The second largest Shi‘i Muslim community after the Ithna‘ashari or Twelvers, the Ismailis have had a long and complex history dating back to the formative period of Islam. Subsequently, they became subdivided into a number of major branches and minor groups. However, since the beginning of the 12th century CE, the Ismailis have existed in…
Tag: Ismaili history
Video: Book launch – Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam | The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) launched their newest publication
The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam was recently launched by the Institute of Ismaili Studies. Part of the Ismaili Texts and Translations Series, the book was published in honour of Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Diamond Jubilee. It is the first English translation of the original Persian manuscript, ‘Ibrat-afza, which was composed by…
The first Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam | The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) launched their newest publication
On a spring evening last month in London, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) launched their newest publication, entitled The First Aga Khan: Memoirs of the 46th Ismaili Imam. The book covers a significant period of Ismaili history and sheds light on the remarkable life and career of the 46th Ismaili Imam – Mawlana Hasan…
Prince Amyn attends The World of the Fatimids exhibition opening at the Aga Khan Museum — By Khaleel Meghji on the Ismaili
The World of the Fatimids, the newest exhibition at the Aga Khan Museum, launched on 12 March in Toronto. Prince Amyn delivered the keynote address for the opening of the exhibition, which explores the Fatimid period through artefacts and objects from the 10th and 11th centuries. Curator, Dr. Assadullah Souren Melikian-Chirvani, shows an artefact to…
The Fatimid Caliphate: Diversity of Tradition — Book by Farhad Daftary, Shainool Jiwa
SYNOPSIS The Fatimids ruled much of the Mediterranean world for over two centuries. From the conquest of Qayrawan in 909 to defeat at the hands of Saladin in 1171, the Fatimid caliphate governed a vast area stretching, at its peak, from the Red Sea in the East to the Atlantic Ocean in the West. Their…
Ismaili History: The Marco Polo Myth of the Assassins|Photos, Graphics and video
Simerg com: Ismaili History – The Marco Polo Myth of the Assassins (…) PULLING BACK THE SILK CURTAIN “The Nizari [Ismailis] excelled in the fields of theology, philosophy, architecture and science, but their opponents demonized them as bloodthirsty extremist religious murderers…The returning Crusaders brought back the legend of the pothead assassins, partly because they loved…
Book: The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma’ilis, By Farhad Daftary
ISBN-13: 978-1850439509 ISBN-10: 1850439508 For hundreds of years Westerners have been fascinated by stories of the Assassins, their mysterious leader and their remote mountain stronghold at Alamut in Northern Iran. The legends first emerged in the 12th and 13th centuries, when Crusaders in Syria came into contact with the Nazari Isma’ilis, one of the communities…
Muslims, Martyrs and Misconceptions — By Farhad Daftary on Fair Observer com
Legends based on polemic and fantasy distorted the image of medieval Nizari Ismaili Muslims, turning them into drug-crazed “assassins.” Legends of the Assassins first appeared in medieval times and circulated widely in both the Middle East and Europe. Arising from the mysterious practices of the Nizari Ismailis and their unwavering devotion to their chief—the so-called…
Who Succeeded Imam Jafar al-Sadiq? Seven Proofs for the Imamat of Imam Ismail ibn Jafar — Ismaili Gnosis com
(…) Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV visiting his Ismaili followers in Tajikistan, 2008 In the case of the Shia Muslims, the Shia branch of Islam split and one branch of the Shia Muslims accepted the concept of the Imam in hiding, the invisible Imam, because the twelfth Imam disappeared as a very young…
Ismaili Historical Insights: (I) 1925: Mahatma Gandhi on the Meritorious Deed of a Khoja Ismaili — by Abdulmalik J. Merchant on Simerg com
Letter From Publisher Simerg’s Merchant For the first episode, we go to a massive work called The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi and reveal a story that appears in Volume 33, which is dedicated to the period from September 1925 to February 1926 in Gandhi’s life. During his visit to Mundra in Gujarat, the father…
