The Kashmiri engineer-turned-essayist on comparative religion, Kashmir Shaivism, and why a mind crowded with information can still starve for wisdom.
Interview by Peerzada Masrat Shah
To sit with Amir Suhail Wani is to sit, inevitably, among books — thousands of them, stacked toward the ceiling of a Srinagar room where an electrical engineer taught himself to read the Qur’an beside the Upanishads. Essayist, poet and a familiar voice in the valley’s interfaith conversation, Wani has spent two decades pressing a single, unfashionable claim: that the honest study of another’s faith is not a threat to one’s own but its proof. We met to talk about wisdom, Kashmiriyat, and the slow work the age has forgotten how to do.
Peerzada Masrat Shah:Every thinker carries a story that begins long before the first book. Tell us about the forces that shaped you.
Amir Suhail Wani: I grew up in a home where education was never merely about securing a job, but about becoming a fuller human being. My parents drilled into me the importance of integrity and spiritual grounding. Kashmir itself left its mark — its snow-clad mountains, its Sufi shrines, its centuries of layered culture stirred an early hunger to understand history, philosophy and faith. Books became my constant companions, and writing followed as naturally as breathing.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: You trained as an engineer, yet readers know you as a writer. How do the two worlds meet in one person?
Amir Suhail Wani: I never saw them as rivals. Engineering sharpens the mind for precision and logic; it teaches you to break a problem down and build a solution. Literature does something equally vital — it opens the heart to empathy, imagination and moral questions. Together they let me examine both machines and men with balance and honesty.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: Much of your work dives into comparative religion. What drew you there?
**Amir Suhail Wani:** Simple curiosity, not any wish to stir debate. I wanted to see how different civilisations tackled the same great questions about God, life and our place in the universe. Reading the Qur’an alongside the Bhagavad Gita and the Upanishads showed me that while the languages and symbols differ, the core human yearnings — compassion, justice, humility, self-knowledge — echo across traditions. That realisation became the bedrock of my journey.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: You are closely identified with interfaith dialogue. What does the term truly mean to you?
Amir Suhail Wani: Interfaith is not about watering down your own faith or inventing some new universal creed. It is the quiet art of truly understanding the other without abandoning your convictions. A practising Muslim can draw wisdom from Hindu texts, just as a Hindu can find value in Islamic teachings on ethics and justice. Real respect does not weaken faith; it reveals its strength and maturity.
Peerzada Masrat Shah:Critics sometimes argue that comparing religions weakens commitment. Has that been your experience?
Amir Suhail Wani: Quite the opposite. Honest study strengthens faith by replacing blind prejudice with informed understanding. Look at history: the greatest minds in every tradition were the most intellectually fearless. Ignorance breeds fear; knowledge brings humility and a quiet confidence.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: How would you sum up the core of Islamic teaching for readers of every background?
Amir Suhail Wani:At its heart, Islam calls for mercy, justice and moral accountability. The Qur’an repeatedly urges us to reflect, to reason, to read the signs of God in the world around us. The Prophet, peace be upon him, built a community rooted in compassion and dignity. Political storms often hide these truths, but the spirit remains one of service to humanity and surrender to the Divine.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: Your writing also explores Kashmir Shaivism and its resonance with Islamic spirituality. What draws you to that conversation?
Amir Suhail Wani: Kashmir Shaivism is among the subtlest explorations of consciousness ever undertaken. Islamic mysticism, in its own way, focuses on purifying the heart and drawing closer to God. I have never sought to blend the two — only to listen carefully to the exchanges that arise when both are approached with sincerity and respect.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: As someone who watches society closely, what worries you most about today’s young people?
Amir Suhail Wani: We are drowning in information but starving for wisdom. Young minds have instant access to everything, yet often skip the slow, deep work of reading, reflection and real conversation. Technology is a powerful servant, but it cannot replace the quiet company of books or the discipline of thought.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: You keep a remarkable personal library. What place have books held in your life?
Amir Suhail Wani: Books have been my true mentors. They let you sit with minds across centuries and continents. Every worthwhile thing I have written carries traces of the thousands of pages that have shaped me over the decades.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: Which thinkers left the deepest imprint on you?
Amir Suhail Wani: I have drawn from many streams. From the Islamic world: Imam al-Ghazali, Rumi, Shah Waliullah and Allama Iqbal. From our own soil: the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, Abhinavagupta, Lalleshwari and Swami Vivekananda. True scholarship, I believe, listens wherever wisdom speaks.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: You also write poetry. What does poetry offer that prose cannot?
Amir Suhail Wani: Poetry reaches truths that plain words often miss. It sharpens both thought and feeling, saying much in little. In Kashmir, poetry has always walked hand in hand with spirituality. It remains one of the loveliest bridges between the intellect and the human heart.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: Your focus stays more on civilisation than on daily politics. Is that deliberate?
Amir Suhail Wani: Yes. Politics shifts with every season, but civilisations are built over long centuries through ideas, education, ethics and culture. Real, lasting change starts in minds and morals — not in slogans or seats of power.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: What guiding principle shapes your writing?
Amir Suhail Wani: A writer’s first duty is to shed light, not to dazzle. That demands serious study, unflinching honesty and a sense of responsibility toward the reader. Words move minds, and minds shape societies. Scholarship without conscience is hollow.
Peerzada Masrat Shah: A final word for Kashmir’s younger generation?
Amir Suhail Wani: Read deeply. Think for yourself. Hold fast to your traditions while staying open to learning from others. Excel in your chosen field, but never forget that character matters more. Kashmir has given the world great saints, poets and philosophers before. It can do so again — if we raise minds grounded in wisdom, compassion and honest inquiry.
