Shafique N. Virani
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195311730
- eISBN:
- 9780199785490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311730.003.0010
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Three concepts in particular played a major role in the Ismaili survival of the Mongol depredations: taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation); the Ismaili da'wa, which literally means “summons”; and the ...
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Three concepts in particular played a major role in the Ismaili survival of the Mongol depredations: taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation); the Ismaili da'wa, which literally means “summons”; and the soteriological dimension of the imamate. The latter was exceptionally important as it emphasized the role of the Imam of one's time in leading the adept to salvation and a mystical recognition of God.Less
Three concepts in particular played a major role in the Ismaili survival of the Mongol depredations: taqiyya (precautionary dissimulation); the Ismaili da'wa, which literally means “summons”; and the soteriological dimension of the imamate. The latter was exceptionally important as it emphasized the role of the Imam of one's time in leading the adept to salvation and a mystical recognition of God.
Shafique N. Virani
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- May 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195311730
- eISBN:
- 9780199785490
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195311730.003.0003
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
As their wave of devastation swept through the Near East, Mongol hordes led by Hulagu Khan sought the complete extermination of the Ismailis and the destruction of their state centered at Alamut. ...
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As their wave of devastation swept through the Near East, Mongol hordes led by Hulagu Khan sought the complete extermination of the Ismailis and the destruction of their state centered at Alamut. Misled by the writings of Hulagu's courtier Juwayni, many of the Persian historians and later Western authors believed that the community had indeed been annihilated. While the continued survival of the Ismailis has now become clear, what has hitherto remained largely underestimated — if not completely unnoticed — is the persistence of their activities in the South Caspian regions of Gilan, Daylam, and Mazandaran, including at the fort of Alamut itself in the wake of the Mongol invasions.Less
As their wave of devastation swept through the Near East, Mongol hordes led by Hulagu Khan sought the complete extermination of the Ismailis and the destruction of their state centered at Alamut. Misled by the writings of Hulagu's courtier Juwayni, many of the Persian historians and later Western authors believed that the community had indeed been annihilated. While the continued survival of the Ismailis has now become clear, what has hitherto remained largely underestimated — if not completely unnoticed — is the persistence of their activities in the South Caspian regions of Gilan, Daylam, and Mazandaran, including at the fort of Alamut itself in the wake of the Mongol invasions.
Jamel A. Velji
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- May 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780748690886
- eISBN:
- 9781474427104
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748690886.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
The Fatimids’ apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth ...
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The Fatimids’ apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth century. Yet the realities that they faced on the ground often challenged their status as the custodians of a pristine Islam at the end of time. Through an examination of a variety of sources including works of taʾwīl or symbolic interpretation, this book illustrates some of the specific structures and functions of Fatimid apocalypticism. It then examines how various components of the apocalyptic myth—especially the utopia that it promised—evolved in response to shifting historical circumstances. The book also focuses on how the evolution of apocalyptic symbolism was related to the Fatimids’ consolidation of authority. The book ends with an extensive analysis of both the ritual and textual dimensions of another apocalyptic event linked to a Fatimid lineage: the Nizari Ismaili declaration of the end of time on August 8, 1164.Less
The Fatimids’ apocalyptic vision of their central place in an imminent utopia played a critical role in transfiguring the intellectual and political terrains of North Africa in the early tenth century. Yet the realities that they faced on the ground often challenged their status as the custodians of a pristine Islam at the end of time. Through an examination of a variety of sources including works of taʾwīl or symbolic interpretation, this book illustrates some of the specific structures and functions of Fatimid apocalypticism. It then examines how various components of the apocalyptic myth—especially the utopia that it promised—evolved in response to shifting historical circumstances. The book also focuses on how the evolution of apocalyptic symbolism was related to the Fatimids’ consolidation of authority. The book ends with an extensive analysis of both the ritual and textual dimensions of another apocalyptic event linked to a Fatimid lineage: the Nizari Ismaili declaration of the end of time on August 8, 1164.
Peter Hopkins and Richard Gale
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748625871
- eISBN:
- 9780748671335
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748625871.003.0009
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
This chapter concentrates on two distinct periods in the history of the Nizari Ismailis of Gujarati ancestry, namely the East African era and the Western settlement and the way in which cultural ...
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This chapter concentrates on two distinct periods in the history of the Nizari Ismailis of Gujarati ancestry, namely the East African era and the Western settlement and the way in which cultural commodities have been transported, adapted and remoulded as a result of these migratory processes. Gulbanu and Kassamali connect their experiences of leaving India for East Africa. Communal networking in Britain was re-established by way of letter writing, telephone calls and other social activities. The recitation of ginans is an integral part of congregational worship amongst the Ismailis. The Ismailis mirrored the ways of life in their original homeland, Gujarat, while adapting aspects of the local majority culture and sometimes they merged the two together to create new hybrid forms, many of which are still in existence today.Less
This chapter concentrates on two distinct periods in the history of the Nizari Ismailis of Gujarati ancestry, namely the East African era and the Western settlement and the way in which cultural commodities have been transported, adapted and remoulded as a result of these migratory processes. Gulbanu and Kassamali connect their experiences of leaving India for East Africa. Communal networking in Britain was re-established by way of letter writing, telephone calls and other social activities. The recitation of ginans is an integral part of congregational worship amongst the Ismailis. The Ismailis mirrored the ways of life in their original homeland, Gujarat, while adapting aspects of the local majority culture and sometimes they merged the two together to create new hybrid forms, many of which are still in existence today.
