An Essay On: THE SHIA ISMAILI MUSLIM ((By: Farhad Daftary))

[From_Alamut]

THE Ismailis:
A Religious Community in Islam

An important Shi`i Muslim community, the Ismailis have had a complex history dating to the formative period of Islam, when different communities of interpretation were developing their doctrinal positions. In time, these communities acquired specific designations and were generally classified as Sunni or Shi`i, Islam’s two main divisions. From early on, the Ismailis, who were dispersed throughout much of the Islamic world, from North Africa to Central Asia and India, represented a multiplicity of ethnic groups as well as social and cultural milieus; they also produced a rich literary heritage in a variety of languages. On two occasions in the course of their long and eventful history, the Ismailis established states of their own, the Fatimid Caliphate (909-1171) and the Nizari Ismaili state (1094-1256), also making important contributions to Islamic thought and culture.

Until recently, the Ismailis were studied and evaluated almost exclusively upon the basis of evidence collected or fabricated by their many enemies, especially medieval Sunni polemicists and Christian Crusaders. As a result, numerous myths and fanciful legends continued to circulate throughout the centuries concerning Ismaili beliefs and practices. Starting in the 1930s, however, with the recovery and study of a large number of genuine Ismaili texts preserved in private collections in many different regions of the world--especially Yemen, Syria, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent--Ismaili studies have witnessed a dramatic breakthrough. This paper draws on the findings of modern scholarship in the field to explore aspects of the religious life of the Ismailis in their diverse historical and cultural contexts.

Ismaili relations with the other religious communities of the Islamic world have often been characterized by extended periods of ‘conflict’ since they were frequently perceived and persecuted by others as ‘heretics.’ Under such adverse circumstances, the Ismailis have been obliged throughout much of their history to practice taqiyya, or precautionary dissimulation, hiding their true religious beliefs or adopting different external guises, including Sufi, Sunni, Twelver Shi`i, or even Hindu ones, in order to safeguard themselves. This complex phenomenon and its long-term consequences have not been the subject of any particular investigation by modern scholars. Without a doubt, extended dissimulating practices lasting several centuries may eventually lead to irrevocable influences on the indigenous traditions of any dissimulating community. In the case of the Ismailis, these influences have been manifested in different forms, ranging from the total acculturation or full assimilation of Ismailis into a dominant religious community or tradition, which was originally chosen as a dissimulating cover in a particular locality, to various degrees of ‘interfacing’ between Ismaili and ‘other’ traditions without the actual loss of their identity. Be that as it may, the Ismailis have stood the test of time and, unlike numerous other religious minorities, they have succeeded in retaining a communal cohesion and religious identity which transcends national and cultural boundaries. Today, the Ismailis, who number several million and belong mainly to the Nizari branch of Ismailism, are scattered in more than twenty-five countries of Asia, Africa, Europe and North America, and recognize HH Prince Karim Aga Khan as their forty-ninth spiritual leader, or imam.

By the time of the Abbasid revolution in 750, Imami Shi`ism, the common heritage of the major Shi`i communities of the Ithna`ashariyya (Twelvers) and Isma`iliyya (Ismailis), had acquired special prominence under the leadership of Imam Ja`far al-Sadiq. The Ismailis separated from the rest of the Imami Shi`is on the death of Imam al-Sadiq in 765; by the middle of the ninth century, they had organized a secret, revolutionary movement designated as the da`wa, or mission. The overall aim of this religio-political movement of social protest was to uproot the Abbasids and install the imam recognized by the Ismailis to the actual rule of the Islamic umma, or community.

