The Divine Kingship of the Aga Khan: A Study of Theocracy in East Africa Author(s): H. S.

Morris Source: Southwestern Journal of Anthropology, Vol. 14, No. 4 (Winter, 1958), pp. 454-472 Published by: University of New Mexico Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3628938 . Accessed: 17/05/2011 18:15
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THE DIVINE KINGSHIP OF THE AGA KHAN: A STUDY OF THEOCRACY IN EAST AFRICA H. S. MORRIS

and Zanzibarhave a population of just over eighteen and a half million people.l Of these just undereighteenmillionsare Africans and some eighty-three thousandare Arabs.These latter peopleare Muslimsand have lived in the coastal cities of East Africa and the surroundingdistricts for at least fifteen hundred years. Today they are no less indigenousto the country than are many of the Africans, some of whom they have convertedto Islam, though exactlyhow many is not known. In addition,Indian and Europeanimmigrantslive in East Africa, the Indians numberingabout 190,000 and the Europeansabout 50,000. Of the Indians approximately 79,000, about forty-threepercent, are Muslim. The commonbondsof faith amongIndian,Arab,and African Muslimsareless significantthan might be thought;for the Muslimsare dividednot only by differencesof appearance, which language,and custom,but also by sectariandifferences have deep roots in Islam. Of the 83,000 odd Arab Muslims,about 20,000 belong to the Shafii and Hanafi schools,and the remainder the censusmerelydeclared at themselvesto be Muslim, whichprobablymeant that most of them also belonged to the Sunni divisionof Islam. Only 15,000 of the Indian Muslims (roughlyone fifth) are Sunni, and the majorityof these follow the Hanfi school, which commandsa minorityof the Arab and African Muslims.Most Indian Muslimsbelong to the Shia division of Islam and are divided among three main sects: the Shia ImamiIsmailiasect, numbering sect,2numbering 32,000;the Shia Ithnasheri 6,700; and the Shia IsmailiaDaudi Bohrasect, numbering 4,700. In this paperI am concered with the Shia ImamiIsmailiasect, the followersof His Highness the Aga Khan,who are often knownin India and East Africa as the Khoja Ismailis.
THE SHIA IMAMI ISMAILIA SECT IN AFRICA

of Uganda, T HE EAST AFRICANTERRITORIES Kenya,Tanganyika,

Under the guidanceof His Late Highnessthe Aga Khan,until 1957 the sacred leaderof the Shia ImamiIsmailis,the members that part of this sect whichhas of
1 A Report on the Census of the Non-native Population of Uganda Protectorate (1948) (Nairobi, 1953); A Report on the Census of the Non-native Population of Kenya Colony and Protectorate(1948) (Nairobi, 1953); A Report on the Census of the Non-native Population of Tanganyika (1952) (Dar-es-Salaam, 1953); Notes on the Census of the Zanzibar Protectorate (1948) (Zanzibar,1953); Annual Reports(1952) for Kenya, Tanganyika, Uganda, and Zanzibar. 2 In East Africa the Shia Ithna 'Ashariya or Twelver sect is usually known as the Khoja Ithnasherior Ishnasherisect. 454 VOL.14, 1958

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migratedfrom westernIndia to East Africa have built themselvesa political and social positiontherethat differsin severalimportantways from that held by other groups,whetherMuslim,Indian,Arab, or African. In his Memoirsthe Aga Khan writesof his East African followers:3 but They arrivedthere with Asiatichabitsand an Asiatic patternof existence, which is, if anything, a they have encountered society in processof development of To an habits, European-African. haveretained Asiaticoutlookin matters language, and clothingwouldhavebeen for thema complication sociallya dead weightof and in archaism theAfricaof the future. One of the most markedfeaturesof Indiansocietyin East Africa is its division which into more or less well-organized groups locally known as "communities," are basedon differences sect amongthe Muslimsand differences caste among of of the Hindus.4 The Khoja Ismailis are the most highly organizedof these Indian and of communities; like members Hindu casteand otherIndian Muslimsectarian communities,they are in practice an endogamousgroup, though, unlike the Hindus, they do not explaintheir practicein religiousterms. As permanentresidents in East Africa, they are anxiousto assimilateas much as they can of the culture of the ruling Europeangroups, and in theory they approveof marriages with Europeans otherpeoplewhomthey recognizeas their "culturalequals."As or a rulethey do not marryAfricans.At the sametime they wishto maintainamicable relationswith the numericallyoverwhelming African groups, many of whom are also followersof Islam, though not, except for a few hundredrecentconverts,of the Shia ImamiIsmailiapersuasion. Accompanyingthe changes of custom sponsoredby the late Aga Khan, and perhapsmore significanteven than marriagepreferencesand changing habits of economicand constitutionalchanges which have food and dress are far-reaching been undertakenduring the last quartercentury,also under the guidance of the Aga Khan. In somecountries [His Highnesswrites 5J-India and East Africa for exampleare the Ismailishave a councilsystem,underwhich their local councillors charged with the internal administrative policy,and reportto me as to theirdoings. As Imam or sacredleader,His Highness the Aga Khan is legally absoluteowner in of all communal property.His title to such propertywas established a judgment
3 The Memoirs of Aga Khan (London, 1954), p. 190. 4 H. S. Morris, Indians in East Africa: a Study in a Plural Society (British Journalof Soci5 Aga Khan, p. 185. ology, vol. 7, pt. 3, pp. 194-211, 1956).

