The majority of the Canadian Ismailis have their ethnic origin in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. Many first migrated to Canada after having lived in East Africa for two to three generations. General Edi Amin of Uganda issued his edict on August 9, 1972, and the Asians were to leave the country within 90 days. The decree of Edi Amin was a source of influx of immigrants. The Asian population of Uganda at that time was less than 100,000, of which perhaps 30,000 were Ismailis.

The term "Central Asia" will include here the mountainous regions of China, Soviet Union, including Hindukush, Pamir, Yarkand, Wakhan, Oxus, Shagnan, Gilgit, Hunza and Chitral.

"In 270/884, Ibn Hawshab had sent al-Haytham from Yamen to Sind for Ismaili propaganda. He originated there the Ismaili mission that remained continued considerably under the charge of different da'is. Another da'i called Jaylam bin Shayban was recommended by Imam al-Muizz to the headquarters of Yamen. He captured Multan after overthrowing the ruling dynasty, and finally founded a Fatimid vassal state in Upper Indus Valley in 349/960.

"The drought and water shortage had remained the buzzwords in Kutchh and Kathiawar and weather condition had taken a heavy toll onto the economy of the entire region. The people therefore moved elsewhere in search of subsistence. The Ismaili migrants left their Indian homeland and arrived in East Africa. The early reported arrivals took place in 1815 in Tanganyika.

The British occupied Burma in 1885 and annexed it with Indian empire as a province on January 1, 1886. In those days, there were a few Indian Ismailis in Rangoon, who started the first Jamatkhana in 1889 at Mughal Street. Imam Sultan Muhammad Shah left Bombay for Rangoon on June 1, 1900 and graced didar to the Ismailis. The first Ismaili Council came into existence on January 8, 1910, whose first President was Mukhi Wazir Jivabhai Bhanji (1866-1938).

The rudiments of the concept of the Imamate had been introduced by Ali bin Abu Talib in his speeches and Imam Hussain in his correspondence with the Shi'ites of Kufa and Basra. Soon after the event of Karbala, the political situation was changed in Islamic states, therefore, Imam Zayn al-Abidin confined his religious activities to Medina. The adherents of the Imam however spread in all Islamic regions.

The word iman, generally is translated as faith or belief, is derived from amana (ordinarily rendered, he believed) which means when used transitively, he granted (him) peace or security, and when used intransitively, he came into peace or security; while amal signifies a deed or action. (The two words are most often used together in the Koran to indicate a believer, and those who believe and do good is the oft- recurring description of true believers).

Test, trial and affliction are essential means of testing the sincerity or otherwise of an individual's claim to faith and of establishing his spiritual rank. Every person, even believer has, according to the Koran to undergo the test: "`Do men imagine that they will be left (at ease) because they say, we believe, and will not be tested? Lo! We tested those who came before them. Thus, God knows those who are sincere and knows who feign" (29:2-3).

INFALLIBILITY OF PROPHETS AND IMAMS [ see MASUM ]

INFIDEL [ see KAFIR ]

INHERITANCE [ see MIRAS ]

It means if God wills (43:23), a phrase, in the Islamic terminology is called istisna, which is taken from the Koran: "Say not thou of a thing: `I will surely do it tomorrow’ – except (istisna) if God so wills” (18:23). The phrase is uttered when talking about the future. It recognizes the supreme power of God, who alone decides the events of the future. It refers to the future and expresses man’s confidence in God’s Will and the realization that nothing can be achieved without His Will.

In 1974, the Present Imam held a conference in Nairobi, which was participated by the scholars and eleven Ismailia Associations. Later, the members of the conference were invited in Paris in April, 1975, where an International Co-ordinating Committee was formed under the Ismailia Association for Kenya. On that occasion, the Imam said, “We are living in a world of material speed. Until now we have devoted insufficient time and thought on our history and theology.

The word ishq is derived from ashiqa. The ashiqa is a creeper called liblab in Arabic and ishq-pechan in Persian. When this creeper twines itself around a tree, it deprives it of its leaves and fruits. The tree turns yellow and a few days later dries up. Similarly, when love takes its root in the heart of a lover, every one other than the beloved is effaced in the effulgence of the beloved's beauty; the very being of the lover is annihilated and there remains nothing save the beloved.

