The IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja士far al-峁⒛乨iq (d. 765), as his successor. consist of two main branches听 the’听Nizari听Ismailis and the Musta’lian Tayyibi Ismailis. Both have their roots in the听Fatimid听period of Ismaili history and differ primarily over their respective belief in the听Imamat.听that is, spiritual leadership of the community.
The Nizari branch believes in a living, physically present听Imam. Their present and forty-ninth听Imam听is听Prince Karim Aga Khan. The Musta’lian Ismailis believe that their twenty-first听Imam, al-Tayyib, went into physical concealment听(satr)听and that while the听Imamat听continues in his line, authority in his physical absence is exercised by a vicegerent,听da’i听mutlaq,听who acts on his behalf. In their encounter with modernity therefore, the two communities reflect a different pattern of historical and institutional development.
Authors
Azim Nanji is currently Special Advisor to the Provost of the听, and a member of the Board of Directors of the听听in Ottawa, a joint partnership between His Highness the Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. and the Government of Canada. He has held many prestigious academic and administrative appointments, most recently as Senior Associate Director of the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at听, where he was also lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies. From 1998 to 2008, Professor Nanji served as Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London.
Professor Nanji has published numerous books and articles on religion, Islam and Ismailism, including:听The Nizari Ismaili Tradition听(1976),听The Muslim Almanac听(1996),听Mapping Islamic Studies听(1997) and听The Historical Atlas of Islam听(with M. Ruthven) (2004) and听The Dictionary of Islam听(with Razia Nanji), Penguin 2008. In addition, he has contributed numerous shorter studies and articles in journals and collective volumes including听The Encyclopaedia of Islam,听Encyclopaedia Iranica,听Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, and听A Companion to Ethics. He was the Associate Editor for the revised Second Edition of听The Encyclopaedia of Religion.
Within the听, he has served as a member of the task force for the听听(AKU-ISMC) and Vice Chair of the Madrasa-based Early Childhood Education Programme in East Africa. He served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998, 2001 and 2016.鈥嬧
Professor Zulfikar Hirji
Zulfikar Hirji is an Anthropologist and Social Historian of Muslim Societies and Cultures. He is currently Associate Professor of Anthropology at York University, Toronto. He was formerly a Research Associate at 鸟大大影院, London, and Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.