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given in the High Court of Bombay in 1866;6 and since then every Imam has beenexceedingly carefulto let nothingderogatefrom his title. The organization the Ismaili communityin East Africa into a "highlydeof and civilisedsystemof councils . . . educationaladministrators, veloped property amountof day-toagents,executiveand judicialcouncils[performing]an immense work, and under my general orders [i.e. those of the Imam] day administrative vast financial administration well"7 is by no meansuniformlydevelopedthroughas out the Shia Imami Ismailiasect. His Late Highness also tells us:8 The leadership a religiouscommunity of spreadover a considerable of the part worldsurface . . . cannotbe maintained accordance anycut anddriedsystem. in with . . . In Syria,CentralAsia, and Iran, leadership . . is vestedin eitherhereditary . or recommended leaders chiefs,who arethe Imam'srepresentatives who look and and afterthe administration thevarious of or Jamats congregations. The problemthat then arisesis why there should have been so special a development in India and East Africa. How was it possible for this "highly developed and civilisedadministrative many of the system of councils,"which incorporates forms of westernpolitical and businessmethods, to grow out of the traditional and organization relationsof the methodsof the sect with the Imam?Explanation some consideration the historyof the sect. of requires
ORIGINS OF THE IMAMATE

The division in East Africa betweenArab and African Muslims on the one hand and Muslimsfrom India on the other roughlycorresponds with the division betweenSunni and Shia sects. Though there are Sunni Muslimsfrom India, their numbersare small; and they are further divided from Indian Shias by the fact that they are Punjabiswith their own languageand regionalcustoms,while most of the Shias areGujeratis. The doctrinaldivisionbetweenSunni and Shia is fundamental in Islam and goes back to the days immediatelyafter the death of the Prophet. In the belief of all Muslims,Mahometwas the Seal, the conclusionof a long line of prophetschargedwith revealingthe divine purposeof the world to men. Mahomet's missionand its attendantreligiousauthorityendedtherefore particular at his death. During his life he was also secularleader of the believers,and this authoritydid not end whenhe died.The Sunni sectionof the Muslimworld,which the comprises majorityof Muslims,believesthat he did not appointa secularleader
6 Advocate General v. Muhammad Husen Huseni (1866) Khojah Case, Bombay High Court ReportsXII. 7 Aga Khan, pp. 184-185. 8 Idem, p. 185.

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to succeed him; the Shias believe that he bequeathedboth secular and religious leadershipto his cousin and son-in-law,Ali, and his descendantsby Fatima, the of Prophet'sdaughter,until the day of final judgmentand the establishment the millenium.Out of this Shia belief arose doctrinesconcerningthe person of the Imam which increasedthe rift betweenthe Shias and the Sunnis; for the latter hold that the only legitimateleaderof the faithful is the secularleader or caliph The wordimamg electedby the faithful themselves. and is usedof a prayer leaderby all Muslims,and alsoof the founders leadingjurists the of the different schools.In additionit is used by some,and especially Shi'is, for whomthe Shi'is insist must have been the leaderof the whole Muslimcommunity, In and and divinelydesignated whomthey regardas impeccable infallible. detailtheir attitudevariesfrom sect to sect: the Zaydisare the most moderate, althougheven the of their Imamsas possessed divinelight substance, "sole and perthey consider while the and manentchannelof sanctifyingprerogatives illuminative inspirations," Ismailis evenfurther. go which took place after the Prophet's In the factionaldisputesabout leadership death, Ali did not at first succeedin becomingCaliph of all Muslims, though in the eyes of Shias today he was Mahomet'sonly successor,and was both Caliph and Imam. Eventuallyhe becameCaliph for Shias and Sunnis alike; but to the latterhe is still merelythe fourthcaliph,and he and his wife and theirdescendants are investedwith none of the mysticalqualitiesattributedto them by Shias. Ali descendants was assassinated duringhis tenureof office,and his sonsand immediate sufferedmisfortunesat the handsof Sunni rivalswho seized the Caliphate.Thus, at a time when Islamic law and theology were rapidly developingin the cosmopolitan cities of Damascus and Baghdad, successivegenerationsof Shia Imams betweenorthoand their followerswere living in political eclipse.The differences dox and heterodoxtheologywhicharosein this situationmadedoctrinalreconciliation betweenSunni and Shia virtuallyimpossibleand undoubtedlypoisonedsocial relationswheneverthese two divisionscame intimatelyinto contact. At the same the time it is easy to overemphasize differencesbetweenSunni and Shia and to both of belief and organization. overlooktheir similarities, united The basicsocial unit in all parts of the Muslim world is a congregation The ritualdifferences behinda leaderin prayer.10 physicallyand metamorphically betweenone Shia sect and anotherare often not much greaterthan those among it the orthodoxSunni schools,whose congregations, has been noted, "in the ordilaw-bookscannot pray behind the imam of another."1'Shia sectarians,too, nary
9 J. N. D. Anderson, IslamicLaw in Africa (London, 1954), p. 365. 10 D. S. Margoliouth,Mohammedanism(London, 1936), p. 155. 11 Ibid.

