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Sir
Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938) and beyond |
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Literary journals of considerable
ambition
and scope were flourishing, especially in Urdu, with a wide readership
among the western-educated |
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Urdu and its literature also
belonged to
many others besides Muslims, as they always have from their earliest
days. |
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There was also a good deal of
pan-Islamic
sentiment: the Ottoman Sultan was popular enough, for a time, to appear
on textile labels |
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Two politically-oriented ghazals
by Iqbal,
meant to be easily accessible to everybody; parts of one are nowadays
sung
by schoolchildren in India: *more
information* |
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Iqbal's poetry in Persian and Urdu
has always
attracted poetry-lovers, and has often been used for decorative
calligraphy
as well |
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One of his greatest poems, *"Masjid-e
Qurtuba"*, was inspired by a visit to Cordoba, where he saw its
magnificent
mosque-turned-cathedral |
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Iqbal's tomb, in Lahore, is just
outside
the Badshahi Masjid, adjoining the ancient *Lahore
Fort* |
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Muhammad Ali Jinnah's tomb, in
Karachi,
is set in the midst of a huge new park |
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The Saudi-sponsored King Faisal
Mosque,
in Islamabad, is said to be the largest mosque in the world. |
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Islamic religious designs are a
popular
form of bazaar art in South Asia |
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Pakistani trucks are decorated
with remarkable
flair; their sides and back are adorned with images both religious and
secular: *more views* |
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Bangladesh commemorates the past
of its
capital, *Dhaka*,
on some particularly lovely bills |
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And Bangladesh too has lively folk
art traditions |
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Modern visitors wander in the Red
Fort in
old Delhi or *Shahjahanabad*,
accompanied by birds |
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