A British city's skyline has been illuminatedwithneon art created by local residentsas a way toshare theirIslamic faith and heritage with residents.
Bradford, a former industrial city in the north of England,has been lit up with threelight installations of Al Asma AlHusna - known as the99 Names of Allah - untilthe end of the month.
These Arabic names include "An Nur", meaningthe light/the illuminator; "Al Wadood",meaningthe most lovingand "As Salaam",the giver of peace.
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The creations are the brainchildof Razwan Ul-Haq, a Britishvisual artist and calligrapher known for creating contemporary pieces seen across the UK and beyond.
Originally from nearby Burnleyin Lancashire, Razwanhas lived in Bradford for eight years and developed the light installation in conjunction with local charities "to spreadlight, love and peace across Bradford".
Theproject was alsodevised as a way to brightenup the skies while localswerestuck at home under coronavirusrestrictions.
The calligraphy has litup the skies of Bradford during the coronavirus lockdown. CourtesyRazwan Ul-HaqRazwan said the project illustrates the adaptability of Arabic calligraphy, a medium which he has utilised successfully for public art installations, museums, and even comic books tackling anti-Islamic sentiment.
"For me calligraphy is a way of life, and I think it can work in many different contexts", he toldThe National.
"When I was thinking of the names I wasdelving really deeply into the letters themselves and asking, how I can I really express those letters in a different way?"
His "Al Wadood" creations were inspired by the architecture of the Little Germany area of Bradford and the Bauhaus designers of the 1920s.
The design for the word "As Salaam" was inspired by the decorative calligraphy seen in the Grand Mosque of Bursa in Turkey, which includes 192 inscriptions by 41 different calligraphers.
Creating Arabic script using neonwas achallenge, he said, ashe was forced to keep his work simple to deal with the demands of the medium.
Working in conjunction with Neon Workshops in nearby Wakefield, Razwan said he was happy with the end result whichcame veryclose to his originaldesigns.
Razwan Ul-Haqdeveloped an interest in calligraphy from a young age anddesribesit as way of life'."I think the challenge was making the neon distinctive, making them divine and to still have that splendour."
Another challenge was how to stand out in Bradford, which hasa large Muslim population where Arabic signs are a common sight.This is where the idea forneon came in.
"There areover 100,000 Muslims in Bradford sothere arealready Arabic signs here, so it's not like Dorset or York where you can just do a piece of art", he said.
He was initially concerned byhow the project would be received by locals due to the association betweenneon and nightlife.
Razwan Ul-Haq says he believes Islamic calligraphy ishighly adaptable art form."When you think of neon you don't really think of the Divine Names,"he said.
However, he realised neon signs are a common sight in cities such as Lahore or Cairo,where they help to make mosques or businesses stand out from the crowd.
Local reaction to the installations has been "fantastic", Razwan said.
"I think together we managed to create engaging designs that people talked about. So in the end this just came together at the right moment."
He developed his interest in calligraphy from a young age, inspiredby his Pakistani uncle, also a highlyrespected calligrapher, whose Arabic handwritingmesmerised the young Razwan.
"I was shocked because it was as if there was something mechanical at the end of his hand because his writing was so perfect," he said.
From there, Razwan developed his penmanship by learning from some brilliantcalligraphershe met on his travels aroundthe world.
A view of the Islamic calligraphy by local artistRazwan Ul-Haq. Supplied.The style he is most comfortable working with is Nastaliq, developed bymaster calligraphers fromthe 14th century and used in Urdu and Persian script.
Western art has also been an inspiration for Razwan, particularly LS Lowry, a painterwhose works captured the realities of life in industrial England in the early 20th century. He said East Asianand Celtic art, such as the Book of Kells, also sharea similar "serenity"to that seen in Islamic calligraphy.
Other major projects he has worked on include artcreated for the Tour de France in 2014, which at the time was the biggest Islamic letter in Europe.
He is currently exhibiting his work at the Bradford Industrial Museum, showcasing his calligraphy inspired by verses in Urdu bythe national poet of Pakistan, Allama Iqbal.
Razwan says he is optimisticabout the future of Islamic calligraphy and thatinterest has been"going crazy in recent years", quite in contrast to when he was younger.
"People are really interested. There aremore and more demands for classical calligraphy".
