Ismailis definition of Ismailis in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Ismailis (ĭsmäēl`ēz), Muslim Shiite sect that holds Ismail, the son of Jafar as-Sadiq, as its imam imam [Arab.,=leader], in Islam, a recognized leader or a religious teacher. Among the Sunni the term refers to the leader in the Friday prayer at the mosque; any pious Muslim may function as imam.
..... Click the link for more information. . On the death of the sixth imam of the Shiites, Jafar as-Sadiq (d. 765), the majority of Shiites Shiites [Arab., shiat Ali,=the party of Ali], the second largest branch of Islam, Shiites currently account for 10%–15% of all Muslims. Shiite Islam originated as a political movement supporting Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad, the Prophet of
..... Click the link for more information. accepted Musa al-Kazim, the younger son of Jafar, as seventh imam. Those who remained faithful to Ismail, the eldest son, soon evolved the belief that Ismail was endowed with an infallible gift for interpreting the inner meaning of the revelation.

Ismailism developed an understanding of Islam and promoted it through an active missionary system. Although the early history remains obscure, Ismailism incorporated elements of Gnosticism Gnosticism , dualistic religious and philosophical movement of the late Hellenistic and early Christian eras. The term designates a wide assortment of sects, numerous by the 2d cent. A.D.
..... Click the link for more information. , Neoplatonism Neoplatonism , ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato. Plotinus and the Nature of Neoplatonism

Considered the last of the great pagan philosophies, it was developed by Plotinus (3d cent. A.D.).
..... Click the link for more information. , and Hindu thought to explain its concept of the imam. Over time it came to stress the importance of the esoteric aspects of the faith over the exoteric. The first success of the Ismaili movement was the establishment of the Qarmat state (see Karmathians Karmathians or Carmathians , a Muslim sect of the 9th and 10th cent., similar to the Assassin sect. They were part of a movement for social reform that spread widely through Islam from the 9th to the 12th cent.
..... Click the link for more information. ) in E Arabia. Ismaili missionaries and its political organization also mobilized a network of N African tribes to support the Fatimid claim to the caliphate in Egypt and several regions of the Mediterranean. An offshoot, the Assassins Assassin , European name for the member of a secret order of the Ismaili sect of Islam. They are known as Nizaris after Nizar ibn al-Mustansir, whom they supported as caliph; the European term Assassin is derived from the Arabic for "users of hashish.
..... Click the link for more information. , established a state in NE Iran, which survived until the 13th cent. In 1094 the Ismailis split into Nizaris and Mustalis. Today, though a minority community that is not politically active, the Ismailis are spread in small pockets in parts of the Middle East, central and S Asia, and increasingly North America and Europe. The family of the Aga Khan Aga Khan , the title of the religious leader and imam of the Ismaili Nizari sect of Islam, originally bestowed by the Persian shah Fath Ali on Hasan Ali Shah, 1800–1881, the 46th Ismaili imam, in 1818.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Nizari imam, traces its descent from Ismail.

Bibliography

See S. M. Stern, Studies in Early Ismailism (1983); F. Daftary, The Ismailis (1990).

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No references found	Aa This might raise tensions among Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority concentrated in its oil-rich Eastern Province, he said, suggesting that Riyadh may adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward dissent among the Shiites, or minority Ismailis in the south. Saudi forces assault rebels, wary of Yemen entanglement by The Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon) Ahmed Turki al-Saab was detained in May 2008 after he suggested in a letter to the king there could be social unrest in Najran, which borders Yemen, if action was not taken over what Ismailis say is widespread discrimination. Saudi-Shiites by The Daily Middle East Reporter (Beirut, Lebanon) The majority population in Takhar belongs to the Sunni faith of Islam, while a small number of Tajik Ismailis reside in a few villages in the northern part of the province. Afghanistan: the Tajik Ismailis of Takhar--an end to isolation by Emadi, Hafizullah / Contemporary Review	Isleta Islets of Langerhans Islington ISLisp ISM band Isma'il I Isma'il Pasha Isma'ili Ismachiah Ismail Ismail Al- Azhari Ismail Gusein Ogly Idaiatzade Ismail Habib Sevuk Ismail Habib Sevük Ismail I Ismail Osman Ogly Osmanly Ismail Pasha Ismail Qemal-Bey Ismail Sabri Ismail Samani Ismail Samani Mausoleum Ismail, Abdul Fattah Ismail, Mawlay Ismailia Ismailians Ismailis Ismailly Ismailov, Esmagambet Ismailov, Esmagambet Samuratovich Ismailov, Karim ISMAP Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, Baron Ismene Ismet Inonu Ismet Inönü Ismoili Somoni Peak Isna isnad Isnard, Gustave Iso ISO 10646 ISO 13346 ISO 27000 ISO 3166 ISO 639-1 ISO 639-2 ISO 8072 ISO 8073 ISO 8208	Ismail of Egypt Ismail of Persia Ismail of Persia Ismail Osman Ogly Osmanly Ismail Pasha Ismail Pasha Ismail Qemal-Bey Ismail Sabri Ismail Safavi Ismail Safavi Ismail Samani Ismail Samani Mausoleum Ismail the Magnificent Ismail, Abdul Fattah Ismail, Mawlay Ismail, Ukraine Ismaili Ismaili Ismaili Ismaili Council for the European Union Ismaili Students Association Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Board Ismailia Ismailia Ismailia Ismaïlia Ismaïlia Ismailian Ismailians Ismailians Ismailis Ismailism Ismailite Ismailites Ismailiyah Ismailiyya Ismailly Ismailov, Esmagambet Ismailov, Esmagambet Samuratovich Ismailov, Karim Ismailyya ISMALOG ISMANAM ISMAP ISMAP ISMAR ISMARC iSMART ISMAS Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, 1st Baron Ismay, Hastings Lionel Ismay, Baron ISMB ISMBBS ISMBC ISMBE

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Aa This might raise tensions among Saudi Arabia's Shiite minority concentrated in its oil-rich Eastern Province, he said, suggesting that Riyadh may adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward dissent among the Shiites, or minority Ismailis in the south.

Saudi forces assault rebels, wary of Yemen entanglement by The Daily Star (Beirut, Lebanon)

Ahmed Turki al-Saab was detained in May 2008 after he suggested in a letter to the king there could be social unrest in Najran, which borders Yemen, if action was not taken over what Ismailis say is widespread discrimination.

Saudi-Shiites by The Daily Middle East Reporter (Beirut, Lebanon)

The majority population in Takhar belongs to the Sunni faith of Islam, while a small number of Tajik Ismailis reside in a few villages in the northern part of the province.

Afghanistan: the Tajik Ismailis of Takhar--an end to isolation by Emadi, Hafizullah / Contemporary Review