Summary: | Despite the well-known prohibition of
figurative representations by Muslims world-wide, some figurative
art forms are still accepted by many Muslims. Thus, images of
Angels, saints and other religious figures form part of the
artistic repertoire of many Islamic sects, or orders. Indeed most
followers of the Sufi order give some religious signification and
connotations to such paintings, which invariably transform their
status from the profane to the sacred. Such paintings however, are
placed within certain socio-political contexts. In this regard,
this paper attempts a contextual analysis of selected Qādiriyyah
Sufi paintings in Kano. Though largely built on oral sources, this
paper shows that Sufi paintings play an important role in
explaining some socio-political contexts of Kano religious space.
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