The Ismailis retained their Imami theological heritage, especially its doctrine of the Imamate. This doctrine, which has continued to occupy a central position in Ismaili theology, was based upon a belief in the permanent need of mankind for a divinely-guided, sinless and infallible (ma`sum) imam to act as the authoritative teacher and guide of men in all their spiritual affairs after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. Indeed, this imam was perceived as a charismatic leader possessing certain superhuman or divinely-ordained attributes. Entitled to temporal leadership as much as to religious authority, the imam’s mandate did not, however, depend upon his actual rule over a state. The doctrine, shared by the Ismailis and the Twelvers, further taught that the Prophet, under divine guidance, had designated as his successor his cousin and son-in-law, `Ali ibn Abi Talib (d. 661), who was married to Muhammad’s daughter, Fatima; the Imamate was to be transmitted through the progeny of `Ali and Fatima, `Alids belonging to the Prophet’s family (ahl al-bayt), until the end of time. Thus, the Shi`is upheld the sanctity of the Prophet’s family and found the charismata of inerrancy and infallibility in `Ali and his descendants, the spiritual leaders to whom their partisans were deeply attached for their salvation. The `Alid imam was believed to possess a special knowledge, or `ilm, and a perfect understanding of the exoteric (zahir) and esoteric (batin) meanings of the Qur’an as well as the commandments and prohibitions of the shari`a, or the sacred law of Islam. Indeed, recognition of this imam and obedience to him were made the absolute duties of every believer. However, the `Alid imams had been successively deprived of their legitimate rights by the Umayyads and the Abbasids, under whose patronage the Sunni interpretations of Islam were gradually elaborated by religious scholars, and the Sunni `ulama’ viewed Shi`i interpretations of Islam as tantamount to ilhad, or deviations from the ‘right path.’ The stage was thus set for seminal Sunni-Shi`i polemical discourses and religio-political hostilities which have persisted until modern days. In time, the Shi`a themselves split into different communities, each acknowledging a different line of `Alids as their legitimate imams; the Ismaili imams belonged to a particular line of `Alids.

The revolutionary message of the Ismaili da`wa was systematically disseminated in different regions of the Islamic world by a network of da`is, or missionaries. The da`is summoned Muslims everywhere to accord their allegiance to the Ismaili imam, whose rights to the leadership of the Muslims had been hitherto usurped. This imam was also expected to deliver the believers from the oppressive rule of the Abbasids, establish a more equitable social order in the world and guarantee salvation in the afterlife for his followers. Capitalizing upon regional grievances as well, the da`is targeted different social strata across the Muslim world. The success of the early Ismaili da`wa culminated in the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate in North Africa in 909. The Ismaili imam, ruling as Fatimid caliph over an expanding empire, presented his Shi`i challenge to Abbasid hegemony and Sunni interpretations of Islam. The Fatimid caliph-imam could now act as the spiritual spokesman of Shi`i Islam in general, much in the same way that the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad was the representative of Sunni Islam. Henceforth, the Ismailis were targeted for intensified polemical attacks and persecutions outside of their state. But within Fatimid dominions, the Ismailis were free for the first time in their history to practice their faith openly under state protection.

In line with their universal aspirations, the Fatimid caliph-imams did not abandon their ambition to rule over the entire Muslim umma. Consequently, after assuming power they retained their da`wa organization, which remained active both within the Fatimid state and outside of it. This organization, with its hierarchy of ranks, developed over time, reaching its peak in the second half of the eleventh century. But the success of the da`wa within the Fatimid dominions was both limited and short-lived. The Ismaili da`wa of Fatimid times found its lasting success outside of the Fatimid domains, designated in the da`wa terminology as jaza’ir (sing., jazira), meaning ‘islands’. The success of the da`is was greatest in regions already familiar with a diversity of Shi`i-- including Ismaili--traditions, notably in Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Persia and parts of Central Asia. In Badakhshan and other areas of Central Asia, important Ismaili communities appeared as a result of the activities of numerous Fatimid da`is, notably Nasir Khusraw (d. after 1070), who is regarded by the modern-day Ismailis of Tajikistan, Afghanistan and northern areas of Pakistan as the founder of their communities. The da`wa achieved another of its lasting successes at the other extremity of the Islamic world, in Yemen, where the Sulayhids recognized Fatimid suzerainty and supervised the propagation of Ismailism in their dominions. The Sulayhids also played a key role in the transmission of the da`wa to Gujarat, in western India. The Ismaili community founded in Gujarat in the second half of the eleventh century by da`is sent from Sulayhid Yemen grew into the present Bohra community of the Indian subcontinent with its offshoot groups in East Africa and elsewhere.

