“A beard is a responsibility, and I know the situation.”  Hussein Sharaffedine

On January 22nd, 2014, a day after a suicide bomb attack hit Beirut’s southern suburb, Lebanese rapper Hussein Sharaffedine also known as Double-A The Preacherman was wrongly accused of being a terrorist and was publicly detained by security forces at one of Lebanon’s many checkpoints.

In the span of 34 days in early 2014, 5 bombing incidents shook the city killing many civilians in which Jihadists were held accountable. Sharaffedine’s arrest at a checkpoint was undoubtedly associated with his physical appearance that many might refer to as “terrorist beard” defined by Urban Dictionary as “A style of beard that is commonly found on terrorists.” 

My photographs of young bearded men from around the country linked in one particular feature being their facial hair ended up redefining the series “Terror Less Beards”. The men I chose have encountered discrimination in one way or another due to their facial hair and it was only through those similar to mug-shot photographs that the stereotypes were brought to life.