"Islam means entering into salm, and salm and salim both signify peace. Both these words are used in the sense of peace in the Koran (2:208 and 8:61). The Koran says: "And Lord, make us submissive to Thee" (2:128). The word Islam does not only signify submission, it also signifies entering into peace, and the Muslim is one who makes his peace with God and man.

"Syed Ahmad Islam Shah was also known as Islam Shah. He is also called Salam Shah and Shri Islam Shah. Imam Islam Shah assumed the Imamate in 771/1370 in Azerbaijan, ruled by Sultan Uways (757-776/1356-1374), the Jalayirid ruler. It seems that during the early 25 years of his Imamate in Azerbaijan, he visited Daylam several times in disguise.

"Islam originated from monotheism, it conceived idolatry as its real enemy and acted with the purpose of subduing it first in the Arabian Peninsula. The Muslims marched northward into Syria, defeated the army of Heraclius at Yarmuk, and captured Jerusalem and Damascus. They went eastward into Iraq, defeated the Iranian at Seleucia. They further went westward and occupied Egypt away from the Byzantine empire. "In all this expansion" writes T.C.

"Another calumny that is persistently levelled at the Prophet is that in his later life he became licentious. That is an enormity that has only to be contemplated to be immediately rejected as utterly incompatible with his life and character. None of the great religious systems has polygamy been forbidden. The Jewish prophets, including the great lawgiver Moses, had a plurality of wives. No one has ever alleged that because of this they could be accounted as leading virtuous lives.

The word calendar is derived from Latin kalendae means first day of the month. It stands for dating system in the world. From ancient time man used time reckoning system based upon the movement of the sun and the moon. The altering phrases of moon provide good ground for a month. The 12 lunations completed a year of about 354 days. This is called lunar year. The earth completes a revolution in its orbit around the sun in 365.25 days.

The Islamic Research Association came into being on February 1, 1933 in Bombay. Its founder President was Ali Muhammad R. Macklai (1894-1971) with Asaf A.A. Fyzee (1899-1981), the Principal of Bombay Law College, as the Secretary. Its founder members were Jogesharini Ismail, M.B. Rahman, Dr. U.M. Daudpota, Saif F.B. Tayyib and W. Ivanow (1886-1970). Lui Messignon (Paris), D.H. Margoliuth (Oxford), R.A. Nicholson (Cambridge), K.S. Zotarstin (Apsila), A.Fisher (Lipzig), H.A.R.

"Abu Muhammad Ismail, surnamed al-Wafi was born in Medina between 100/719 and 103/722. Imam Ismail is also known as an absolute Lord (az-azbab-i itlaq). He was born by the first wife of Imam Jafar Sadik, named Fatima bint al-Hussain al-Athram bin al-Hasan bin Ali. Shahrastani (1076-1153) writes in Kitab al-milal wa'l nihal that during the lifetime of Fatima, Imam Jafar Sadik never got another marriage like Muhammad with Khadija and Ali with Fatima. Hatim bin Imran bin Zuhra (d.

The word band is borrowed from the French bande meaning troop. The synonymous word in Spanish is banda adopted from Teutonic form. The term band was used in England to apply to the King's Band of 24 violins at the court of Charles II (1660-1685). The word band represents a broad term that describes a group of musicians performing on wind and percussion instruments.

The Ismaili Centre has great importance in Ismaili society. It serves as a multipurpose place for a faithful. An Ismaili does not enter the Centre for worship only but he also learns a lesson how to lead a life of chastity, contenment, tolerance, fraternity and balance.

In 1951, a religious, cultural and social center was established by the Ismaili jamat at Kensington Court, and in 1957 was moved to Palace Gate in the Borough of Kensington. In order to meet the increased needs of a growing community, the majority of whom had settled in or around London, a site for a new center was identified in 1971 at Albany Street in the London Borough of Camden. Architects were commissioned to prepare a submission for presentation to the local authorities.

The Burnaby Jamatkhana in Canada, a tree-lined suburb of Greater Vancouver, is the first Jamatkhana and Centre is a multi-purpose building. It cost over $. 10 million. In July 24, 1982, the Lieutenan-Governor of British Columbia, the Honourable Henry Bell-Irving, in the presence of the Present Imam, the Begum Aga Khan, Mayor Lewarne of Burnaby and other distinguished guests, performed the foundation ceremony.