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and to judgeorthodoxy heterodoxy a man'srelationship the sect'simam.In by all fiveimperative duties:the witness of addition, Muslims religious acknowledge God's andtheProphet's andpilgrimage. mission, unity fasting, prayer, alms-giving, A sixthduty,the jihador thewaging waragainst of belief,is oftenadded. wrong For Shiasthe dutyof recognizing obeying Imamis paramount enthe and and all other duties. escape To damnationmanmustfindandacknowledge a compasses theImam theAge. of Shia sectshaveneverbeenableto denythe needof an infallible, Dissenting Imamdescended fromAli andthe Prophet's for impeccable daughter, thesedoctrines weredeveloped Shiatheology a veryearlydate.Instead disagreed in at they on therightful successor theoffice, thecertainty hisnomination Imam to and as of his predecessor. reigning The of has by Imam, reason his innatequalities, the by to rightto designate maleof hispatrilineal him, any lineage succeed andthedivine first in into incarnation, embodied Ali, willat his deathpasswithall its attributes thenewImam. a ruletheIsmaili As Imams havefollowed principle primogenia of madeby the Imammaybe withdrawn anytimebefore at ture,but a nomination hisdeath; on occasions lateImam's and the intentions not always have beenclear, thusopening wayof dissent. all the Shiasectstodayonlythe ShiaImami the Of Ismailis believe a known, that still revealed Imam walksamong men.Forthemthe Imamof the Age is Mowlana HazarImamHis Highness Karim Aga Khan,the linealdescendant Ali andFatima, forty-ninth of the IsmailiImam.
THE SHIA IMAMI ISMAILIA SECT IN INDIA

WhenIslamwastakento India,Shiadoctrines, whichhadbeenelaborated in the Near East,provided congenial a for to background converts Islam.Sacred leaders Hindusects,who werethoughtto be divineincarnations, whose of and were were features Hindusociety, of holyattributes passed patrilineally, prominent in Indiagenerally, whereIsmaili missionaries especially Cutch,Sind,andwestern weremostsuccessful. doctrines The the Imamwerenot difficult for surrounding
convertsto accept;and the Shia practiceof taqiyaor permissible dissimulation of

realbelief in difficult situations allowedmissionaries clothetheirmessage to in

beliefs practices.l2 devotional theirtraditional and A attributed book,Das Avatar, to a missionary thefifteenth of andstillin use,waswritten demonstrate to century thatAli wasthe long-expected incarnation the God Vishnu,whosewortenth of wereparticularly numerous western in India.In wayssuchas thisHindu shippers beliefsandpractices intimately were wovenintothe ritualandsecular of the life
12 The Khojah Case,op.cit.

ambiguous,half-Hindu terms that did not requireconverts to completely alter

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Khoja Ismaili sect in India and have remainedso to the presentday. Moreover, periodicaladditionsof new converts,especiallyin the latter part of the nineteenth century in Cutch and Kathiawad,have maintainedthe strength of Hindu ways and thought.Much of the life of the late Imam,the third Aga Khan,was occupied in altering the traditionalhabits of his Indian followersby a transformation of theireconomic, political,and sociallives.As yet the processis by no meanscomplete in eitherspiritualor materialspheres. In this task the Imamwas both aided and hinderedby the doctrinesconcerning his person,for theseare still so muchclothedin Hindu habitsof thoughtthat even an Ismaili living in East Africa and educatedin England, who had never been to India, could explainthe place of the Imam in his theology only in the following words: Our Imam,His Highnessthe Aga Khan,is like yourJesusChrist.Even Hindus believethat God will neverleavethe worlddeserted, we believethat God, that is and to Vishnu, descended earth in Ali and has never left us. When the Imam dies the blood-like the King.The King never Lightmoveson to his son: it followsthe sacred dies. Imam,whosepersonit is Substantiallythe sameviewsof the infallible,impeccable to worshipand pray to, are expressedin the following leaflet publishedin proper Englishby a smallruralcongregation. His HighnesstheAga Khanan Extraordinary Personality. In the reignof QueenVictoria. Her MajestyQueenVictoriahad held a Levy,whichwas attended the Consuls by of all Countries, His Highnessthe Aga-Khanwas also invitedat the occasion. and When the Aga-Khan went there,the Queenherselfwent to receivehim at the door him and welcomed with greatrespects madehimsit on the Throneof theirPope. and As soonas the Aga-Khan on the throne,the Queensaidto all the Consuls, "What sat is the reason yoursurprise, whatareyou all thinkingof?" The Consuls of and replied "Up to now how manyIndianKingshave cometo Europebut you have givenmore honours Aga-Khan, evenmadehim sit on the throneof our Pope;whatis the to and reasonof this?"The Queen in reply said, "You are all wise, prudentand learned, andyou knowbetterthanI the reason this.""In short,I musttell you thatwe have of neverseen our religious leaderJesusChristand withoutdoubt,the Aga Khanis our same leader,and considering I have made him sit on our Pope's throne."On this countries and hearingthis all Consulsweregreatlysurprised wiredto their respective aboutthe abovefact. Consequently Rulersof France,Germany, the Italy, Belgium, to him etc. sent telegrams Aga-Khan fromall over,requesting to give themhonourof theircountries, whichthe Aga-Khan visiting accepted. from:SaintGazette22.7.1898) (Extract

460

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In 1840 the first Aga Khan and forty-sixthImam, great grandfatherof the presentImam,the fourth Aga Khan,fled from Persiaafter an unsuccessfulrebellion againstthe throne.He sufferedmany vicissitudesand ultimatelytook refuge in Sind. Here he materiallyhelped the Britishin their annexationof that country and in the Second Afghan War. For these services the Governmentof India awardedhim a pensionand the rank of hereditary prince prefixedto his Persian to title, Aga Khan.He was preventedfrom returning Persia,and eventuallysettled with his Persian retainersamong the Khoja Ismailis of Bombay, whose Living Imamhe was. For some yearsbefore the Imam'sarrivalin Bombay,the organizationof the with the Imam had been in an Shia Imami Ismaili sect there and its relationship unsettledcondition.In westernIndia generallymost Khojas did in fact acknowledge the Aga Khanas theirImamand had long paid him tithe offeringsand made visits of pilgrimageto him in Persia. At the same time they also adheredto a numberof Sunni practices.In Bombayit was customaryfor them to marrybefore a Sunni officialand to be buriedaccordingto Sunni rites.13 These customs,it was said, had been adopted in times of persecutionand were allowable under the doctrineof taqiya. As early as 1829 the Aga Khan, at that time still living in tithes with a sectionof his followersin Persia,was engagedin a disputeconcerning
Bombay.l4

