Enlightened Message of Sufism Towards Peaceful Pakistan

In today’s world mankind seems to be skidding towards chaos and violence. Mankind is divided on the lines of faith, race, sect, colour, cast, language and creed. Odium and intolerance have become the orders of the day. This condition pushes to take the refuge of religion but the religious radicalism, intolerance and discrimination are also in the fold. In this situation Sufi message comes to give shelter for peace, love and humanity. The enlightened Sufi message is not for one nation, race, or community but it is for the whole of humanity. Pakistan has faced terrified situations due to dangerous trends of religious extremism, radicalism and social intolerance. In order to understand this problem, the concept of Sufism has been applied. This has been used as an approach / methodology to evade from hated and violent tendency to reorient Pakistan back on the track to peace and prosperity. Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces of Pakistan have been taken as case study to give the empirical evidence. This study demonstrates that the enlightened message of Sufism has enough potential to bring back peaceful environment.

Persian Influence on the Textile Designs of Kashmir

In Kashmir, textile design forms a very important part of various traditional crafts such as wood carvings, paper mashie and carpet industry. Over the last few centuries, these crafts are not only absorbed local tradition, but also infused by the Persian cultural interaction with a clear visibility of its patterns and motifs of chinar tree and its leaves, lotus flower, pomegranate, paisley and grapes. Most importantly the exchange influenced design, color palette, and composition in Kashmiri textiles, carpets, and paper mashie. Miniature painting is yet another artform which reflects strong references artists borrowed from their neighbor. This impact was a result of constant political, cultural, and artistic exchange between the two regions. This research aims at tracing the origin of these motifs and patterns and examining the influences through an in-depth analysis. The study also highlights the political impact of the rule of Mir Sayyid Ali Hamadani and Sultan Zain ul Abidin in promoting the arts and crafts of Kashmir. Moreover, it focuses on the first Shawl industry established during the Sultanate period as the Shawls were decorated with Paisley patterns. Kashmir was well disposed to Persian arts and crafts that it was known as Iran-e-Sagheer (Smaller Persia). The designers, artists and craftsmen used a range of similar patterns which imply similitude to Persia. The qualitative research method is used in the study which is based on theoretical and critical analysis of the literature, available photographs of Kashmiri textiles of different time period, miniature paintings and the interviews conducted from scholars and the artisans of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (hereafter AJ&K). Persian Influence on The Textile Design of Kashmir Through the comparative analysis, results show the ascendency of Persian design patterns and motifs in Kashmiri textile art. Different cultures have an impact on Kashmiri culture, but it is highly influenced by Persian culture specially in field of art and crafts and linguistic. The beautiful design patterns of Kashmir are results of immigrants and the craftsmen of Persia. One can tell the origin and the story of Kashmir by the cursorily glance on the textiles of Kashmir.