It was opened a $. 30 million Ismaili Centre in Lisbon on July 11, 1998 in presence of the Present Imam and the Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio. An 18,000 square meter complex of building and courtyards is set amidst a landscaped park off busy thoroughfares on the edge of central Lisbon. The edifice, which combines Islamic and Iberian architecture styles and is decorated with hand-painted tiles, has a prayer hall , classrooms, conference rooms and exhibition spaces.

The Present Imam announced the first Ismaili Centre to be built in the Middle East. The Ismaili Centre, Dubai, when completed, will be comparable in scope and standing to existing major centres in London, Vancouver and Lisbon, one underway in Dushanbe and other in advanced planning stages in Toronto.

It was inaugurated in Houston, United State on June 23, 2003 in presence of the Imam, Governor Perry, Anita Perry, the First Lady of Texas, Mayor Wallace, leaders and representatives of the Congress of USA, the State of Texas and the city of Houston, Consuls General and distinguished guests. Its design architect was the ARCOP Group of Montreal, Canada, the General Contractor for the project, Durotech of Houston. Its senior design architect however was Mr. Ramesh Khosla of New Delhi.

The foundation stone ceremony was performed in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on August 30, 2003 in presence of the Imam, President Rahmonov of Tajikistan, the Mayor Ubaidulloev and other distinguished leaders. The Imam launched a landmark cultural center in Dushanbe, marking a milestone in the 1300-year history of the jamat in Central Asia.

The word constitution is derived from the Latin constituere means an action of decreeing or ordaining. According to The Oxford English Dictionary (London, 1933, 2:876), "It is a decree, ordinance, law, regulation usually one made by a superior authority, civil or ecclesiastical." In the broad sense, a Constitution is a body of rules governing the affairs of an organized group.

The New Constitution of 1986
(continued..)

The Arabic word for the flag is alam (pl. a'lam), meaning signpost or flag. The terms liwa and raya are also used for the flag, banner or standard. In Persian, the word band and dirafsh, and in Turkish, the bayrak is used for the banner. And as flags serve to delineate a ruler's territory, it is not surprising that one of the Turkish terms for a certain administrative unit is sancak, i.e., flag.

"In its origin, and throughout its history until down to recent times, the banner, standard or flag executed primarily a religious purpose with an object to indicate something rather than to gather people together. The earliest known representation of Egyptian banners are those found on the votive tablet of Nar-Mer (4000-5000 B.C.) at Hierakonpolis; on this are represented four bearers, carrying poles with various emblems on the top of them.

Warfare in pre-Islamic Arabia was waged regularly for a certain part of each year as an ordinary part of the routine of tribal life, the ostensible motive being the desire for plunder or revenge. In the Meccan oligarchy the clan of Abdul Dar of Qoraish enjoyed the privilege of holding the tribal standard. Before the advent of Islam, the Qoraish waged a war on another tribe; they received from the hands of Qassi (d.

"The Islamic state of Medina continued the old Arab custom. In this context, the sources mention two synonyms, i.e., liwa (flag) and rayah (standard). It was liwa (pl alwiyah), which was ordinarily used in all expeditions; but ruyat (pl. of rayah) were used in all the battles. The Islamic armies under the Prophet was drawn from various tribes. Each unit consisted of a tribe, usually fighting under its own chief. Each tribe had its own tribal banner borne aloft by its bravest champion.

"Imam Radi Abdullah (840-881) had sent his da'is in all directions from Syria to propagate Ismailism. The most acclaimed among them was Ibn Hawshab (d. 914), who was sent to Yamen in 880. He made a large conversion and established an Ismaili rule. He took possession of a stronghold on a hillock and made it his headquarters. He hoisted the green banner at his headquarters, bearing the Koranic verse on it. Meanwhile, Abu Abdullah al-Shi'i (d.

"Hasan bin Sabbah (1034-1124) took possession of the fort of Alamut in Iran in 1090. His immediate concerns were to refortify Alamut, provide for it food and water supply, irrigate the field in the valley, acquire adjacent castles, erect forts at strategic points, institute economic and social reforms and unite the Ismailis. Thus, he succeeded to establish the Nizarid Ismailis rule in Alamut.

The post-Alamut is the longest period in the Ismaili history, and so is most obscure and dark due to the dearth of the historical informations. It almost covers 580 years for 18 Imams, who lived in different villages and towns in Iran. They had no their own rule and as a result, no need was apparently felt for their banner.