In order to overcometheir opposition[he] sent to Bombay[a] special agent Marie-Bibi, accompanied a very energeticlady, the Aga's maternal by grandmother, who herself appearsto have haranguedthe BombayKhojahs in Jumat Khana and effect. assembled, withveryconsiderable In spite of his grandmother's oratory,the Aga Khan in 1830 was obliged to authorizehis agents to file a suit against the malcontentsin the High Court of Bombay.Later still the case was withdrawnand the dissenterswere excommunicated; but the grievanceswere not settled and in 1866 the dispute was once more broughtbeforethe Court. In presentingtheir case the dissentersmaintainedthat the Khojas in Bombay were in fact Sunni and alwayshad been so. The Aga Khan, they alleged, was an interloperwho had persuadedthe officersof the Bombay congregationto misfunds and handthemoverto him for his personaluse, whenthey ought appropriate to have been held in trust for communalpurposes.In bringinga suit against the
13 The Khojah Case, op. cit. 14 Ibid.

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Aga Khan and the Treasurerand the Accountant of the Bombay congregation the dissentersasked the Court to direct that an account should be taken of all communalproperty, that it shouldbe declaredtrust propertyheld for the religious and charitablebenefit of the communityby the Treasurerand the Accountant. They also asked the Court to settle a schemefor the periodicand regularelection of these two officials,and requesteda directionto the Aga Khan to ceasehis interferencein the management the trust propertyand the affairsof the community of generally. Mr Justice Arnold in a most remarkableand learned judgment decided in favor of the Aga Khan, whom he held to be historicallyand in fact the Living Imam of the Khojas living in Bombayand of Shia Imami Ismailiselsewhere.He also held that all communalpropertybelongingto the sect was vested in the Imam for his own absoluteuse without any responsibility trusteeship.Finally he held of that the Bombaycongregationwas a Shia Imami Ismaili body and that it was in no way Sunni.l' The effectsof this judgmenton the organization the sect and on its relations of with the rest of societyin India and otherplaceswhereEnglishlaw prevailedwere are far-reaching,and almost a hundredyears later the consequences still being workedout. In deliveringhis judgment, Mr Justice Arnold describedthe traditionalorganization the sect in Indiaat that date.16 of Wherever Khojahcommunity to be found, however a is is small,its organisation the same:it hasa Jumat,a JumatKhana, Mukhi,anda Kamria. a The "Jumat" the "congregation the people,"the assembly councilof all is in of theadultmalemembers theKhojah of in community thatplace. The "Jumat Khana" theCouncil-Hall the community. is of The "Mukhi" the treasurer steward, the "Kamria" the accountant . . is or and is .

these two functionaries . . . are not, according to the usage of the Khojah com-

or munity,electedfor any ascertained fixedperiodbut appearto hold theirofficeas longas theygivesatisfaction.... Besidesthese local Mukhis and Kamriasproof was given that in Scinde and Kattiawar(it may also be the case elsewhere)provincial are Kamrias appointed by
and hold office under the Imam . . . the duty of these functionaries is to collect and

forwardfor transmission the Imam,wherever may chanceto reside,the contrito he butions on raised hisaccount theKhojah by community. In manypartsof the Ismailiworldorganizations similarto those describedin 1866 still survive. The membersof the sect belong to local organizationswhich are of largelyindependent one another,though in theoryall rangedbehindthe Imam
15 The Khojah Case,op.cit. 16 Ibid.

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in prayer. Each congregationis answerabledirect to the infallible, impeccable, spiritualand secularleaderto whomthey pray and owe allegianceand tribute.In someplaces,as Mr JusticeArold indicated,a widerthoughvery loose administrative organization chiefs. In East Africa may also exist,often directedby hereditary and India, however,the organization the sect, as was remarked of earlier,has defar from these traditionalforms. partedvery The successof the first Aga Khan in establishingin a court of law both his Imamate and his absolute legal ownershipof communalproperty immediately placed him in a position different from that of other sacred leaders in India, whetherMuslim or Hindu; and in the years following the Khojah Case the Aga Khan, his son, and his son's widow (a most powerfulcharacterwho administered the entire Imamate during the third Aga Khan's minority) establisheda large personalfortune for themselves.It was this fact which allowed the late Imam to rule his followerswith more detachmentand benevolencethan other more financially pressedsacred leaders have found possible.The decision of the first Aga Khanto settlein Bombaywas,his grandson wrote,17 not only a wise and happypersonaldecision, it had an admirable effect on the but and life religious communal of the wholeIsmailiworld.It was as if the heavyloadof and whichtheyhad had to bearfor so long, was lifted. persecution fanatical hostility, cameto Bombay fromplacesas remote Kashgar, as all Bokhara, partsof Deputations settledhinterland Iran, Syria,the Yemen, the Africancoast and the then narrowly behind it. The consequences this decisionon the personallives of the Imamshave in turn of affected the lives of ordinarymembersof the sect in ways that have increasingly set them and their Imamsapart from their analogues. At the death of the firstAga Khan in 1881 his son, the secondAga Khan,succeededto the Imamate,but died in 1885. His heir, the third Aga Khan,was then a child, eight yearsof age. Sixty-nineyearslater he wrote: "My educationfor the and responsibilities tasks which I had inheritedwas seriousand strenuous.... "18 Besides receivinga traditionaleducation,the Imam was also taught to take his place in the westernized upper class society of Bombay,and when in 1897, aged he visitedEuropefor the firsttime, he was, as we have seen, invitedto dine twenty, at Windsor. He also made the acquaintanceof the English upper classes and governingcircles,among whom so much of his subsequentcareerin international politicswas to be laid. As he grew older he returnedless and less to India and his Marie-Bibi. mother,a womaneverybit as formidableas his ancestress,
17 Aga Khan, op. cit., p. 182. 18 Idem, pp. 11, 12.

