Born in 1944 in Iran and later transplanted to Paris, his early photographic career was spent documenting strife and injustice in the Middle East, Vietnam, Northern Ireland, South America and South Africa, most notably the Iranian Revolution, and the Vietnam War in both the North and the South. He became a member of Magnum in 1981 and has since dedicated himself to covering the developing southern nations as they struggle to adapt to a rapidly globalising world, with special emphasis on religion defined by him as culture rather than faith.

Abbas is the photographer/author of many books including Return to Mexico, Allah O Akbar, a journey through militant Islam, Faces of Christianity, IranDiary 1971-2002, and Sur la Route des Esprits.

He writes about his own work:
'My photography is a reflection, which comes to life in action and leads to meditation. Spontaneity – the suspended moment – intervenes during action, in the viewfinder. A reflection on the subject precedes it. A meditation on finality follows it, and it is here, during this exalting and fragile moment, that the real photographic writing develops - sequencing the images. For this enterprise a writer’s spirit is necessary.
After all isn’t photo-graphy writing with light?'

For part one of Abbas' interview with the British Journal of Photography see left.
For part two, see below:

by Abbas
In Whose Name? – The Islamic World after 9/11

Also of interest:
Magnum Photos in the Photofile series
Magnum Magnum - 2009 edition