The dispute over the succession to the Fatimid caliph-imam, al-Mustansir, who died in 1094, permanently split the Ismaili community into two rival factions, designated as Nizari and Musta`li after the sons of al-Mustansir, both of whom claimed his heritage. Al-Musta`li, who actually succeeded his father to the Fatimid Caliphate, was recognized as imam by the central Ismaili da`wa organization in Cairo and by the Ismailis of Egypt, Yemen and western India, who depended upon the Fatimid regime. On the other hand, the Ismailis of Persia and Iraq, situated in the midst of Saljuq dominions and then under the leadership of Hasan Sabbah (d. 1124), acknowledged al-Mustansir’s eldest surviving son and heir-designate, Nizar (d. 1095), as their next imam. Ultimately, Hasan Sabbah broke off relations with Fatimid Cairo and founded the independent Nizari Ismaili da`wa on behalf of Nizar and his successors to the Imamate, who remained inaccessible to their followers for several decades. Hasan Sabbah also founded a state, centred at the fortress of Alamut, with scattered territories in Persia and Syria, and a network of mountain strongholds.

By 1132, the Musta`li Ismailis had themselves split into two rival factions which were later designated as Tayyibi and Hafizi. The Hafizi Ismailis, who acknowledged the later Fatimid caliphs as their imams, disappeared soon after the collapse of the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171, while the Tayyibi Ismailis, who originally found their permanent base in Yemen, survived the fall of the Fatimids. Tayyibi Ismailism is led by a line of da`is, since its imams have remained in occultation. The seat of the movement was transferred to India by the sixteenth century; subsequently, the community subdivided into several groups. The dominant Tayyibi group, the Da’udi Bohras, now number around 800,000 and still possess the authority of a da`i headquartered in Bombay. In the remainder of this paper, our discussion will relate solely to the Nizari Ismailis, who at present account for the majoritarian Ismaili community and recognize the Aga Khan as their imam.

Hasan Sabbah, a remarkable organizer, designed a revolutionary strategy for uprooting the Saljuq Turks, who had appeared in the Islamic world as the new champions of Sunni ‘orthodoxy,’ by capitalizing upon the ‘national’ sentiments of the Persians, who vehemently detested the alien rule of the Turks. But Hasan Sabbah and his successors at Alamut did not succeed in uprooting the Saljuqs; nor did the Saljuqs, despite their greatly superior military capabilities, succeed in destroying the Nizari Ismaili fortress communities. In time, a stalemate developed in Ismaili-Saljuq relations that gradually eroded into ‘coexistence,’ with each side recognizing and accepting the other. By that time, Nizari imams, claiming descent from Nizar, had emerged from occultation at Alamut and the doctrine of the Imamate dictated that the community obey them strictly. By 1210, when the Saljuqs had lost their pre-eminent position to other powers, the Nizari imams even successfully attempted a daring rapprochement with Sunnism and the Abbasid establishment by ordering the community to adopt the shari`a in its Sunni form. This unprecedented command by the Nizari imam was obeyed without any dissent by the Nizaris, who seemingly perceived it as an application of taqiyya in dangerous times.

