and member of the chishti sUFi order. He was
a composer of ghazals and was inspired by the
stories of the Shahnamah and Nizami’s Khamsa. In
addition, he wrote historical poems in honor of
his royal patrons and collected the sayings of the
Chishti saint nizam al-din aWliya (1238–1325).
The large number of Persian historical, mystical,
and secular works produced in India contributed
significantly to the shaping of the modern Urdu
literary tradition. One of the major figures who
marked the linkage of these two South Asian lit-
erary traditions was Mirza ghalib (1797–1867),
who wrote poetry and prose in both languages.
Critics have observed that Persian literature
declined in quality after Jami. Whether or not this
is the case, Western influence and the develop-
ment of print culture in the 19th and early 20th
centuries revolutionized it. New generations of
writers have emerged who have shown great cre-
ativity and promoted the exploration of radical
new ideas and visions. One of the most promi-
nent of these literary figures was Nima Yushij
(1897–1960), who combined his knowledge of
the classical Persian poetic heritage and his famil-
iarity with Russian and French poetics. His ideas
met with resistance from traditionalists, but he
also inspired others to engage in individualistic
styles of literary expression. This, together with
increased literacy, opened the door for female
writers, the foremost of whom was Furugh Far-
rukhzad (1935–67). Two of the leading writers
of fiction of Nima’s generation were Muhammad
Ali Jamalzadah (1892–1997) and Sadiq Hidayat
(1903–51), each of whom specialized in crafting
the modern Persian short story. Many Iranian
writers, dramatists, and filmmakers were caught
up with the Islamic Revolution of 1978–79, but
when the government of the shah turned into a
theocracy under the rule of mullahs, a number of
liberal, independently minded artists went into
exile in Europe and the United States. This created
a tradition of Iranian diaspora literature, much
of which is now written in English and French
rather than Persian. Other authors have emerged
in Iran since the 1970s, some writing in support
of the government’s Islamization policies, others
choosing to work on secular themes around the
margins of government censorship, under the
threat of possible imprisonment.
See also alphabet; arabic langUage and lit-
eratUre; cinema; iranian revolUtion oF 1978–
1979; saFavid dynasty; tUrkish langUage and
literatUre.Further reading: Farid ud-Din Attar, Conference of the
Birds. Translated by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis
(London: Penguin Books, 1984); Carl W. Ernst, The
Shambhala Guide to Sufism (Boston: Shambhala Pub-
lications, 1997); Reuben Levy, An Introduction to Per-
sian Literature (New York: Columbia University Press,
1969); Jalal al-Din Rumi, The Masnavi, Book One. Trans-
lated by Jawid Mojaddedi (Oxford: Oxford University
Press, 2004); Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimen-
sions of Islam (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
Press, 1975); Marianna Shreve Simpson, Persian Poetry,
Painting and Patronage: Illustrations in a Sixteenth-Cen-
tury Masterpiece (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Insti-
tution, 1998); Ehsan Yarshater, ed., Persian Literature
(Albany, N.Y.: Bibliotheca Persica, 1988).pesantren See indonesia; kuttab; madrasa.
pets See animals.
petroleum See oil.
Philippines (Official name: Republic of the
Philippines)
The Philippines is a country in Southeast Asia
comprised of 7,107 islands. The two largest islands
are Luzon and Mindanao. Between Mindanao and
Luzon are several smaller islands collectively
called the Visayas. malaysia and indonesia are the
nearest neighbors to the south, and china lies toK 552 pesantren