Subject: The Shia you don't hear
about
July, 2007
The Shia you
don't hear about
By ANTHONY
MANSUETO
Special to the
Star-Telegram
Wednesday marks the Golden Jubilee of His
Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV, global leader of the Shia Ismaili
Muslim community.
At a time when
the news is dominated by sectarian conflicts between Sunni and Shia
Muslims in Iraq, the jubilee offers an opportunity to learn about a very
different, little-known but quietly powerful current within
Islam.
Like the vast
majority of Iranians and a significant majority of Iraqis, the Ismailis
are part of the Shia branch of Islam. Shiism emerged from an early
dispute about leadership in the ummah, or Islamic
community.
The Sunni argued
that the caliph, the successor of the prophet Muhammad, should be
elected. The Shia argued that succession should remain within the direct
line of the prophet's closest relatives.
But this division
also reflected profound differences regarding the nature of leadership
within the Islamic community.
The Sunnis, stressing
Islam's historic emphasis on effective political engagement, opted for
caliphs who were primarily political and military leaders; the Shia
looked for leaders known for wisdom and
spirituality.
Eventually the
Shia themselves divided. The vast majority (those we hear most about in
Iran and Iraq) believe there was an unbroken line of 12 imams -- the
last of whom, Muhammad ibn Hasan ibn Ali, was born in 868 and was hidden
by God in 939 rather than dying. Twelver, or Imami, Shia believe that he
eventually will return to usher in a reign of
justice.
The Ismailis
trace their own leadership from the seventh imam, Isma'il bin Jafar
(721-755), and believe that the law, embodied in the Quran and the
sayings and practices of Muhammad, is accompanied by a mystical teaching
passed from one imam to the next. The current Aga Khan, who as a
20-year-old in 1957 succeeded his grandfather, is the 49th hereditary
imam of the Shia Ismailis.
The Ismailis'
belief in a deeper, mystical approach to the faith meant that they
played an important role in the intellectual history not only of Islam
but also, indirectly, of Europe.
Ismailis were crucial in translating
the Greek texts of Plato and Aristotle, which were lost to Western
Europe, into Arabic. It was in this language that most were passed on,
via Jewish translators in Muslim Spain, to Christian
Europe.
Ibn Sina
(980-1037), known in the West as Avicenna, came from an Ismaili family.
His text on medicine was used not only in the Islamic world but also in
the West up until the 17th century, and his philosophy profoundly
influenced that of Thomas Aquinas and thus the whole Roman Catholic
tradition.
Ismailis
established the great university of al-Azhar -- one of the world's
oldest, dating from 971 -- and effectively built the city of Cairo,
Egypt.
Important
beneficiaries of Ismaili patronage include the mathematicians al-Haytham
and Nasir al-Din Tusi and the poet and philosopher Nasir e-Khusraw.
Although I am not an Ismaili, I have an unusual connection to the
Ismaili tradition.
My family comes originally from Sicily, an island
that has known many conquerors -- most of them brutal exploiters. But
the era of the Ismaili Fatimids, who governed Sicily for much of the
10th and 11th centuries from their capital at Cairo, was Sicily's golden
age. Agriculture, commerce, the arts, the sciences and philosophy
flourished.
Today, the
Ismailis are but a small minority of Muslims, numbering about 20 million
out of roughly 1.4 billion Muslims and 120 million Shia worldwide, but
their presence continues to be felt.
They are
concentrated mostly in Central Asia, western China, parts of the Middle
East, India, Pakistan and sub-Saharan Africa, as well as the United
States, Canada and Western Europe. They are actively engaged in the
struggle for social justice and human
development.
They work
locally, through active participation in civic institutions, and
globally, through the Aga Khan Development
Network.
The network is
involved in an extraordinary range of activities from disaster relief,
basic healthcare, rural development, microfinance and the promotion of
private enterprise to architecture, culture and the revitalization of
historic cities.
The organization operates more than 200 health
centers, including nine hospitals, in Afghanistan, India, Kenya,
Pakistan and Tanzania.
It is at the
forefront of disaster relief efforts worldwide, focusing its
humanitarian efforts on long-term capacity building. The network has
been involved in microlending for more than 25 years -- long before it
became popular -- and currently has a portfolio of more than $52 million
in outstanding loans to more than 97,000 people in 12 countries. This is
in addition to more traditional economic development projects involving
more than 90 companies employing more than 30,000 people and generating
more than $1.5 billion in revenue
annually.
The network's
education programs encompass more than 300 schools with 54,000 students
across East Africa and South and Central Asia -- most of which emphasize
education for girls and women and focus on academic rigor and leadership
development -- as well as two universities: the University of Central
Asia with campuses in the Kyrgyz Republic, Kazakhstan and Tajikistan and
the Aga Khan University in Karachi,
Pakistan.
One project
especially dear to me is the Aga Khan Humanities Project, which
developed an undergraduate humanities curriculum for Central Asian
universities that tapped into and helped conserve local traditions while
preparing students to engage a broader intellectual
universe.
All of the
network's hospitals, schools, development projects and humanitarian
assistance programs are open to people of all faiths and
origins.
The tension
between Islam and the West reflects deep-seated economic, political and
cultural contradictions. But when one looks at the Ismailis and
understands their history, and their current contributions to human
development and civilization, it becomes clear that relations between
Islam and the West cannot be summed up simply as a clash of
civilizations.
We have learned too much from Islam -- and much of
that with the assistance of the
Ismailis.
Islam -- and
especially the Ismailis -- has engaged and learned from the West. Let us
make this century not one of new crusades but rather one of dialogue and
collaboration in healing and building up our common home, the Earth. Let
it be the time when we make it a true house of
peace.
Anthony Mansueto
holds a Ph. D. in religion and society from the Graduate Theological
Union in Berkeley, Calif. He is dean of communications and humanities at
the Spring Creek Campus of Collin College in
Plano.
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