The Nizari Ismailis maintained a sophisticated outlook and literary tradition, despite their open armed revolt and military entanglements with numerous surrounding powers. They elaborated their teachings in response to changed circumstances, but from early on reaffirmed the old Shi`i doctrine of the Imamate, or the necessity of authoritative guidance and teaching (ta`lim) by a rightful and contemporary imam. Indeed, this emphasis upon the autonomous authority of the current imam and his teachings, independent of preceding imams, has provided the distinguishing hallmark of Nizari Ismailism since Alamut times, enabling the Nizari imams to introduce new policies while continuing to provide spiritual leadership for their community of followers.

The Mongols uprooted the Nizari Ismaili state in 1256. Alamut and major Ismaili strongholds in Persia were demolished by the all-conquering Mongols, who massacred a large portion of the Persian Ismaili community. With these events, the Nizari Ismailis, now devoid of political prominence, entered a new phase of their history. The first five centuries after the fall of Alamut constitute the longest period of obscurity in Ismaili history, for the Nizari Ismailis were henceforth obliged to live clandestinely in Syria, Persia, Afghanistan, parts of Central Asia and South Asia. For long periods, these communities did not have access to any central da`wa organization nor to their imams, who lived in concealment in the aftermath of the Mongol invasions. Gradually, the Nizari communities came under the authority of local leaders, designated as da`is or pirs (the Persian equivalent of the Arabic shaykh), and elaborated a diversity of religious and literary traditions independently of one another. With the exception of the Syrian Nizaris, who were subjugated in the late thirteenth century by the Mamluks, but permitted to remain in their strongholds, all Nizari communities were now also obliged to observe various degrees of taqiyya.

In the wake of the Mongol massacres, many Persian Nizari Ismailis migrated to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Sind, where Ismaili communities already existed. Other Nizari groups, which found themselves isolated in remote localities or in urban areas outside of their traditional territories in Persia, soon either disintegrated or were assimilated into the religiously dominant communities of their environment. The same fate awaited many of those Nizari groups which practiced taqiyya for extended periods to safeguard themselves against persecution by the Mongol Ilkhanids, Timurids and other dynasties then ruling over Persia and adjacent lands. Deeply rooted in their religious traditions and communal practices, taqiyya was a measure adopted by different Nizari groups on their own initiative in response to the exigencies of the time. Many Nizaris in Khurasan (in eastern Persia) and in Afghanistan, where Sunnism prevailed, probably disguised themselves as Sunnis, as all Persian Nizaris had done during the late Alamut period.

It was during the early post-Alamut decades that the Persian Nizaris, in the course of practicing taqiyya, increasingly began to cloak themselves with the mantle of Sufism, without actually establishing formal affiliations with any one of the Sufi orders, or tariqas, which were then spreading in Persia and Central Asia. This practice soon acquired wide currency among the Nizaris of Persia, as well as those of Afghanistan and Central Asia. (Historically, the Ismailis of Central Asia have mainly been concentrated in Shughnan, Rushan and adjacent districts in Badakhshan, now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan by the Oxus.) By the middle of the fifteenth century, Ismaili-Sufi interactions had become well-established in the Iranian world. The meagre literary production of the Persian and Central Asian Nizaris of that period is permeated with Sufi terms such as darwish (dervish), murid (Sufi disciple) and murshid (Sufi master), as well as ideas closely associated with the Sufi tradition in Islam. Meanwhile, the Persian-speaking Nizaris had also adopted the exterior aspects of the Sufi way of life; the Nizari imams, who were still concealing their true identity, appeared to outsiders as Sufi masters, shaykhs or pirs, while their followers were known as murids. Doubtless, the success of the Nizaris in dissimulating as Sufis would not have been so readily possible if these two esoteric traditions in Islam did not share common doctrinal grounds.

The Nizaris’ dissimulating practices in the guise of Sufism had a lasting influence upon the Nizari community and its traditions. For instance, the term pir came to be generally used in reference to the imam and high-ranking missionaries. The Nizaris still refer to themselves as being the murids of their imams and the word tariqa has been used in modern times as the official designation of the Nizari Ismaili interpretation of Islam. The Nizaris of Persia, Afghanistan and Central Asia, who belong to different cultural milieus, have also continued to use verses originating with the great mystical poets of the Iranian lands in their religious ceremonies, which bear close similarities to Sufi dhikrs and practices, including repetition of the name of God and recitation of mystic poetry.

