Politics of Despotic Leaders
Subversion, Repression and Development in the Hazara Ismaili Community of Afghanistan
Summary
(Robert L. Canfield, Professor Emeritus of Sociocultural Anthropology, Washington University in St. Louis)
«Hafizullah Emadi’s book is a fascinating introduction into the troubled history and culture of the Hazara Ismailis in the equally troubled Afghanistan. The book presents us with the portrayal of unknown structures of political and cultural meanings of a Muslim society in the 20th century that faced hostile forces from within the Islamic and from the Western world. Despite these outside challenges they sustained a questionable tradition of authoritarian community leadership.»
(Manfred Henningsen, Emeritus Professor of Political Science, University of Hawaii at Manoa)
The book studies the Hazara Ismailis of Afghanistan – a community that endured years of marginalization in a repressive environment, persevered and sustained the faith while maintaining and practicing Taqiyya, dissimulation of their faith. It examines policies and actions of local authoritarian Ismaili religious leaders in controlling every aspect of the community affairs. The book also explores the status of Ismailis during and after the US-NATO occupation period and efforts by the Ismaili spiritual leader, the Aga Khan, who in 2002 with a stroke of a pen removed the tyrant Ismaili leaders - abolished the hereditary system of leadership in the Ismaili community, established modern institutional structures and appointed new generation of leaders to guide the community for a three-year term renewable once – a system of leadership that liberated Ismailis from bondage to their local religious and tribal leaders and allowed grassroots participation of the people in the daily affairs of their community.
Excerpt
Table Of Contents
- Cover
- Title
- Copyright
- About the author
- About the book
- This eBook can be cited
- Contents
- List of Illustrations
- List of Tables
- Preface
- Acknowledgments
- Chronology
- Introduction
- chapter 1 The Ismailis: Historical Perspective
- chapter 2 The Hazara Ismailis: Society and Polity
- chapter 3 Despotic Leaders: Politics of Domination
- chapter 4 Crisis of Leadership: Dissident Movements
- chapter 5 Political Mobilization: Troubled Terrain
- chapter 6 Epiphanic Fiefdom: Erosion of Influence
- chapter 7 Modern Institutions: The Imamat Initiatives
- Glossary
- Who’s Who among Ismailis
- Bibliography
- About the Author
- Index
Tables
Table 1.1 Genealogical list of the early Ismaili caliph-imams
Table 1.2 Genealogical list of the Fatimid Ismaili caliph-imams
Table 1.3 Genealogical list of the Nizari Ismaili imams of the Alamut period
Table 1.4 Genealogical list of the Nizari Ismaili imams in the post-Alamut period
Table 1.5 Genealogical list of the Nizari Ismaili imams of the modern time
Table 2.1 Demographic data of the Hazara Ismailis in Afghanistan, 2017
Table 2.2 Influential Ismaili figures in Bamiyan
Table 2.3 Influential Ismaili figures in Wardak
Table 2.4 Influential Ismaili figures in Baghlan
Table 4.1 Prominent Ismaili intellectuals of social reformist background in Baghlan
Table 4.2 Prominent Ismaili intellectuals of radical background in Bamiyan
Table 4.3 Prominent Ismaili intellectuals in Wardak
Table 4.4 Prominent Ismaili intellectuals in Samangan
Table 5.1 Identities of the Ismailis murdered in Bamiyan, 1980
Table 6.1 Number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in various camps, 1996
Table 6.2 Identities of Ismailis murdered by Taliban in Bamiyan, 1998
Table 6.3 Number of displaced Ismailis settled in Kabul, 1999
Table 6.4 Identities of Ismailis murdered by Taliban, 2000
Table 7.1 Number of Ismaili refugees in Pakistan, July 2000
Table 7.2 Estimated costs of services for Ismaili refugees, 2001
Table 7.3 Identities of mukhis and kamadias appointed in July 2002
Table 7.4 Ismaili candidates for parliamentary election, September 18, 2005
Table 7.5 Ismaili candidates who contested the parliamentary elections, October 20, 2018
Preface
The Ismailis are a branch of the Shia Muslims. They succeeded in establishing their own state in the medieval periods and made significant contributions to the development of Islamic civilization during the Fatimid rule in Egypt (969–1174). Later the Ismailis experienced a rift and became divided into Mustalian and Nizari branches. The Nizari Ismailis succeeded in establishing a de facto state of their own in Persia, with their headquarters in Alamut. However, their rule collapsed under the onslaught of the Mongols in 1257. Since then the Ismailis have been bereft of political authority and have endured years of political, social and cultural repression.
The Ismailis have been referred to as assassins in the writings of Western chroniclers and as munafiq (heretic) in the literatures produced by biased writers and theologians in the Muslim world. They have been discriminated against and persecuted by hostile rulers and groups. To survive in this hostile environment, the Ismailis had no option but to remain clandestine and practice their faith in complete secrecy.
In Afghanistan, the Ismailis are a minority community comprised of Hazara, Tajik and Pashayi ethnic groups. Although most Hazaras practice the Shia faith, Islamic orthodoxy and orthopraxy forced a significant number of them to renounce their faith and adhere to the dominant Sunni faith in the belief that the new faith would ensure their safety and equality. However, they continued to be regarded as inferiors to their Sunni counterparts. Hazaras of all persuasions were regarded as aliens and called by derogatory terms intended to insult them. Although Shia Hazaras, including the Ismailis, had been discriminated against by the Sunni majority and were treated as second-class citizens, the Shia Hazaras discriminated against their own fellow Hazara Ismailis.