DIVINE KINGSHIP THE SHIA IMAMI ISMAILIA SECT IN EAST AFRICA

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In his judgment in 1866, Mr Justice Arnold noted that'9 all or the overwhelming in majorityof the Khojahcommunity all partsof India and the East,exceptBombay, staunchadherents the Aga Khan:to take an illustraare of tion (whichseemsto be a quitefair one) it appears that 445 out of the 450 families who composethe Khojahcommunity Zanzibar of have recentlysigned a paperof adhesion theAga andtheviewshe is understood represent. to to These five dissentingor abstainingfamiliesof Zanzibarrepresented minoritythat a an exceedingly in the future of the sect in Africa. played important part The KhojahCase had not only clarifiedthe positionof the Imam and his relations with his followers,but it had also helped to clarify and fix Ismaili doctrines. of Even so, doctrinal vaguenessseems to have remainedcharacteristic so many Ismailisin Africa and elsewhere.A further sociologicallymore significantconsequence of the Khojah Case was that it introduceda precedentfor resortingto English law courts for the settlementof cases dealing with family law or the ownershipof sectarianproperty,when the membersof the communitycould not settle such casesamong themselves. Casesbroughtbefore English courtsof record are bindingin subsequent cases,and in this way a body of customarylaw peculiar to the membersof each sect which had resortedto litigation was graduallybuilt up. In this way, too, the informal associationin one Jamatkhanaof varying and not very closely definedbeliefs was renderedincreasinglydifficult.Moreover,the Imam, having once had his status and authorityseriouslychallenged,was never propertyto remainvague. againwilling to allow his title to communal 1924 the Khoja Ismailis in Zanzibarand other parts of East Africa had By differentin law and custom the legally established fact that they werea community from all other Muslims.In that year the Chief Justice sitting in the High Court of Tanganyikaheld20that a the IsmailiKhojas . . . had established distinctive politicaland socialorganisation in and for themselves, had neverbeenabsorbed the generalbodyof Muslims:so their law,"whichtheyhavedonenothingto changein EastAfrica,still prevails "customary in thismatter[intestate succession]. Behindthis acknowledgement the High Courtof the fact that the Khoja Ismaili by sect in East Africa constituteda separatesect lay a long historyof strife, assassination, and secessionfrom the sect in Zanzibarand elsewherein East Africa. The
19 The Khojah Case, op. cit. 20 Anderson, Muslim Law in Africa, p. 326; see also in re Kassum Premji decd. (1924), I. T. T. L. R. 53; and Fatmabaid/o Jaffer Dhalla v. Mohomed Ladha (1928) I. T. T. L. R. 55.

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Aga Khan first visited Africa in 1899 and attemptedwithout successto heal the divisionwhich had grown in seriousness and bitternesssince 1866 when only five families in Zanzibarfailed to give unconditionalallegiance to his grandfather. Since then relativelylarge numbershad secededto the Ithnasherisect, usually in protestagainst the Imam'sclaims to divinity or against his tighteningcontrol on the affairsof formerlyindependent The Shia Ithnasheris were,and congregations. still remain, the least organizedof the Shia sects, and their congregationsare of practicallyindependent one another.In the last quarterof the nineteenthcentury in Zanzibarsecedersto the Ithnasherisect laid claim to the Jamatkhanaand otherpropertywhichhad beenused by the KhojaIsmailisand secedersin common. As the Aga Khan'svisit did not close the rift, he was obliged in 1905 to execute a powerof attorneyin whichhe appointedthree of his followersin Zanzibarto act as his agent in all mattersof land and other propertyin East Africa. The main was objectof the appointment to makesurethat therewould alwaysbe authorized local representatives in readyto act immediately any new disputethat might arise. This arrangement servedits purposewell enough;and in time the quarrels and the memoryof them died away, except among individualIsmaili and Ithnasheri families who were still bound to one anotherby ties of kinship. Even so, unrest withinthe Ismailicommunity not completelyended,eitherin India or Africa. was Individualsecessions a continued,and occasionally seriousprotestagainstthe position of the Imamand the organization the communityconvulsedthe sect. of The appointment legal attorneysin Zanzibar of servedfor manyyearsto safethe interestsof the Imam against dissenters;and for a time also provided guard him and his followerswith acceptablerepresentatives dealingwith the political for administrations East Africa. The device eventuallybecameinconvenient;for, of as trade expandedinto the interiorregions,so the Ismaili communityprospered and the extentand valueof the Imam'sholdingsin Africa increased. Highness His would permit no transactionsin communalpropertyto be in any name but his own; and as these transactions grew in number,so the delays in completingthem increased.In one instanceten years elapsed before documentscould be properly executed. In 1924 the Government Uganda proposed of settingup a centralland holding for all Indiancharitable, A religious,and educational properties. bodyof this kind wouldnot only preventlong delayscausedby consultationwith the Imam and the extremeold age of his sole survivingattorneyin Africa, but would also have the advantagethat when the Imam died there would be no difficultiesover Estate Duty. The questionof propertyownershipwas a familiar one to the Imam and his followers,and the importancethey attached to it had in no way diminished

