Articles, Updates and News on, for and from the Ismaili jamaat
Ismaili attitudes towards the Qur'an, the central religious text of Islam, are shaped by their interpretation of the events surrounding its revelation to Muhammad. The traditional Muslim understanding is that the Angel Gabriel first revealed the Qur'an to Muhammad on the Night of Power by dictation.
Ismailis, however, believe that the Spirit of God infused Muhammad's heart and soul with spiritual knowledge.
**Population**: 77 million
**Number of Ismailis**: Unknown, several thousand
**Key Areas**: Alamut - site of Hasan-i Sabbah's legendary castle
At the heart of Ismaili philosophy is the idea that there is a hidden meaning within their religious texts.
They will trace the origins of this idea back to the 8th century when Ismailis were creating for themselves something unique, something distinct from mainstream Islam.
Hasan-i Sabbah was an exceptional and charismatic leader. Under him and his appointed successor the Nizari-Ismaili mini-state, headquartered in Alamut, enjoyed relative success, making raids as far as Jerusalem and the Caucuses and even encroaching on Templar territory.
However, the military successes soon began to dwindle and, with the Imam still hidden somewhere, the Nizari Ismailis (who by the mid-12th century numbered about 60 000), became increasingly disillusioned.
Over a few decades, the Fatimid Ismaili empire succombed to bitter infighting, intense factionalism, leadership crises and defeat at the hands of the Crusaders in the Middle East. Finally, in 1171 Cairo itself was conquered by Saladin and his Sunni warriors. The Ismaili empire was at an end.
Meanwhile, in the mountains of Iran, a shift was taking in place in the identity of Ismailism.
At the end of last month the Aga Khan was invited by Canada's Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, to address their parliament.
You can read a summary of that address or even watch the entire 45 minutes *here*
The Aga Khan featured prominently in the news over the weekend following the conclusion of what has been a 10 year legal battle to divorce his second wife, German Princess Gabriele zu Leiningen .
The British paper, the *Daily Telegraph* reported,
"the case exposed the man who claims to be the direct descendant of the Prophet Mohammed to accusations of an affair with an air hostess."
**Population**: 8 million
**Number of Ismailis**: 275 000
**Key Area**: The Pamir Mountains - A remote, semi-autonomous, ethnically distinct area of the country. Comprised of several different valleys, each with its own language, the area is home to a little over 200 000 people, mostly Ismaili.
To be an Ismaili is to be part of a community; many Ismailis may be more a member than a believer. 'Ismailism' is not just their religion on a Friday, it's their identity all week. Though their faith may be threadbare, Ismaili immigrants to the West rarely lose their Ismaili identity. This strong common identity is forged around a supposedly unswerving loyalty to the Aga Khan but maintained by a sense of active participation in a self-sufficient community.
For an Ismaili, community means a needed but often inescapable bond.
The power-politics and intrigue that marked the early development of Ismailism continued throughout the Fatimid era. In February 1021, the supreme religious and political leader of the Fatimid Empire went for a walk in the hills. Several days later all that was found of him was a bloodied shirt torn by dagger blades. He was succeeded by his infant son. His guardian and second-in-command of the Empire, the vizier, took effective rule.
From then on real power and leadership in the Fatimid empire passed not through the successive imams but from vizier to vizier.
**Population**: 22.5 million
**Number of Ismailis**: 200 000
**Key Area**: Salamiyah - An ancient city, dating back to the time of the Babylonians. Over 50% of the 70 000 people living here are Ismaili and they represent the largest concentration of Ismailis in the Arab world.
In his daily life the focus of our Ismaili friend is almost exclusively on the Aga Khan. God is, perhaps, an after-thought.
God – Allah, as he'll call him – is, in Ismaili theology, essentially unknowable and very literally indescribable.
In the early 9th Century many Muslim factions believed in the idea of a 'Mahdi', typically the last leader of their faction, who had been taken away by God but would at some point return as a type of Messiah. This disappearance was known as 'Occultation'. Several prominent Ismaili figures taught that this had happened to Muhammad ibn Ismail, the son of the Imam whose succession had been debated.
However, at the turn of the 10th Century a Syrian named Al-Mahdi announced that Muhammad ibn Ismail and his descendants had in fact been hiding to protect themselves
On 4th August 1972, Idi Amin expelled all non-Africans. Among these were almost 40 000 Indian Ismailis.
You can read more about their plight *here*
Wherever Ismailis travel in the world, they feel at home when greeted by fellow Ismailis with the Arabic phrase: “Ya Ali Madad”. The translation is controversial, debated, but in essence is a prayer to Ali: “Oh, may Ali help you”. Since the present day Imam is considered one with Ali, it is a supplication for his help too. Our Ismaili friend will use it in the same way as others would 'Hello', but the theology behind it is explosive.
With the right imagination the history of our Ismaili friend reads like a train-station-filler thriller. The plot is laced with intrigue, secrecy, conniving, murder and power-games; the heroes and villains are kings and sheikhs; the settings are castles, deserts, mosques and souks. And so it is with the first significant turning point.
**Population**: 180 million
**Number of Ismailis**: 310 000
**Key Areas**:
* Chitral (160 000)
* Hunza Valley (80 000)
* Karachi (30-50 000)
So who is the Aga Khan? Ask a widow who's benefited from his NGO and she'll tell you he's a great man who provided for her family after last year's floods. Ask a media hack and you'll hear he's a billionaire whose enthusiasm for race horses is exceeded only by his interest in women. Allegedly. Ask Prince Charles and you'll discover he's a passionate statesman committed to bridging the gap between East and West, Muslim and Christian.
Our Ismaili friend's history begins in the 7th Century with Muhammad, a middle-aged merchant-cum-philosopher who received in a cave several visions from, he believed, the angel Gabriel. Our Ismaili friend, however, is a Shi'a Muslim (10-20% of Muslims worldwide). As such, he is more interested in Ali, nephew and brother-in-law to Muhammad.