By the middle of the fifteenth century, the Nizari Ismaili imams had emerged in the guise of Sufi pirs in the village of Anjudan, in central Persia, which was to serve as their seat and the headquarters of their da`wa activities for more than two centuries. During this time, the imams initiated a revival of the Nizari da`wa as well as its literary activities. They reorganized and reinvigorated their da`wa not only to win new converts, but also to reassert their central authority over the various Nizari communities. The imams devoted much energy to limiting the hereditary dynasties of da`is and pirs who had acquired local leadership positions in Persia, Central Asia and South Asia, replacing them with their own trusted emissaries. But the Nizaris still found it necessary, in predominantly Sunni milieus, to dissimulate in the guise of Sufism.

Meanwhile, the advent of the Safawids in 1501 and their adoption of Twelver Shi`ism as the state religion promised improved circumstances for the Nizaris and other Shi`i communities in Persia and adjacent lands. Consequently, the Nizaris began to reduce the extent to which they practiced taqiyya in the guise of Sufism, especially once the Safawids adopted measures to suppress all popular forms of Sufism. With the veil of taqiyya somewhat lifted, the Nizari identity became better known to outsiders. However, this invited a new round of persecution against the Nizaris, as the Safawids opposed all those Shi`i groups and movements which fell outside of the confines of state-sponsored Twelver Shi`ism. It was under these circumstances that the Nizaris began to use Twelver Shi`ism as yet another disguise, one which was retained in Persia until the early decades of the twentieth century. This form of dissimulation, too, could be readily accommodated by the Nizaris, who shared the same early `Alid heritage and Imami Shi`i tradition as the Twelver Shi`is.

The Nizari Ismaili da`wa met with particular success in South Asia during the Anjudan period. The earliest Nizari da`is or pirs dispatched from Persia to the Indian subcontinent were originally active in Sind (modern-day Panjab in Pakistan), where Ismailism had persisted clandestinely since Fatimid times. Pir Sadr al-Din, who flourished in the second half of the fourteenth century, is traditionally considered to have been the founder of the Nizari community in the Indian subcontinent, where the Nizaris came to be generally designated as Khojas. He converted large numbers of Hindus from the Lohana trading caste and gave them the title of Khoja, derived from the Persian word khwaja, an honorary title meaning ‘lord’ that corresponded to the Hindi term (thakur) by which the Hindu Lohanas were addressed. The particular form of Nizari Ismailism that developed in South Asia became known as Satpanth, or ‘true path’.

There is sufficient evidence showing that in South Asia, too, the Nizaris developed close relations with Sufism. There were strong affinities between the mystical expressions found in the indigenous religious literature of the Khojas, hymns known as ginans, and Sufi poetry composed in Panjabi and other Indic languages which facilitated Satpanth-Sufi relations. At any rate, Nizari Ismaili Khojas represented themselves for long periods as one of the many mystically-oriented communities of Sind which then existed in both the Sunni Muslim and Hindu milieus of South Asia. This enabled the Nizari Khojas to blend more readily into the religious, cultural and social topography of Sind. Consequently, the Khojas attracted less attention as Ismaili Shi`is, enabling them to escape persecution by Sind’s Sunni rulers. Unlike their Persian Nizari contemporaries, however, the Nizari Khojas may not have consciously developed their Sufi connections exclusively for taqiyya purposes since they were already somewhat protected against Sunni persecution by their Hindu cover.

