Country Advice Pakistan Pakistan – PAK37226 – Beliefs and
practices of Ismaili Muslims – Differences to Sunni Muslims – Situation in Karachi – Ismaili mosque in Seven Hills, NSW 19 August 2010
1. What are the central beliefs and practices of the Ismaili Muslims? How do they differ from the beliefs of Sunni Muslims? Are Ismaili Muslims perceived to be more ‘Westernised’?
Central beliefs of Ismaili Muslims
Ismailis are Shi‟a Muslims who believe that the eldest son of the sixth Imam, Ja‟far al Sadiq, was the rightful successor to the Prophet Mohammed. Ismailis believe that, starting from Ali, the eldest son always inherited the right to succession. The Ismaili sect formed when Ja‟far‟s eldest son Ismail was not appointed successor. Instead, Ja‟far‟s younger son, Musa al Kazim, inherited the title of seventh Imam.1 Musa‟s appointment caused a split within the Shi‟a community and gave rise to the Ismaili sect. For this reason, Ismailis are also known as „seveners‟ – for their belief in Ismail as the seventh Imam, and that the line of imams descended from him has continued to the present. Conversely, Musa‟s followers are known as „twelvers‟ for their belief in Musa as the seventh Imam, and that the line of imams descended from him has continued up to the twelfth Imam, Mohammed al-Mahdi, who „did not die but went into hiding in…874 C.E. and…will return…‟2 According to the twelvers (the largest sect of Shi‟a Islam3), the imamate of Mohammed has been in suspension ever since.4 A succession tree-diagram of Shi‟a imams according to the twelvers is provided on page six for clarity.
1 International Crisis Group, 2005, Understanding Islam, 2 March, p.19 http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/North%20Africa/Understanding %20Islamism.ashx – Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 1; „Seveners / Ismaili Islam‟ (undated), Global Security Org website, (undated) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-ismaili.htm - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 2. 2 International Crisis Group, 2005, Understanding Islam, 2 March, p.19 http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/North%20Africa/Understanding %20Islamism.ashx – Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 1 3 „Sunni and Shi‟a‟ 2009, BBC website, 8 August http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/subdivisions/sunnishia_1.shtml - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 3. 4 International Crisis Group, 2005, Understanding Islam, 2 March, p.19 http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/North%20Africa/Understanding %20Islamism.ashx – Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 1.
Page 1 of 7 Ismailis believe that the succession of Imams has continued to the present. Accordingly they follow the official teachings of Aga Khan who is the 49th hereditary Imam.5
According to information provided by Global Security Org, Ismaili beliefs are „complex and syncretic, combining elements from the philosophies of Plotinus, Pythagorus, Aristotle, Gnosticism, and the Manichaeans, as well as components of Judaism, Christianity and Eastern religions.‟6
There are a number of internet sources detailing the beliefs of Ismailis, however, an analysis of which is the most authoritative was not possible within the timeframe. Should further information be required the advice of an expert is recommended.
Central practices of Ismaili Muslims
Information on the central practices of Ismaili Muslims could only be sourced from two (almost identical) articles and one electronic book written by the same author – Jim Davis. Independent information on the reliability of these sources could not be found and the author‟s credentials as an appropriate authority to comment on the Ismaili faith appear questionable.7 No other articles outlining the central practices of Ismaili Muslims could be located. Consequently, the information concerning the practices of Ismailis cited below has not been corroborated by other sources. Despite this, information on the central beliefs of Ismailis in Davis‟ article, „The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims‟, could be corroborated by other sources, which lends some credibility to the author. According to this article, the central practices of Ismailis are as follows:
Meeting daily in Jamatkhanas (community buildings) for prayer and community activities.
Following the Five Pillars of Islam by obeying the Farmans (official teachings) of the Imam of the Time who is presently Aga Khan.
Performing prayers (Du‟a) three times a day in a Jamatkhanas or at home (taken from the later Shi‟a practice of combining the five regular prayers into three sessions).