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since 1866. Two yearsbefore, in 1922, the Aga Khan'ssolicitorsin Zanzibarhad written on his instructionsto the Governmentof Uganda. The letter reminded the Administration that all communal propertywas vestedin the Imampersonally, and that the decisionin the KhojahCase had not beenmodifiedby any subsequent judgment.No Governmentin East Africa at that time was willing to recognize the Imamas a corporation sole, capableof holding propertyin perpetuity,exempt from death duties. In any event it is not clear how far the Aga Khan would have been willing to allow his absolute personal rights to communalpropertyto be definedby treatinghis Imamateand its perquisites equivalentto an ecclesiastical as he delimitedby law. In the circumstances was obliged to find other means entity of preserving rightsunalteredand yet meetingthe administrative his requirements of the East AfricanGovernments. The Ismaili settlersin East Africa had broughttheir traditionalorganization from India, and the early congregationsin Zanzibarand the coastal cities were in the chargeof their own separatemukhisand kdmrias.At least since the beginning of this centurythere had existed in Zanzibaran Ismaili Council, which not only began to take over the governmentof the local jamatkhanaand to defend its interestsagainst seceders,but also began to exercisenot too clearly defined Quarrelswith dissentersand authorityover all other East African congregations. other internaldisputeswerenot confinedto Zanzibar,and it was only natural for in the wealthiestand best-educated congregation Africa to act as leader. By 1924 the importanceof Zanzibaras a commercialcenter had diminished. Khoja Ismailis had settled in Tanganyika and Kenya in large numbers,and the communityin Uganda was growing in size and prosperity.It was a simple and obviousstep to extend the council system which had alreadycome into existence with its centerin Zanzibar;and by 1926 His Highness had institutedan Ismaili ProvincialCouncil in Uganda, which was paralleledin Kenya and Tanganyika by similar regional councils for coirdinating communalactivities in those territories. The membersof these councils were carefully selected by the Aga Khan, who in addition personallysupervisedmuch of their work. Each new territorial councilconsultedwithZanzibarin mattersof generalinterest,and thoughin course of time the "federal"centermoved to the mainland,certain importantfunctions have alwaysbeen left in the hands of the ZanzibarIsmailis. welcomedthe new IsmailiorganizaThe Government Uganda in particular of of tion. Prolongednegotiationswith many independentcongregations other sects since officersto welcomeany labor-saving administrative arrangement predisposed all Indianshad been united in resistingthe foundationof a central organization for holdingall Indiancharitable however, property.No East African Government,

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managedto persuadethe Aga Khan to vest his propertyin the new Provincial Councils.Insteadhe executeda new powerof attorneyappointinga youngerman withthe title of estateagent. During the next thirty yearsthe systemof councilswas furtherelaborated.In 1935 the Aga Khan'sGolden Jubileeas Imam provideda large sum of money in East Africa collected by his followers. This money the Imam returnedto the communityfor its welfare.The Aga Khan'sprivatefortune had long since made him moreor less independent the revenueproducedby his followers,and he was of therefore able to act as a kind of clearing house in redistributing most of the annual revenue or money collected on special occasions such as the different jubilees.The moneycollectedin 1935 was investedin the speciallyformedJubilee InsuranceCompany,which, as might have been predictedin view of its careful planningand supervision, proveda greatsuccess;and in 1946 a secondcompanya financecompany-was floatedwith the moneycollectedon the occasionof His as Highness'ssixtiethanniversary Imam. The latter companywas also associated with subsidiarybodieswhich made small loans to the lessermembersof the comwere munity. These men were complainingthat existing economicarrangements a relativelynarrowclass of rich men whosewealthwas being confirmed producing of by recentinternalchangesin the politicalarrangements the community. The governmentof the Ismaili communityin any one African territoryis dividedamongfiveagencies: (1) Secular affairsare in the jurisdictionof H. H. Aga Khan'sShia Imami Ismailia SupremeCouncil for the territory.In their tasks the Supreme Councils are assisted by ProvincialCouncils and numeroussubordinate committees. (2) Religiousmattersand propagandaare the field of the Ismailia Association for eachterritory. (3) Educationis in the hands of the Ismaili Ministerfor Educationin each but territory.He is assistedby advisorycommittees, is ultimatelyanswerableonly to the Aga Khan. is (4) All communal property managedby His Highness'sattorneyin Nairobi, knownas his EstateAgent. (5) All communalfunds are handledby a FinancialCommitteeor Treasury in Zanzibar. Above these agencies,exceptthe Ministersof Educationand the IsmailiaAssociations in mattersof doctrine and propaganda,is a Federal Council composedof members the variousterritorial of councils,which meetsperiodicallyat Mombasa, the seat of the Financeand InsuranceCompanies.