The Nizari imams of the Anjudan period also entrusted emissaries with special missions intended to prevent the reversion of the Nizari Khojas to Hinduism, or their conversion to Sunnism, both of which were dominant in contemporary South Asian society. Nevertheless, some communities that may once have adhered to Satpanth Ismailism did revert to Hinduism. In this connection, mention may be made of the Kamad of Rajasthan. Removed from the centres of Satpanth in Sind and perhaps originally converted only superficially or incompletely, the Kamad experienced a process of ‘re-Hinduization.’ Consequently, they rejected their Satpanth heritage, although their devotional poems continued to be permeated with Ismaili references. Today, the Kamad are the worshippers of a deity-saint known as Ramdev Pir. As another example of shifting identities, mention may further be made of the many isolated Persian Nizari groups which, after extended periods of dissimulation as Twelver Shi`is, eventually became fully integrated into their predominantly Twelver Shi`i environment in Persia.

The origins and early development of the unique form of Ismailism known as Satpanth in South Asia and its religious literature, the ginans, are rather obscure. On the evidence of the ginans, the Ismaili pirs seem to have actually attempted in a clever fashion to maximize the appeal of their message to Hindu audiences. Since the Nizari da`wa in South Asia was addressed mainly to the rural and uneducated lower castes, the pirs rapidly resorted to the use of Indian vernaculars, rather than the Arabic and Persian spoken by the educated classes. For the same reasons, they used Hindu idioms and mythology, interfacing Ismaili Muslim tenets with ideas, images and symbols that were already known to Hindus--a strategy of acculturation that proved very successful. It is unnecessary to add that the Hindu cover of the Nizari Khojas, as expressed in their Satpanth tradition, not only encouraged conversions, but also served the purposes of taqiyya and safeguarded the Khojas in their predominantly Hindu and Sunni Muslim milieus. Thus, Satpanth Ismailism may be held to represent a complex form of acculturation and dissimulation ingeniously adapted to the religious, social, cultural and political structure of South Asia. And, in this context, taqiyya meant much more than mere concealment of true identity or superficial adoption of a guise; it involved an intricate process of indigenization and syncretism.

The Nizari Khojas, along with the Tayyibi Bohras, were among the earliest Asian communities to settle in East Africa. Indian Ismailis, who were mostly engaged in trade, began to emigrate from Gujarat, in particular, to Zanzibar in the first half of the nineteenth century. Subsequently, they moved from Zanzibar to the urban centres of mainland East Africa. By the 1960s, important Khoja and Bohra Ismaili communities existed in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania. But, in the following decade, the Asian Ismailis of East Africa were obliged to settle in the West owing to the anti-Asian policies of certain African governments.

By the middle of the eighteenth century, the Nizari imams had transferred their seat to the Persian province of Kirman, where they acquired political prominence. The Persian Nizari community had by then shrunk significantly, however, owing to continual persecution as well as the long-term consequences of dissimulating practices. Many Persian Nizaris, especially in urban centres, had converted to Twelver Shi`ism. Hence, by the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Khojas became increasingly influential within the Nizari Ismaili community, both because of their numbers and because of their financial resources. Hasan `Ali Shah succeeded to the Nizari Imamate in 1817 as the forty-sixth imam. He was the first of the Nizari imams to bear the title of Agha Khan (Aga Khan). This honorific title, meaning lord and master, was bestowed upon the imam by the Persian Qajar monarch, Fath `Ali Shah (1797-1834), and has remained hereditary among Hasan `Ali Shah’s successors to the Nizari Imamate. Hasan `Ali Shah, Aga Khan I, was also appointed governor of Kirman, but he subsequently became enmeshed in a prolonged conflict with the Qajar ruling establishment which obliged him to flee Persia in 1841. Soon after, the Nizari imam arrived in Sind, where he was enthusiastically received by his Khoja followers. In 1848, he settled permanently in Bombay, marking the commencement of modern Nizari Ismaili history. Drawing on financial contributions from the Khojas, the imam established elaborate headquarters in Bombay, Poona and Bangalore.