5 „His Highness the Aga Khan‟ (undated), Aga Khan Development Network website, (undated) http://www.akdn.org/about_agakhan.asp - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 4. 6 „Seveners / Ismaili Islam‟ (undated), Global Security Org website, (undated) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-ismaili.htm - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 2 7 Open source information on Jim Davis indicates he is the author of a book on the Ismaili faith, The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims A Short Introduction, which he states (in the introduction) is based on his personal interpretation of the faith. For an electronic version of his book, see http://books.google.com/books?id=nogoRTTeODoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=The+Shia+Imami+Ismaili+Musl ims:+A+Short+Introduction#v=onepage&q&f=false. Information posted by Jim Davis about himself in an online forum on The Heritage Society‟s website in 2008 (see footnote 19 for information on The Heritage Society), states „I am a 49 year Euro-American male living in SW Missouri USA. I have been studying Ismailism for over a decade and have written many essays and poems on the topic. I defend the Ismaili faith wherever I see it malaigned. I have run a mailing list devoted to Ismailism for a decade. I work in the field of community mental health as a community support worker. My degree is in social work but have been attempting a Masters in Religious studies off and on. Anyone who wishes to contact me feel free to write me at [email protected]‟, see http://ismaili.net/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=phpBB2&file=viewtopic&p=22996&sid=491aca024ab 899cfc0c744fd7e869f44.
Page 2 of 7 Paying Zakat (a tithe) to the Imam of the Time, which is collected monthly in the Jamatkhanas. The rate is set at around 12 per cent of one‟s income, however, some Ismailis pledge to pay more.
Practicing ritual fasting according to the religious customs of the regions in which they live. In countries with Islamic governments, this involves fasting on Ramadan. A traditional fast practiced by Ismailis of South Asia is the Shakravari Beej – the day when Fridays coincide with a New Moon.
Performing the hajj (pilgrimage) – this can be done by going to Jamatkhana each day. Ismailis have a modern take on the hajj, which involves being in the presence of the Imam of the Time. Because Ismailis believe the Light of the Imam to be present in every Jamatkhana, going to the Jamatkhana is equal to performing the hajj.8
Differences to Sunni Islam and perceptions of being more Westernised
They key difference between Ismailis and Sunnis is the same difference that divides Shi‟a and Sunni Muslims; contention over the successors of the Prophet Mohammed. As noted in the 2001 RRT Issue Paper on Islam:
Shias believe that the leadership of the Islamic community should be by dynastic succession from Imam Ali (cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Mohammed) and his descendants. Their view conflicts with the Sunni principal that Mohammed‟s successor should be elected.9
Further information about the differences between Shi‟a and Sunni Muslims can be found in this Issue Paper at Attachment 5.10
One source was located (with a pro-Ismaili stance) which states that in Pakistan, Ismaili‟s „seem quite “Westernized”‟.11 The article, written in 2005 by freelance journalist Sudha Ramachandran, states that Ismaili women are not expected to wear the veil and can pray alongside men in congregation halls; that Ismaili schools are co-educational; and that a „distinct Hindu influence‟ is discernable in their style of worship. An excerpt from the article appears below:
Ismailis regard themselves as “proper Muslims”. However, Sunnis and Shi‟ites in Pakistan (and other countries where Ismailis live) believe they are “different”. For one, they seem quite “Westernized”. Ismaili women are not expected to wear the burqa (veil). In their congregation halls, women pray alongside men - on separate but similar and adjacent carpets, denoting equality between the sexes. The schools run by Ismailis are co-educational. A distinct Hindu influence is also discernible in
8 Davis, J. (undated), „The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims‟ (undated), cited on the World Muslim Congress blogsite http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/shia-imami-ismaili-muslims.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 - Attachment 6. 9 Refugee Review Tribunal Country Research 2001, Islam, Shia/Sunni Beliefs And Practices In Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, 28 September – Attachment 5. 10 Refugee Review Tribunal Country Research 2007, Islam, Shia/Sunni Beliefs And Practices In Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, 28 September – Attachment 5. 11 Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 7.