"Imam Hasan Ali Shah (1817-1881) arrived in India in 1842. He died and buried in Hasanabad, Bombay in 1881. He was succeeded by his son Imam Aga Ali Shah (1881-1885), who also died in Poona on August 17, 1885. His body in a bier was brought to Bombay, where it was temporarily enshrined in Hasanabad, Bombay for 64 days, and shipped for interment in Najaf. Mukhi Kassim Musa (d. 1896), the then estate agent was entrusted to carry the Imam's bier from Bombay to Najaf.

"The Ismaili flag contains rich green colour with a red strip descending from left upper corner to the bottom of right side, making a cross mark in the flag. The nature of the characteristics, which the Ismaili flag, acquired green and red colours (lawn) from the historical context will be explored briefly in the following lines.

"Red (ahmar) is the colour of fire and blood. It is linked with vital force. It is gushing colour, hot and male, unlike green. Adam signifies red in Hebrew. Red (ahmar) is used only once in the Koran (35:27-8) in the plural form humr. The red sulphur (kibrit ahmar) of Islamic esotericism denotes Universal Man. Abdullah Numair narrates on the authority of al-Bari; who said, "I have never seen anyone more attractive and elegant in a red cloak than the Prophet" (Tabaqat, 2:534).

"We have described above the features of green and red colours. We will briefly proceed to discuss significant characteristics of these two colours together.

"The Present Imam ordained the new Ismaili Constitution on Saturday, December 13, 1986 at Merimont in Geneva. Leaders of the jamat who were mandated to work on the new Ismaili Constitution had come from various parts of the world. It was indeed a historic occasion where the family members of the Imam, members of the Constitution Review Committee and the staff of the Secretariat from Aiglemont were present.

"Journalism in the modern usage is one of the younger professions. The first prototype of the modern newspaper was the series of public announcements, known during the Roman empire as Acta Diurna published daily from 59 B.C., and later in Venice as the Gazette. Similar official reports were made in China, where the earliest newspaper, the Tehing-Pao appeared in Peking in the middle of 8th century.

Ismaili Sitaro, (1908) ed. Lalji Bhai Devraj, Khoja Bandhu, Khoja Mitr (1910), Khoja Hitvardak (1910), Satpanth Prakash (1916) ed. by Lalji Bhai Devraj, Ismaili Aftab (1919), ed. by V.N. Hood, then N.M. Budhwani in Dhoraji, Ismaili Akhbar (1920), Khoja Saundariya (1920), Ismaili (1923) ed. A.J.

Al-Islam (1948) ed. by Ghulam Ali Chunara, Platinum Jubilee Review (1951) ed. by A.J. Chunara, Fidai Chronicle (Dacca, 1953) ed. M.R. Karwa. Mahrab (1954), Paigham (1955) ed. by Muhammad Ali B. Sayani, Parwaz (Dacca), Sargam (1958) ed. Kassim Ghari, Ismaili Mirror (1962), Ismaili World (1964) ed. by Sadruddin J. Hemani, Al-Qandeel (1965) from Peshawer, Al-Ismailia (1967) ed. by Noor Ali B.

The Jubilee Bulletin started in 1945, which earned the name of Ismaili Prakash in 1947. The Diamond Jubilee Souvenir published in 1946. It was followed by Majlis. In 1950, with the existence of Ismailia Association for Kenya in Nairobi, the Africa Ismaili started and shifted its venue very soon from Mombasa to Nairobi.

The first renowned magazine published from Vancouver was Hikmat (1976) by Ismailia Association for Canada. The Canadian Ismaili appeared in 1976, and Ismaili Canada in 1995 by Ismaili Council for Canada. The Al-Risalah also began from Montreal in 1981.

"The renowned journal, "The Ismaili France" started from Paris in 1990 and "Ismaili Contact" in Paris in 1992. Both disappeared very soon.

The Ismaili Council for the United States brought out Roshni and The American Ismaili in 1980, and The American Waezeen Digest in 1987.

The Ismailia Association for U.K. published Ilm in 1975 and Al-Misbah in 1981. The Ismaili Council for U.K. also brought forth Ismaili Forum in 1980, and also UK Ismaili in 1984.