Aga Khan I spent the last three decades of his long Imamate (1817-1881) in Bombay, enjoying the protection of the British establishment there as the spiritual leader of a Muslim community. He devoted much of his time and resources to asserting his authority over the Khojas. Some Khojas evidently remained confused regarding their true religious identity owing to extended dissimulating practices as Sunnis or Twelver Shi`is, as well as the Hindu elements which permeated their Satpanth tradition. In legal matters, too, the Nizari Khojas, like other Indian Muslims, had often observed Hindu customs, especially regarding inheritance. As dissident Khoja groups periodically claimed a Sunni or Twelver Shi`i heritage, Aga Khan I found it necessary to launch a major campaign to redefine and delineate the religious identity of his Khoja followers in South Asia and East Africa. In 1861, he circulated a document that explained the religious beliefs and practices of the Nizari Ismailis, which every Khoja was expected to sign. The Khojas were now, in effect, required to openly pledge their allegiance to their imam, who would be the sole interpreter of the Ismaili Shi`i faith. This document represents a modern milestone in its assertion of Nizari identity and in its reiteration of the imam’s full authority over his community, as well as his control over the dues submitted to him.

The Aga Khan’s rights and communal authority were officially reaffirmed in British India by certain legal judgements of the Bombay High Court, which explicitly defined the followers of Aga Khan I as a community of “Shia Imami Ismailis.” Henceforth, the authority of Aga Khan I was never again seriously challenged and he gradually extended his control over the Nizari Khojas through their traditional communal organization. The Nizari Ismailis are still organized throughout the world according to this traditional structure. Every Khoja community (jama`at) of a certain size has its mukhi, an officer who acts as the social and religious head of that community with the assistance of a kamadia. These officers collect religious dues and are also responsible for officiating at various ceremonies in the jama`at-khana, the congregation hall or centre where the Nizaris gather for religious, social and cultural activities.

The grandson of Aga Khan I, Sultan Muhammad Shah, Aga Khan III, led the Nizari Ismailis for seventy-two years (1885-1957), longer than any of his predecessors. An eminent Muslim reformer and international statesman, his career and achievements are fully documented. Aga Khan III, who established his residence in Europe, formulated a multitude of policies and programs for his followers. For several decades, his religious policy was centred upon reasserting their identity and he made systematic efforts to sharpen the distinctions between Nizari Ismailis and Sunnis and Twelver Shi`is, including certain changes in the religious practices and rituals of his followers. (In Persia, for instance, the Nizaris had hitherto observed their religious rituals mainly in the manner of the Twelver Shi`is and in their mosques.) More specifically, the Nizari identity was defined in a series of constitutions that Aga Khan III promulgated for his followers in India, East Africa and other regions. These constitutions also served as the personal law of the Nizaris. His policy proved quite effective in preventing secessions from the community as well as the further assimilation of Nizaris into the dominant religious communities surrounding them, a frequent result of taqiyya practices.

At the same time, the charismatic leadership of Aga Khan III afforded him considerable success in reorganizing his followers into a modern Muslim community with high standards of education, health and social welfare. In order to implement his reforms, the Nizari imam developed new institutions and administrative organizations structured as a hierarchy of councils. The deep devotion of the Nizaris to their imam made all of the modernization policies of Aga Khan III acceptable to them. He regularly guided his community through his oral or written edicts, or farmans, providing yet another communal mechanism for the introduction of reforms. The education of Ismailis, both male and female, and their health standards, as well as the participation of women in communal affairs, all received high priority. His modernization policies were financed by the religious dues offered to him and the funds collected at his various jubilee celebrations. Aga Khan III founded and maintained an impressive network of schools, libraries, hospitals, dispensaries and other institutions, which were used by Ismailis and non-Ismailis alike. In all of these ways, Aga Khan III transformed the Nizari Imamate into a multifaceted institution that led and oversaw the formation of modern Nizari communities.

