60 – New Perspectives in the Study of Isma’ilism in South Asia: Institutions, Economies, and Ethics
Isma‘ili Muslims in South Asia are guided by tightly-knit transnational institutions that represent diverse communities spread across urban, rural, and mountainous reagions. Under the leadership of their living preceptors, the ‘Aga Khan and the Da‘i al-Mutlaq, Isma‘ilis are mercantile communities that boast distinctive cultural and rich literary heritage and sacred and economic institutions that promote ethical standards for living. The immediacy of present concerns, from economic prosperity to the morality of living among secular and religious others, dominates the kinds of questions that Isma‘ilis’ preceptors offer answers.
Scholars have made significant strides in exploring the history, sacerdotal institutions, and literature of Isma‘ilis, with far-reaching implications for the study of Muslim communities and the religious history of South Asia. However, Isma‘ilis continued to be on the margins of the scholarship on Islam in South Asia, mainly dominated by a focus on the Khoja caste. Primarily divided into two camps, scholars have highlighted the continuity of a unified Isma‘ili Tradition vis-à-vis historical changes, while others have presented Isma‘ilism as a local tradition, composite tradition, or an institution without territory. Building on previous scholarship, this panel offers new perspectives on the study of Isma‘ilism in South Asia, including a wide range of themes. These include the epistemological redefinition of the Imamate as a divine institution, the character of Isma‘ili commercial institutions, legal genealogies of authority, the entangled histories of migration and literary tradition, and the lived character of ethical pluralism.