In the 16th century in Iran, carpets with an altar design were produced, which became the source of inspiration for many artists in the 19th century in the city of Herke. Among these carpets is the Mahfouz carpet in the Tehran Carpet Museum, which is a source of inspiration for all artists. In terms of visual and verbal symptoms, the reproduced carpet in Hereke is slightly different from the one in the Carpet Museum. Given that the rugs primarily feature Quranic verses and hadiths, and noting that the two rugs were created in distinct times and locations with evident variations in religion and culture, this study aims to explore how religious disparities between the two eras manifest in the carpet’s design. It also seeks to elucidate the rationale behind these differences. Hence the research aims to find the effect of religious discourse on the reading of Iranian and Hereke altar carpets. The research was conducted using a descriptive comparative method. Information was gathered through library research, and two carpet samples were chosen on a case-by-case basis. It was noted that one of the carpets appeared to be a reproduction of the other and were compared accordingly.
From the comparison of the two carpets, it was concluded that the carpet woven in Iran refers to Shiism in terms of visual and verbal symptoms according to the popular religion in that period. In the carpet produced in Hereke, which was reproduced in the late Ottoman period, signs that have a direct reference to the Shiite and pre-Islamic religions are removed. The verbal text generally refers to Islam, and the visual text does not refer to any of the religions. Therefore, the Hereke carpet is not a pure imitation of the Safavid period carpet, but it has been read differently according to the religion and culture prevalent in that period. According to the form and ideology of the Safavid carpet, the structure of the carpet shows the visual texts used in the carpet with an implicit expression of the coexistence of the Shia text along with a text from ancient Iran. In every Mihrabi carpet and many other works of art, considering that it mostly represents a return to the Ottoman era and is not in the service of the Khadi religion, the Shiite signs are removed; Also, considering that it is woven in a different culture, there is less reference to Iranian religions before Islam in the carpet. The reproduced carpet only expresses Islamic thought and does not refer to any particular religion. In reproduction, the carpet has found a different identity, and although the structure of both carpets is the same, the narrative of the thoughts is not the same.