Paul E. Walker
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- September 2011
- ISBN:
- 9789774163289
- eISBN:
- 9781617970207
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- American University in Cairo Press
- DOI:
- 10.5743/cairo/9789774163289.001.0001
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
One night in the year 411/1021, the powerful ruler of Fatimid Cairo, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, rode out of the southern gates of his city and was never seen again. Was the caliph murdered, or could he ...
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One night in the year 411/1021, the powerful ruler of Fatimid Cairo, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, rode out of the southern gates of his city and was never seen again. Was the caliph murdered, or could he have decided to abandon his royal life, wandering off to live alone and anonymous? Whatever the truth, the fact was that al-Hakim had literally vanished into the desert. Yet al-Hakim, though shrouded in mystery, has never been forgotten. To the Druze, he was (and is) God, and his disappearance merely indicated his reversion to non-human form. For Ismailis, al-Hakim was the sixteenth imam, descended from the Prophet, and infallible. Jews and Christians, by contrast, long remembered him as their persecutor, who ordered the destruction of many of their synagogues and churches. This book presents a biography of this fascinating individual.Less
One night in the year 411/1021, the powerful ruler of Fatimid Cairo, al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah, rode out of the southern gates of his city and was never seen again. Was the caliph murdered, or could he have decided to abandon his royal life, wandering off to live alone and anonymous? Whatever the truth, the fact was that al-Hakim had literally vanished into the desert. Yet al-Hakim, though shrouded in mystery, has never been forgotten. To the Druze, he was (and is) God, and his disappearance merely indicated his reversion to non-human form. For Ismailis, al-Hakim was the sixteenth imam, descended from the Prophet, and infallible. Jews and Christians, by contrast, long remembered him as their persecutor, who ordered the destruction of many of their synagogues and churches. This book presents a biography of this fascinating individual.
Farhad Daftary
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780748637386
- eISBN:
- 9780748653218
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Edinburgh University Press
- DOI:
- 10.3366/edinburgh/9780748637386.003.0004
- Subject:
- Society and Culture, Middle Eastern Studies
This chapter examines the origins of the concept of taqiyya or dissimulation, and its practice among Ismailis through the ages. It also discusses the various geographies in which the Ismailis lived ...
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This chapter examines the origins of the concept of taqiyya or dissimulation, and its practice among Ismailis through the ages. It also discusses the various geographies in which the Ismailis lived as a religious minority. Taqiyya has two contradictory effects among Ismailis. It helped preserve the Ismailis as a community in their own right, but also fostered assimilation into the larger and more powerful groups among whom they lived such as the Twelver Shi،ites, Sunnis and Sufis. But even when communities were preserved, they also developed syncretistic belief systems, showing hybridities due to acculturation into the beliefs of other communities. Although the principle of taqiyya provided a measure of security against external threats, it also led to internally generated threats through syncretism, and through the hybrid practices and systems of belief it created and fostered.Less
This chapter examines the origins of the concept of taqiyya or dissimulation, and its practice among Ismailis through the ages. It also discusses the various geographies in which the Ismailis lived as a religious minority. Taqiyya has two contradictory effects among Ismailis. It helped preserve the Ismailis as a community in their own right, but also fostered assimilation into the larger and more powerful groups among whom they lived such as the Twelver Shi،ites, Sunnis and Sufis. But even when communities were preserved, they also developed syncretistic belief systems, showing hybridities due to acculturation into the beliefs of other communities. Although the principle of taqiyya provided a measure of security against external threats, it also led to internally generated threats through syncretism, and through the hybrid practices and systems of belief it created and fostered.
Aaron W. Hughes
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- August 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780190684464
- eISBN:
- 9780190684495
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780190684464.003.0007
- Subject:
- Religion, Biblical Studies, Judaism
Chapter 6 seeks to re-frame or redescribe this so-called golden age by arguing that Islam provided the intellectual and religious context for the florescence of Judaism at a formative moment in its ...
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Chapter 6 seeks to re-frame or redescribe this so-called golden age by arguing that Islam provided the intellectual and religious context for the florescence of Judaism at a formative moment in its development. In this, the context was little different from what went on in the late antique period. The chapter argues that the border separating Jew from Muslim in this period may still be more retrofitted from the present than real. It examines some key Jewish thinkers—Judah Halevi, Baḥya ibn Paqūda, Abraham ibn Ezra, Moses Maimonides—with the aim of showing how they continued to destabilize the line between Judaism and Islam. Even in the late twelfth century, “Islamic Judaism” existed subsequent to that fact that rabbinic Judaism had been historically overdetermined as normative. Indeed, so much so that rabbinic Judaism continued to absorb many elements of Islam to change not only its margins but also its center.Less
Chapter 6 seeks to re-frame or redescribe this so-called golden age by arguing that Islam provided the intellectual and religious context for the florescence of Judaism at a formative moment in its development. In this, the context was little different from what went on in the late antique period. The chapter argues that the border separating Jew from Muslim in this period may still be more retrofitted from the present than real. It examines some key Jewish thinkers—Judah Halevi, Baḥya ibn Paqūda, Abraham ibn Ezra, Moses Maimonides—with the aim of showing how they continued to destabilize the line between Judaism and Islam. Even in the late twelfth century, “Islamic Judaism” existed subsequent to that fact that rabbinic Judaism had been historically overdetermined as normative. Indeed, so much so that rabbinic Judaism continued to absorb many elements of Islam to change not only its margins but also its center.