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In a systemof government such as this one, wherethe variousaspectsof social life are carefully distributedso that no one individualor group can act without being checkedby another,the positionof the Imam as the final authorityis well guarded.The numberof people who run the elaborateorganizationis comparatively small, and on the whole it is the rich who succeedin making their way into the governing network of directorates,presidencies,and religious offices.They maintaintheir positions in the face of intense competition,since nominationto officeis ultimatelythe prerogative the Aga Khan.The late Aga Khan'spersonal of of the small upperclass,whichwas largelyhis own creation,was minute knowledge and extensive;and the element of uncertaintyin gaining office intensifieslocal factionaldisagreements. a deadlockbetweencommittees If should occur,the solution is an appealto the Aga Khan himself. Besides the solid rewardswhich high position in this system brings-rewards which are not directly financial,since the organizationat most levels is run by unpaid volunteers-the honor and prestige which success in it also brings to an individualis more than enough to compensatefor the discomfortsof what the Ismailileaderscall "publiclife." These leadersare recruitedfrom a relativelysmall class of wealthy families who are bitterlyjealous of one another,but who are at the same time closely linked with one anotherby semi-dynastic marriagesand a common interest in maintainingand furtheringthe system which they and the Imam have togetherconstructed during the last half century,and which in terms of honorand materialgain is extremelyprofitableto them all. On the other hand the advantagesof a bureaucracy this kind to the members the sect as a whole of of are also clear. The men and womenwho successfullymaintainthemselvesin the system are in general the shrewderbusinesspeople. The training they receivein which handlesconsiderable workinga westernized bureaucracy powerin the name of the Imam, as well as his businessand property,teaches them how to negotiate in with the governmentand its variousdepartments ways that Europeanofficials understandand appreciate. Moreover, these leaders are handling the Imam's affairs,as we have alreadynoticed,underthe criticaleyes of othermembersof the sect, who would gladly replace them. They can, therefore,never relax in their efforts to obtain what the communityneeds. Principallyfor this reason,then, the Ismaili organizationis efficientin a way that other Muslim sectarianand Hindu casteorganizations not. are If the Aga Khan had not undertakento reform the social organizationand customsof his followersin East Africa, they would probablystill resemblethose of other Shia Muslim sects and it is likely that secessionto the Ithnasheris would have continued.As it is, the spectacularsuccessof the reformsin promotingthe

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material welfare of the membersof the sect and in affirmingthe position and prestigeof the Imam has made the communityone of the most united and prosperous in East Africa. The position and powers of the Imam made it virutally impossiblefor anybodybut him in name and often in fact to initiatechanges.By themso effectivelythe late Aga Khanwas able to satisfy his followers undertaking and at the same time preservehis positionunaltered.Without such reformsthere was also the riskthat one of the East Africangovernments, administrative order by or litigationmight imposea measure trusteeship the Imamate. on of
CONCLUSIONS

In buildingthis new systemin East Africa therehave,of coursebeendifficulties. of Elderlymenand largenumbers womenhavedislikedgiving up what theirImam called "Asiatichabits."Many of those who have tried to assimilateEuropeancivilizationin one generationhave felt personallyinsecureand susceptible mockery, to either from other Indians or from Europeans.But the new organizationis so evidently successful that even elderly men and conservativewomen are able to calmtheirdoubts. Doubt and possible dissent come mostly from small numbersof young men and women educatedin the newer ways, who find that most of the positionsin the bureaucratic are organization alreadyoccupiedby theirelders,whomthey have been taught to considerold-fashioned,and who apparentlyprevent them from of exercizingtheir talents. The presentorganization the sect, managedby a relasmall class of well-to-domen and womenis a startlingdeparturefrom the tively traditionalorganization describedby Mr Justice Arnold in 1866. Other religious communitiesin westernIndia were then organizedin similarways, and at least one of them,the Shia Daudi Bohra sect, today has representatives East Africa. in But none of them has adapteda traditionalorganization westernpolitical and to economicconditionsas successfullyas the KhojaIsmailis. The conditionsin East Africa were moreor less the same for all Indians,and an explanationof the various responsesof different groups probablylies in a consideration the differences their traditionalorganization. the Shia sects of in All differed slightly in structure.In particularthe beliefs about the sacred leader variedfrom sect to sect. Moreover,in moderntimes the personalhistoriesof these leadershavebeenwidelydifferent.Consequently influence a leaderin bringof the about changes in his sect was limited not only by tradition,but also by the ing successof his political, social, and legal activitiesin the wider world outside the sect. A careful consideration factors of this kind goes a long way towardsexof plainingthe successof the Khoja Ismailisect in East Africa, and may throwsome

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light on the conditionsof social change generally.For conveniencethe more imin portantfactorsaffectingthe Ismailicommunity Africa havebeengroupedunder the followingheadsfor comment: (1) The structural positionof the Imam. (2) The personalhistoriesof the recentImams. of (3) The requirements Britishcolonialadministration. The adjustmentsin belief and organizationwhich were structurallypos(4) siblewithinthe sect itself.
POSITION OF THE IMAM

The position of the Aga Khan as the hereditary,infallible, and impeccable Imam of the sect has already been indicated, and the fact mentionedthat his inheritedwealth has allowed him to behave more benevolentlyto his followers than most of his counterparts westernIndia have found possible. in
PERSONAL HISTORY OF THE THIRD AGA KHAN

The late Aga Khan's migrationto Europe and his subsequentcareer as an international statesmanand Europeanaristocratincreased,if that were possible, his prestigewith his followers;and made them even moredisposedto complywith his directionsin adaptingthemselvesto Europeancivilization.His directionswere invariablydetailed and extensive,and ranged from mattersof constitutionaland economicpolicy to those of personalhygiene.It was assumedby his followersand other Indians in East Africa that since he was personallyacquaintedwith many of the governingclass in Englandhe would alwaysbe able to influencea colonial administration favorof his followers. in
REQUREMENTS OF BRITISH COLONIAL ADMINISTRATIONS

Since 1866the IsmailiImamhas neverpermittedany infringement his status of as establishedin the KhojahCase. Wheneverthere has been dangerof this occurring he has eithertaken a case before the law courtsor has intervenedas an interested party. It was by the Imam'sinterventionin Tanganyikain a case involving inheritance property his followers,that the Imamand his followersestablished of by a legal right to be regardedas a separatecommunity, possessingtheir own customand distinctfrom other Indiansin East Africa.21A sense of exclusiveness ary law, and identity is not unusual among Indians, whetherMuslim or Hindu, but the tenacityof purposewith which the Ismailis have organizedthemselvesas a communityis most unusual.In a societywherethe Europeanand African inhabitants
21 See footnote 20.