Page 3 of 7 their style of worship. They sing hymns while praying and believe in reincarnation.12
In light of this information, it is possible that some Muslims in Pakistan perceive Ismailis to be more Westernised than other Islamic sects.
13
Figure 1. Shi’a imams according to the twelvers are shown in blue. The Shi’a community split over the appointment of Musa al-Kazim.
2. Are Ismaili Muslims subject to harm in Pakistan (particularly in Karachi) because of their beliefs?
No recent reporting was found indicating Ismaili Muslims were subject to harm in Pakistan, however, there is some evidence to indicate they face societal pressure from Sunni Muslims. According to the US Department of State International Religious Freedom Report 2009 for Pakistan, Ismailis reported they were „the objects of resentment of Sunni Muslims due to their comparative economic well-being‟ and that they „frequently faced societal pressure to adopt conservative Islamic practices or risk being socially
12 Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 7. 13 „Sunni and Shi‟a‟ 2009, BBC website, 8 August http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/subdivisions/sunnishia_1.shtml - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 3.
Page 4 of 7 ostracized.‟14 In 2010, Freedom House reported that the Aga Khan Foundation15 had faced harassment and violence by Sunni extremist groups in the past but that no such attacks were reported in 2009.‟16 A May 2009 Writenet report (commissioned by the UNHCR) reported that the Ismaili faith was, to varying degrees, regarded as heretical by mainstream Muslims.17
Reports of past attacks on the Aga Khan Development Network were corroborated by other sources. For example, in 2005, an article with a pro-Ismaili stance in Asia Times Online stated that Ismailis were under attack from Sunni hardliners. The article cites the Sunni killing of a prominent Ismaili leader and scholar in Gilgit, Pakistan, which stoked violent riots. The article also states that Sunni hardliners have „often accused the Aga Khan [foundation] of working with Israel and the US.‟ 18 The author offers her own analysis of the events by situating Sunni‟s opposition to Ismailis in the broader context of Sunni concerns over Ismailis‟ „secularizing influence‟19 on Pakistan‟s education system, which is being driven by the Aga Khan Development Network. An excerpt from the article appears below:
In 2002, the Pakistani government signed an executive order inducting the Aga Khan University Examination Board (AKUEB) into the national education system. The AKUEB follows the British O-level and A-level system of education. … The Pakistani government‟s announcement that it would allow schools to adopt the system of the AKUEB triggered angry criticism from the Islamists. Jamaat-e- Islami chief Qazi Hussain Ahmed issued a warning to the Ismailis that he would launch a campaign against them similar to the one against the Ahmadiyyas. Over the past year, Sunni extremist outfits have launched a virulent smear campaign against the Aga Khan Foundation, its work and the Ismaili community.20
Another report in Asia Times Online provides more details on the killing of the aforementioned Ismaili scholar and also reports on a December 2004 attack on the Aga Khan Foundation:
In Pakistan‟s Northern Territories, which border China and Afghanistan and include a part of the disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir, Sunni militants shot and killed an Ismaili leader, Agha Ziauddin, on January 8. Ziauddin‟s killing, in Gilgit, sparked riots that left at least 15 dead. In December, two Sunni militants were arrested in connection with the killing of two employees of an Aga Khan aid
14 US Department of State 2009, International Religious Freedom Report for 2009 – Pakistan, 26 October http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127370.htm - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 8. 15 Formally known as the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), the Foundation is a group of development agencies with mandates that include the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalisation of historic cities. AKDN agencies conduct their programmes without regard to faith, origin or gender. See http://www.akdn.org/ 16 Freedom House 2010, Freedom in the World 2010 - Kashmir [Pakistan], 24 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4c231240c.html - accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 9. 17 Writenet 2009, Pakistan: The Situation of Religious Minorities, May, p.1 – Attachment 10. 18 Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 7. 19 Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 7. 20 Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 7.
