Black bindings, with red imprints on spine, issued without dust jacket, related pamphlet laid in, Ramadan Moon is lightly rubbed with a couple of small indentations, otherwise both volumes fine. 

Fazal Sheikh (born 1965) is an acclaimed American documentary photographer internationally recognized for his deeply empathetic, long-term portrait projects documenting displaced persons, refugees, and marginalized communities across East Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East. Born in New York City to an American mother and a Pakistani father, Sheikh earned a degree in art from Princeton University and subsequently pursued documentary fieldwork using traditional black-and-white photography to honor the individual humanity of his subjects rather than reducing them to statistics of crisis. His foundational monographs—such as The Victor Weeps (1998), focusing on Afghan refugees in Pakistan, A Sense of Common Ground (1996), examining Mozambican refugees in Kenya, and Moussa Sow (2009)—integrate oral histories, personal testimonies, and intimate portraits that prioritize collaboration and dignity between the photographer and the communities he depicts. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and the prestigious Henri Cartier-Bresson International Award, Sheikh distributes his publications freely to humanitarian organizations, researchers, and affected populations, cementing his legacy as a powerful voice at the intersection of documentary photography and human rights advocacy.

Thank you! Here is the revised summary with a cleaner, more streamlined flow:

A Camel for the Son and Ramadan Moon is a profound two-volume photographic set by American artist Fazal Sheikh. Launched as the inaugural publications of his International Human Rights Series, these twin volumes serve as companion pieces that focus heavily on the intersection of the Somali civil war, forced displacement, and the specific systemic vulnerabilities faced by Somali refugee women.

Volume 1: A Camel for the Son

• The Disparity of Birth: The title comes from a letter given to Sheikh by a women's group leader in a Kenyan refugee camp, which outlines the deep-seated gender inequalities of her traditional society—where a newborn boy is celebrated with the gift of a camel, while a newborn girl receives nothing.

• Life in the Border Camps: Spanning photos taken between 1992 and 2000, this volume documents the generational trauma of families living long-term in the refugee camps of northern Kenya. Sheikh pairs powerful, respectful portraits of mothers and children approaching puberty with text addressing the constant threat of sexual assault these women face when leaving camp perimeters to collect firewood.

Volume 2: Ramadan Moon

• The Reality of Asylum: Shifting from African border camps to a European landscape, this volume serves as a quiet, poetic meditation on exile, following a Somali woman detained with her young son in an asylum seekers’ shelter in the Netherlands.

• A Spiritual Reflection on Loss: The book weaves intimate close-up portraits with first-person testimony of a pleasant life in Mogadishu before it collapsed into war. The imagery juxtaposes isolation with abstract, lyrical photographs of the night sky and leaves as she prays during the holy month of Ramadan, dreaming of the husband and daughters she was forced to leave behind.

Summary

The Ramadan Moon / A Camel for the Son two-volume set is a masterfully executed, collaborative look at the global refugee crisis. By tracing the Somali diaspora from the crowded, high-danger camps of Kenya to the sterile, isolating bureaucratic spaces of European asylum shelters, Fazal Sheikh crafts a devastatingly empathetic portrait of resilience, faith, and the unique struggles of displaced women.