Excerpt:
The photo shoot in the Brussels neighborhood of Molenbeek is playful: Painter Samuel Vanderveken is wearing a grey wool sweater and jeans. His friend Nikita Imambayev stands to his right wearing a traditional chapan — an overcoat worn by Muslims in Central Asia. Both men have dark hair and beards, and generally look rather similar. They pose, standing side by side, with their arms crossed. Then they change roles. Somewhat hesitantly, but nevertheless with a big smile, Vanderveken puts on the chapan and suddenly becomes a Muslim. The transformation seems perfect.
The men are taking part in an art project called "Hipster / Muslim: The New West," organized by the Get Me collective. The clothing swap is designed to tear down prejudices between Muslims and non-Muslims. They are young, easily fit into the "hipster" category and both work in the Molenbeek neighborhood. Vanderveken is a Belgian-born atheist. Imambayev comes from Uzbekistan, runs a news portal and is a practicing Muslim.