The successor to Aga Khan III in the Nizari Ismaili Imamate is his grandson, Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, who became the forty-ninth imam in 1957. Educated at Harvard University, he has continued and expanded the modernization policies of his grandfather. Yet, as a Muslim leader, Aga Khan IV has also been interested in promoting a better understanding of Islamic civilization, with its diversity of expressions and interpretations. He has developed a multitude of new programs and organizations for the benefit of both his community and certain developing countries, in addition to concerning himself with a number of social, developmental and cultural issues that are of wider interest to Muslims and others. To these ends, he has created an elaborate institutional network, generally referred to as the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), under the overall guidance of the Imamate. He has extended the council system of communal administration, founded by his grandfather, to new territories in Europe and North America, in recognition of the large-scale emigration of Nizaris to the West. Special institutions, designated as Tariqah Boards, have been made responsible for providing different levels of religious education to Nizaris where their numbers warrant it. The Nizaris no longer undertake proselytization, although voluntary conversion is accommodated; as a result, the da`wa organization, so crucial in medieval times, is no longer in existence. Instead of da`is, the Nizaris now have teachers (mu`allims) and preachers (wa`izs) who respectively provide religious education for, and deliver sermons to, members of the community.

All of these achievements in terms of modernization and cross-cultural adaptation would not have been possible if the Nizari Imamate had not developed from a doctrine elaborated in medieval times into a dynamic institution responding to the modern needs of a multicu ltural and multinational community. Just as important is the continued perception of the Nizari imams as charismatic leaders by their followers. The case of the Nizari community of Central Asia provides an excellent example of this. These Ismailis, living in the midst of the Pamir, Hindu Kush and Karakorum mountain ranges, have been isolated historically from other Ismaili communities. As a result, the Ismailis of Central Asia and surrounding areas developed rather autonomously, elaborating distinctive rituals and traditions. The Central Asian Ismailis have been mainly concentrated in Badakhshan, now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan. The Nizari Ismailis of Tajik Badakhshan did not have any contacts with their imam or his institutions for almost seventy years, from the early 1920s until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. Furthermore, the Ismailis of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Tajikistan were not permitted to practice their faith due to the anti-religious policies of the Soviet regime. But, in the post-Soviet era, the Nizari leadership has paid particular attention to the religious as well as socio-economic affairs of the Ismailis of Tajikistan, who emerged from their forced isolation in 1991. The institutional network of the Aga Khan has already been extended to Tajik Badakhshan, where the bulk of Tajikistan’s Ismailis reside today. This newly-emerging Ismaili community is now benefiting not only from a range of socio-economic programs implemented by the Nizari Imamate’s developmental network, but also from religious education.

In 1995, the Ismailis of Tajikistan had the opportunity of seeing their imam for the first time. On that occasion, the author witnessed how the Tajik Ismailis, who had suffered severe persecution and the repression of their identity under the Soviets, gathered in tens of thousands in various districts of Badakhshan to renew their allegiance to Aga Khan IV, attesting to the continuing charisma of the Imamate. The Ismailis of Tajikistan saw their imam for the second time in 1998. Nizari Ismailis of different countries and cultural backgrounds are now actively assisting in the development of the Ismaili community of Tajikistan and its newly-delineated identity, while attempting to preserve the region’s distinctive cultural heritage.

The Ismailis, always representing a Muslim minority, often experienced repression and persecution in the course of their complex and colourful history. As a result, they frequently resorted to dissimulating practices at the risk of eventually losing their identity. That the Nizari Ismailis in particular have survived at all and emerged in modern times as a prosperous and progressive community with a distinct identity attests to the strength of their heritage, especially the institution of the Imamate, and their adaptability to changing circumstances, as well as the foresight and leadership of their recent modernizing and charismatic imams.

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Essay
By: Farhad Daftary
Website: http://www.riifs.org/journal/essy_v3no1_dftari.htm