Ismaili Constitution Announcement heard in Jamatkhanas
We are pleased to advise that updated copies of the Ismaili Constitution will be available for purchase at Literature Centres starting Friday May 22, for $5.
Excerpts of the Constitution will also be periodically read in Jamatkhana for the Jamat’s awareness.
#Ismaili #Constitution, amended on February 11, 2025, has now been officially printed by Leaders The Institute of Ismaili Studies
His Highness the Aga Khan sent a reminder to the leadership on March 18, 2025, instructing that it be made available to every community member, - without exception.
Hazar Imam affirmed that The amended constitution was to be implemented immediately on 11 February 2025
It is confirmed that the Constitution has now been printed and announced in the Jamat, currently in Montréal, Canada, where it is being sold for $5. This is accessible to every member of the community who can afford it and wishes to buy it, in accordance with the Constitution and the Farmans - Directions of His Highness the Aga Khan, to be given freely to every member globally without exception.
As ordained in the original Farmans and Constitutions of 1986 and 1998, and on 18 March 2025 , - the Ismaili Constitution is to be given freely to every Ismaili without exception and further to be read together with all Farmans and further It is also a Farman itself, as defined by Hazar Imam, the Aga Khan in the constitution too
Announcement
*Ismaili Constitution*
We are pleased to advise that updated copies of the Ismaili Constitution will be available for purchase at all Jamatkhana Literature Centres except for Generations starting *Friday, May 22*, for $5.
Copies will also be available for reference through the Jamati Mukhi Kamadia and Mukhiani Kamadiani.
Excerpts of the Constitution will also be periodically read in Jamatkhana for the Jamat’s awareness.
A request has been sent to leadership for comment or clarification- not received so far
18 March 2025
Farman - Talika Globally
“I AM MOST HAPPY TO INFORM MY JAMAT THAT I HAVE DIRECTED THAT THE UPDATED CONSTITUTION WHICH ENCOMPASSES THE INSTRUMENT I SIGNED ON THE OCCASION OF MY TAKHT-NISHINI BE MADE AVAILABLE TO MY JAMAT" HAZAR IMAM
AGA KHAN V 18 MARCH 2025
Religious Texts, Authorship, and Copyright in the Modern World
A recurring question in copyright law is whether sacred or religious texts can be subject to ownership, especially where they are believed to originate from a divine source rather than a human author.
If a message is understood as being transmitted rather than personally authored — where the communicator is not the originator of the words but only the transmitter — then it raises a fundamental question for copyright law: can “authorship” exist in the legal sense at all?
This question becomes even more significant when considering texts that adherents believe to be divinely revealed rather than human-created.
Recent developments in artificial intelligence have brought renewed attention to these questions, as courts and policymakers are currently grappling with lawsuits and legal disputes concerning whether AI systems can lawfully use copyrighted material for training, and whether outputs derived from large-scale information processing may infringe copyright protections.
Copyright law, however, does not engage with questions of faith or metaphysical origin. It operates on a strictly legal definition of authorship: a work must result from human creative expression fixed in a tangible form.
This creates a conceptual tension when applied to religious scripture. In many faith traditions, sacred texts are understood not as human literary works, but as revelations transmitted through a messenger who is not regarded as the author of the message itself.
From a legal standpoint, however, copyright does not recognise divine origin as a category of authorship. The law neither affirms nor denies theological claims; it simply operates outside of them.
Religious texts and copyright status
In practice, original scriptural texts such as ancient religious manuscripts are generally treated as public domain works, particularly in their original languages.
This means the underlying text itself is not owned by any individual or organisation in a copyright sense.
However, copyright protection can and does apply to human contributions surrounding those texts, including:
* translations into other languages
* editorial commentary and interpretation
* annotated or scholarly editions
* formatting, typography, and layout of printed versions
* audio recordings and recitations
* digital applications and curated compilations
In each case, the law protects the human intellectual effort in expression, arrangement, and presentation, not the underlying sacred message itself.
Key legal principle
At the heart of copyright law is a simple but important distinction:
Copyright protects the expression created by humans — not the ideas, beliefs, facts, or meanings being expressed.
This principle allows sacred texts, scientific facts, historical accounts, and philosophical ideas to remain freely accessible, while still protecting the creative labour of translators, editors, publishers, and commentators.
Why this matters today
As artificial intelligence systems increasingly interact with vast bodies of human knowledge, this distinction becomes more important.
The central legal and ethical question is not whether information is true, sacred, or historical — but whether a system is reproducing protected human expression, or generating new output based on underlying ideas.
AI has now accelerated these questions into active legal disputes, with ongoing court cases examining whether large-scale data ingestion and AI training constitute lawful use of information or unlawful reproduction of protected expression.
Conclusion
Religious texts occupy a unique position in human society: they are spiritually central to believers, yet legally situated within a secular framework that only recognises human authorship and expression.
As a result, while sacred messages themselves are not “owned” in a copyright sense, the many human ways in which they are translated, interpreted, and presented remain protected forms of intellectual property.
Understanding this distinction is essential in navigating modern debates around copyright, artificial intelligence, and the ownership of knowledge.
As AI accelerates these debates, that distinction is becoming harder — and more important — than ever.
“ It is the desire and Hidayah of Mawlana Hazar Imam that the constitutions presently applicable to the Ismaili Muslims in different countries be superseded and that the Ismaili Muslims worldwide be given this Constitution…”
Preamble
“BISMI-LLAHI-R-RAHMANI-R-RAHIM
Whereas
* The Constitution of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims ordained on 13th December 1986 recites that Mawlana Hazar Imam enjoys full authority of governance over and in respect of all religious and Jamati matters of the Ismaili Muslims.
* The Ismaili Constitution states that Mawlana Hazar Imam has sole authority to amend any such Constitution or any provision thereof.
* It is the desire and hidāya of Mawlana Hazar Imam that the Ismaili Constitution be amended in certain respects.
Now therefore
By THIS CONSTITUTIONAL INSTRUMENT and in exercise of the inherent right and absolute and unfettered power and authority vested in me as Hazar Imam and recited in the Constitution of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. I. SHAH RAHIM AL HUSSAINI AGA KHAN, holder of the office of the Ismaili Imamat, am pleased to ordain AND DO HEREBY ORDAIN that the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, in whatever place they may be, shall at all times be bound and governed by the Constitution hereinafter appearing which is a consolidation into one document of previous changes made to the Ismaili Constitution together with further changes ordained by this Constitutional Instrument and reflected in the reprinted consolidated Constitution hereinafter appearing which shall replace and supersede any previous Constitution applicable to the Ismaili Muslims.
ORDAINED under the Sign Manual and Seal of Mawlana Hazar Imam Shah Rahim al Hussaini His Highness Prince Aga Khan the Fiftieth hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims.
at the Dewan of the Ismaili Imamat, Lisbon, Portugal this fleventh day of Februang
Two Thousand and Twenty-Five being
the Troelth day of Sha 'Ban
One Thousand Four Hundred and
Forty-Six (hijri), in the First year of his Imamat.
AgaKhan
Preamble (reflecting the Arabic transliterations then applicable) followed by the full text of the Ismaili Constitution incorporating changes ordained by the Constitutional Instrument made on the Eleventh day of February Iwo Thousand and Twenty-Five being the Twelfth day of Sha'bān One Thousand Four Hundred and Forty-Six (hijri).
Excerpts of the Constitution will also be periodically read in Jamatkhana for the Jamat’s awareness.
- without exception.
*Ismaili Constitution*