Peacocks
“The peacock theme also appeared in depictions of the Buraq, the winged creature that Muhammad rode through outer space. The Buraq was portrayed as a pegasus steed but possibly transgendered, with a woman’s head and a male peacock’s tail. In Pakistan you’d see the Buraq on the backs of big trucks and little rickshaws and in framed paintings, sleepy eyes with long lashes, half smiling, like a Hindu god - but where did the image come from? … The Prophet’s steed as we have it today is the child of a mixed marriage, both Semitic and Indian.” - Michael Knight
