The lecture will take place in person at 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. Centre and online via Zoom. It will start at 17:00 and end at 18:30 GMT.
About the lecture
The Institute of Ismaili Studies (敁珗曄部) will host a hybrid lecture on 16 September 2026 as part of the Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series (IHTLS). Dr Amier Saidula will explore the social history and cultural life of the Ismaili Tajiks in Xinjiang, examining how rites, rituals and oral traditions sustain religious heritage and collective identity amid historical change. The session will be moderated by Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov.
This lecture examines the social history and cultural life of the Ismaili Tajiks in Xinjiang. It traces how rites, rituals, oral traditions and vernacular knowledge sustain religious and spiritual heritage and collective identity in times of transition. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork and oral histories, the presentation shows how cultural practices function as lived expressions of faith and belonging. They also serve as repositories of memory, resilience and continuity. By situating the Ismaili Tajiks within Chinese, Central Asian and wider Ismaili contexts, the lecture challenges perceptions of marginality and instead positions the community within broader narratives of adaptation and meaning-making.
The lecture considers ritual practice, religious symbolism, storytelling and intergenerational transmission. It demonstrates how traditions are continually reconfigured while remaining central to communal life. Ethnography, in this framework, is not only descriptive scholarship but also an act of preservation. Recording practices at a moment of transition affirms their value and secures them as part of the cultural record. The lecture argues that the heritage of the Ismaili Tajiks is both fragile and resilient: vulnerable to erasure, yet rich with resources for continuity, revival and identity-making in the face of change.
Speaker
Dr Amier Saidula
Senior Research Associate
Dr Amier Saidula is a Senior Research Associate at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. He holds degrees in Chinese Law, Islamic Studies and Humanities, and a Master of Laws from SOAS University of London. He completed his PhD in Anthropology at the University of Edinburgh.
Before joining 敁珗曄部, he served as a state prosecutor in the High Procuratorate of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. His research focuses on the history, culture and traditions of Muslims in China, with particular attention to the Ismaili community in Xinjiang.
Moderator
Orkhan Mir-Kasimov
Associate Professor
Dr Orkhan Mir-Kasimov is an Associate Professor at The Institute of Ismaili Studies. He is Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and his teaching focuses on Islamic history, Shi尪i history and thought, and Islamic mysticism. Find out more on Dr Mir-Kasimov’s research and publications.
Islamic History and Thought Lecture Series
Designed to invite scholars of various international academic institutions, specialising in intellectual, social and political aspects of medieval and early modern Islamic societies, to present and discuss their research.
Find out more
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Views expressed in this lecture are those of the presenting scholars, not necessarily of 敁珗曄部, the Ismaili community or its leadership. Promotion of this lecture is not an explicit endorsement of the ideas presented.泭