Page 5 of 7 agency in the remote northern town of Chitral bordering Afghanistan that same month. 21
A May 2006 Research Response by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada provides information on the situation of Ismaili Muslims in Pakistan. The Response provides examples of violence and harassment against the Ismaili community in Pakistan between September 2003 and May 2006 and can be found at Attachment 13.22
Despite past reports of attacks against Ismailis, no recent information indicating Ismailis were subject to harm in Pakistan were found.
3. Is there an Ismaili mosque in Seven Hills?
According to the Ismail.NET website run by The Heritage Society23, there is an Ismaili Jamatkhana (community building) in Seven Hills, NSW. The address is below, however, no contact phone number is listed. No Australian websites were found indicating there is an Ismaili community building at this location. A search on google maps does not indicate there is a Jamatkhana at this location:
Sydney Jamatkhana, Australia Unit 8, 10 Boden Road, Seven Hills NSW 215024
21 Maitra, R. 2005, „New target for Pakistan's militants‟, 19 January Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA19Df06.html – Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 11. 22 Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2006, Pakistan: The situation of Ismaili Muslims and whether they face problems from extremists (September 2003 - May 2006) , 10 May, PAK101161.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/45f1478e2f.html – Accessed 19 August 2010 – Attachment 13 23 According to its website, The Heritage Society is based in Canada and is „a non-profit organization, whose aim is to encourage preservation of manuscripts and rare documents, ismaili history and research and publication in the field of religion‟. See http://www.ismaili.net/drupal5/node/21580. 24 „Sydney Jamatkhana, Australia‟ (undated), The Heritage Society website, (undated) http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/21580 - Accessed 18 August 2010 – Attachment 12.
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Attachments
1. International Crisis Group, 2005, Understanding Islam, 2 March http://www.crisisgroup.org/~/media/Files/Middle%20East%20North%20Africa/North%2 0Africa/Understanding%20Islamism.ashx – Accessed 18 August 2010
2. „Seveners / Ismaili Islam‟ (undated), Global Security Org website, (undated) http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/intro/islam-ismaili.htm - Accessed 18 August 2010
3. „Sunni and Shi‟a‟ 2009, BBC website, 8 August http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/subdivisions/sunnishia_1.shtml - Accessed 18 August 2010
4. „His Highness the Aga Khan‟ (undated), Aga Khan Development Network website, (undated) http://www.akdn.org/about_agakhan.asp - Accessed 18 August 2010
5. Refugee Review Tribunal Country Research 2001, Islam, Shia/Sunni Beliefs And Practices In Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, 28 September
6. Davis, J. (undated), „The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims‟ (undated), cited on the World Muslim Congress blogsite http://worldmuslimcongress.blogspot.com/2009/08/shia-imami- ismaili-muslims.html - Accessed 18 August 2010
7. Ramachandran, S. 2005, „Ismailis in deadly education spat‟, 11 March, Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GC11Df06.html - Accessed 18 August 2010
8. US Department of State 2009, International Religious Freedom Report for 2009 – Pakistan, 26 October http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2009/127370.htm - Accessed 18 August 2010
9. Freedom House 2010, Freedom in the World 2010 - Kashmir [Pakistan], 24 June http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4c231240c.html - accessed 18 August 2010
10. Writenet 2009, Pakistan: The Situation of Religious Minorities, May
11. Maitra, R. 2005, „New target for Pakistan's militants‟, 19 January Asia Times Online website http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/GA19Df06.html – Accessed 18 August 2010
12. „Sydney Jamatkhana, Australia‟ (undated), The Heritage Society website, (undated) http://www.ismaili.net/heritage/node/21580 - Accessed 18 August 2010
13. Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada 2006, Pakistan: The situation of Ismaili Muslims and whether they face problems from extremists (September 2003 - May 2006) , 10 May, PAK101161.E http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/45f1478e2f.html – Accessed 19 August 2010
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