Triumphal Moments in Ismaili History: Jawhar’s Conquest of Egypt and Imam al-Muizz’s Resplendent Darbar in Cairo — by Mansoor Ladha
“I WISH I’D BEEN THERE” 1970: Mansoor Ladha, veteran award winning journalist, writer and author, interviewing His Highness the Aga Khan for Tanzania’s daily, The Standard (now Daily News). Photo: Mansoor Ladha Collection. Copyright. BY MANSOOR LADHA As a journalist, a writer and an author, what better time to be than reporting milestones and…
Triumphal Moments in Ismaili History: The Unveiling of the 11th Imam, al-Mahdi, in North Africa — By Aleem Karmali on Simerg com
Triumphal Moments in Ismaili History: The Unveiling of the 11th Imam, al-Mahdi, in North Africa — the Realization of a Dream 1100 Hundred Years Ago that Became the Fatimid Caliphate “I WISH I’D BEEN THERE” “To witness that moment of unveiling when Imam al-Mahdi rode out to meet his followers stands for me above…
Ismailis through History: From Persecuted Minority to Pluralist Community — Ismaili Gnosis com
In 1975, the late Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan (uncle of Imam Shah Karim al-Husayni Aga Khan IV) urged the Ismaili Muslims of Canada to be “Ambassadors” of the Ismaili Muslim community (read a primer on Who are the Shia Ismaili Muslims). Being an ambassador, in the Prince’s words, means explaining Ismaili traditions, history, and…
Video: Harvard Lecture – The Shia Ismaili Muslims by Khalil Andani
Ismailism Published on 24 Apr 2015 On February 21, 2014, Khalil Andani (Doctor of Philosophy of Candidate in Islamic Studies, Harvard University) delivered a lecture called “Shi’i Isma’ili Muslims: An Esoteric Tradition in Islam” as part of the Harvard Divinity School Muslim Council Speaker Series called “Diversity in Islam: Communities of Interpretation.” The lecture took…
Sindh by road — by Ijlal Hussainpur on TNS the News com Pakistan|From Agha Hasan Ali Shah, Aga Khan I.to Quaid-i-Azam
Thatta can boast of many places of cultural significance, among them is Jinnah’s so-claimed house in Jhirk Dabgir Mosque in Thatta. (…) “We should go now!” whispered my friend into my ear. I came out of my trance and the world of Thatta 500 years ago. My friends and I were in the Makli Necropolis,…
Auckland blessed by Shia Ismaili Imamat’s Grande Exhibition — Indian Weekender, New Zealand
Auckland’s ASB Showground Pavilion witnessed a grand exhibition called Rays of Light- A glimpse into Shia Ismaili Imamat. Rays of Light is a photographic and multimedia exhibition depicting His Highness the Aga Khan’s lifelong commitment to improving multiple facets of the human condition. The exhibition aims to raise awareness of His Highness the Aga Khan’s…
Footprints: A local chapter from Ismaili history — Article by Saher Baloch on Dawn com Pakistan
AMIDST the rundown homes and shops of the old Shahi Bazaar in Gwadar, a beautiful white structure with blue doors and windows captured our attention. As we clicked away, a barber from a nearby shop asked the purpose of our visit offering to take us there. The barber, who gave his first name as Kaleem…
Simerg’s 5th Anniversary Series: Studying [and Interpreting] Ismaili History Through Objects
Originally posted on Simerg – Insights from Around the World:
A special NEW series about objects that are linked to Ismaili history over the past 1400 years, from the dawn of Islam to the Imamat of the present forty-ninth Imam, Mawlana Shah Karim al Hussaini, His Highness the Aga Khan. INTRODUCED BY ABDULMALIK J. MERCHANT…
Notes on Neoplatonism With Article and Audio on Ismaili Philosopher and Scientist Avicenna
The philosophical school of Neoplatonism provided ways that the individual could ascend the ladder of being through theoria – contemplation of the Divine. The ultimate goal of life is to achieve mystical union with the Divine (the One)…Many people think that Neoplatonism flourished only in the Roman Empire around the third and fourth centuries CE….
Toral Pradhan Expands and Publishes Fascinating Ismaili History Article as Dual English-Gujarati Booklet
One of the most popular history articles ever published on this bog has been expanded, revised and published as a 40 page dual-language booklet by its author, Toral Pradhan. The article which was first published in October 2013 (please click A Brief History of the Khoja Ismaili Community in Daman, India, from the Portuguese Period…
