The IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Ja尪far al-廜〢diq (d. 765), as his successor. consist of two main branches泭 the’泭Nizari泭Ismailis and the Musta’lian Tayyibi Ismailis. Both have their roots in the泭Fatimid泭period of Ismaili history and differ primarily over their respective belief in the泭Imamat.泭that is, spiritual leadership of the community.
The Nizari branch believes in a living, physically present泭Imam. Their present and forty-ninth泭Imam泭is泭Prince Karim Aga Khan. The Musta’lian Ismailis believe that their twenty-first泭Imam, al-Tayyib, went into physical concealment泭(satr)泭and that while the泭Imamat泭continues in his line, authority in his physical absence is exercised by a vicegerent,泭da’i泭mutlaq,泭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泭, and a member of the Board of Directors of the泭泭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泭, 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:泭The Nizari Ismaili Tradition泭(1976),泭The Muslim Almanac泭(1996),泭Mapping Islamic Studies泭(1997) and泭The Historical Atlas of Islam泭(with M. Ruthven) (2004) and泭The Dictionary of Islam泭(with Razia Nanji), Penguin 2008. In addition, he has contributed numerous shorter studies and articles in journals and collective volumes including泭The Encyclopaedia of Islam,泭Encyclopaedia Iranica,泭Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, and泭A Companion to Ethics. He was the Associate Editor for the revised Second Edition of泭The Encyclopaedia of Religion.
Within the泭, he has served as a member of the task force for the泭泭(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.
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 The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, and Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford.