The Hazara Ismailis have remained a neglected topic of study and research in academia. For this reason, they constitute the main subject of this work. They were studied on the basis of prejudiced accounts by Sunni and Shia writers, which resulted in a distorted picture of the community. Although the Ismailis endured years of political, social and religious repression by hostile rulers, communities and groups, they survived because of their flexibility and ability to adapt to the ever-changing conditions in Afghanistan.
The Ismailis emerged out of obscurity, humiliation, degradation and exploitation after the collapse of the Taliban rule in late 2001 when the Ismaili spiritual leader the Aga Khan took a keen interest in the rebuilding of Afghanistan’s infrastructure and committed the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) to participate in the development of Afghanistan’s economy and cultural, educational, health and civic institutions. He also undertook projects to modernize the Ismaili community by abolishing the hereditary system of leadership and establishing modern institutions that were staffed by appointing leaders from the rank and file members of the Hazaras to guide their own community. However, despite these developments, they are still marginalized in the country’s political arena.
Acknowledgments
The genesis of this book lays in early discussions among a group of Ismaili intellectuals in the late 1960s regarding issues pertaining to their political marginalization, legitimation of the local leadership, struggle to end societal injustices and strategies to liberate the dispossessed. This preliminary discussion served as a motif in writing this book in an attempt to situate the subject matter in historical and critical perspective, with the hope that it could serve as the stepping stone for the next generation of Ismaili intellectuals to expand the scholarship.
A Persian proverb goes thus: “A single flower does not make a blooming field.” This project did not blossom on its own, although it seems to be the author’s work. Many friends and colleagues have graciously contributed toward the writing of this book. Their thoughts, ideas and critical reflections have provided the author with the exceptional opportunity to place this study in a sociopolitical context. Their contributions deserve an awareness of debt beyond the dimensions of ritualistic thanks. To mention some of them would inevitably means to slight others unfairly. My deepest gratitude is due in the first instance to my friend and colleague Mohamed Alibhai for taking the necessary time and effort to review the book and offer valuable comments and suggestions, which helped me to improve the quality of the book. I am likewise indebted to Yasumasa Kuroda, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Hawaii-Manoa; and Robert L. Canfield, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, for enthusiastically endorsing the book. I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to the Ismaili activists from Shibar, Bamiyan: Azizullah Mehrzad, Safar Mohammad Hashimi, Akhtar Mustamandi, Juma Haidari, Lutfurahman Lutfi, Mohammad Hussain Mominzada and others as well as the Shia activists for societal justice such as Mehrab Fayez and late Mohammad Afzal and others for sharing with me their ideas and personal experiences on social and political events that impacted development in the Ismaili and Shia communities. Their discussions of the subject have helped me to sharpen, discard and reexamine my arguments. I am very grateful to the Ismaili intellectuals of Behsud, Wardak: retired teacher Chaman Ali Abbasi, Nazir Husain Sahraei and Zargham Ali Mayar. They played an important part in the production of this project by providing vital information on contemporary development in the Ismaili community in the region.
I am equally indebted to the Ismaili activists from Baghlan: Sahib Nazar Sangin, Pir Nazar Andeshwar, late Merajuddin Safari, Ahmad Ali Azimi, Qiyamuddin Qiyam, Bashir Ahmad Ahmadi, Mawladad Neero, Mohammad Hashim Nikpai, Rahimdad Dehpoor, Safar Ali Hashmat, Gen. Mohammad Saleh Jahesh as well as many others who wished to remain anonymous for their role in this endeavor. They have affirmed my belief in the significance of the project. I would like to express my gratitude to Shaikh Ghulam Ali, mukhi of Jamatkhanah-e-Omumi, Kabul, for sharing his thoughts and experiences concerning issues that affected the course of development in the community during and after the Soviet occupation of the country.
My deepest appreciation is also due to my sisters, Nigar and Sanam for extending all types of support during my fieldwork in Afghanistan. I owe special debt of gratitude to Lorilei P. Emadi, my forever best critic, for her invaluable support during my research and writing of the book; this book is dedicated to her. May her memory be held forever in the pages of this book. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Asian Profile for granting permission to use extracts from my previous articles: “Social Movements for Change: An End to Authoritarian Rule in the Ismaili Community of Baghlan, Afghanistan,” Asian Profile, 49:3 (September 2021): 249–269; and “Society and Reformation in the Ismaili Community of Bamiyan, Afghanistan,” Asian Profile, 42:3 (June 2014): 245–260.
Last but not least, I would like to express my gratitude to Peter Lang International Academic Publishers for their enthusiasm in bringing this study of the plight of a minority community in Afghanistan to international attention. Any project that studies a subject matter as elusive and inaccurately understood as the Ismailis cannot escape errors, and I alone am accountable for any found in this study.
Details
- Pages
- XXX, 430
- Publication Year
- 2024
- ISBN (PDF)
- 9781803746494
- ISBN (ePUB)
- 9781803746500
- ISBN (Softcover)
- 9781803746517
- DOI
- 10.3726/b22151
- Language
- English
- Publication date
- 2024 (September)
- Keywords
- religious Repression Resistance Religion Ethnic group government imperialist interventions minority groups modernization and community development political and tribal Leaders
- Published
- Chennai, Berlin, Bruxelles, Lausanne, New York, Oxford, 2024. XXX, 430 pp., 8 fig. col., 23 tables.
- Product Safety
- Peter Lang Group AG