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regard them simply as Indians with certain unimportantdifferencesfrom other on Indians,they could not affordto rest their assertionof separateness the results of law suits; for as soon as they allowedthemselvesto be treatedas other Indians then the positionof the Imamwas likely to be in danger.In a sense reorganization of the community forcedupon them, and involvedfar-reaching was reorganization of their economic,political,and educationalinstitutions.In each of these spheres the governmentand other membersof East African society were apt to consider Ismailisas if they werethe same as other Indians.
IDEAS ISMAILI RELIGIOUS

The general system of Ismaili religiousideas has been a factor as important as any of those alreadydiscussedin bringingabout alterationsin the social organization of the sect. Certainchangesof emphasisand belief were possible for the Ismailiswhich werenot open to other Muslims.By contrast,other sects were not committedto the defence of the fixed, unchangeableinterests of an infallible, Imam.In the wordsof an East AfricanIsmaili: ever-present We arenot like otherMuslims.They are tied to the Koranwhichwas writtenfor kind of world,and theymust followit; they cannotchangeit. We follow a different it our Imamwho can interpret [the Koran].So we findit easierto live in the modern world. Much of the late Aga Khan'slife was in fact occupiedin reformingthe religious practicesof his followers in India, Pakistan, and East Africa, always in directions awayfromHinduismand towardswhat he himselfcalled22"thosetenets of Islamwhichareprofessedand held in commonby all Muslimsof any and every of sect or sub-sect."In his interpretations holy and secularlaw the Imam could neverpermitviewswhichmight conflictwith the doctrines supportinghis Imamate; but as almostall aspectsof the late Aga Khan'scareerwereso preeminently successin inconsistencies the beliefs and practicesenjoinedby the Imam did ful, logical not usually cause his followersdiscomfort.One young man who dislikedwhat he features of Ismaili organizationand distrusted the called the "undemocratic" attributed to the Imam was nonetheless an exceedingly supernaturalqualities loyal follower.In his ownwords: When His Highnesscame [to East Africa] my father,my mother,my brothers and sisters, all went to see His Highnessto ask his advice.His Highnesstold my we fatherhow to managehis business, forbademe to go for law. He told me to go and for the engineering in England America. knewall ournamesandeverything line or He like aboutus.No ordinary couldhavea memory that. man
22 Aga Khan, op. cit., p. 177.

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If any follower shouldhappen find the burden holdinginconsistent of views to too onerous, doctrine taqiyaor dissimulation to hand.Occasionally, is the of of
do course,the inconsistencies provetoo much for people,and they protest (usually anonymously)or secede from the sect at the sacrifice,perhaps,of much of their materialwell-being. The personalauthority and prestige of the late Aga Khan, which were the rewardsof a long and well-spentlife, combinedwith his position as Imam have allowedhim to act as what one might call an "institutionalized prophet."The attributesof infallibility,impeccability, perfect religiousknowledgewould allow and any Imam to interpretthe role with a great deal of latitude; nevertheless special qualitiesare probablynecessarybefore the followersof such a leader are willing to permithim to bring about drasticalterationsin their traditionalstatus system. The late Imam was confrontedwith a peculiarlydifficulttask. He wished to alter a whole traditionalsystem of statuses and behaviorsappropriateto them without disturbinghis own position at the apex. His success in doing this was achievedby leading his followersin everysense of the word. He knew more than they did; he was at home in the world they were moving into; and he helped to makethemso prosperous it waseasy for his followersto attributeto his unique that wisdomall the good things that were happeningto them. The doubts of elderly men and womenabout the wisdomof adoptingso many alien customsand views of the worldwerebrushedaside, and the men and womenwho aroseto administer and benefit from the new organizationhad every inducementboth from their Imamand from theirown self-interest furtherand to maintainthe organization. to Other Indians in East Africa were more sceptical. They noticed and comsecularization Ismailisocial and religiouslife. Ismailis, mentedon the increasing of they said, worshippedproperty.Such rapid change, they also said, could not be wise or safe. In the wordsof a Hindu, educatedat an English university: When the Aga Khandiesit willall fall down.If it doesnot the Imamwill become like distantand unimportant the King of Englandor the Imam of the Ishnasheris whohasnever beenseen. But, as in the past, the speed and direction of future social change among the Shia ImamiIsmailiswill dependonly in part on the careersof future Imamsand the ways in which they interprettheir office.The late Aga Khan constructeda systemwhichhe could probablysafely leave in the handsof an exceedingly capable class of men and women,who may, it is true, eventuallyfind it expedientto disactive Imam; but if they do so they will have to find pense with an ever-present,

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othermeansas convenientas the presentones for reinterpreting Holy Law in the Divine Kingship,ProfessorEvansorderto meet yet other changedcircumstances. writesof the Shillukof the Nilotic Sudan,23 Pritchard value by all the Shilluk.In that perand is changeless acknowledged a supreme as the manence in that acknowledgement unityof the nationis manifested. and The living Ismaili Imam in the personsof the last three Aga Khans has been a symbolof great powerin the Shia Imami Ismaili sect and in no way equalledin effectiveness the concealed,unknownImams of other Shia sects, whose memby themselves bers in East Africa have, generallyspeaking, failed to accommodate live in with successdisplayedby the Ismailis. to the societythey
SCIENCE AND SCHOOL ECONOMICS POLITICAL OF LONDON OF UNIVERSITY LONDON
LONDON, ENGLAND

23 E. E. Evans-Pritchard, The Divine Kingship of the Shilluk of the Nilotic Sudan (Frazer Lecture,Cambridge,1948), p. 38.