Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri

Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslims are a united Shia minority with a population of about 125 thousand people who have a remarkable order among themselves. They are originally from Kutch district in Gujarat state, India. They converted from Hinduism to Isma'ili Shia and in the early 1870s, they converted to Twelver Shia (Ithna-'Ashari). Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri live in the five continents of the world and have independent communities in every country. The World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslim Communities is their most important institution which supervises the activities of regional federations and communities. Khojas of Africa and England are more active than other Khojas. Bilal Muslim Mission, WIPAHS and the Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri Jamaats of Africa are among the most important institutions of the Shia of East Africa. Dewji Jamal, Mulla Asgarali Jaffer and Ghulam Ali Haji Isma'il (Haji Naji) were among the prominent leaders of Khoja Shia Ithna Asheri. Mulla Qadir Husain and Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi were not Khoja but they are often mentioned among Khoja dignitaries due to their relationships and interactions with them.

Emergence

In eighth/fourteenth Century, a preacher called Sadr al-Din went to Sindh, India. Following his propagation and the propagation of another group of preachers who went to India after him, gradually Nizari Isma'ili school was spread among people. In the first half of nineteenth century, when Aga Khan I immigrated from Iran to India, Nizari Isma'ili school was spread. Aga Khan I administered a greater supervision over the society in 1839, which led to division of some members of that community. Since they were influenced by some Sunni scholars, they became Sunni. Knowledge about Twelver Shia was promoted among Khojas by Persian books, especially due to the leadership of Aga Khans. Nizari leaders imported Twelver Shia religious ceremonies to oppose the influence of Sunni teachings in Jamaat khanas. Following the spread of Twelver Shia teachings among Khojas, Aga Khan III applied some limitations to Twelver Shia religious rituals and emphasized on the independent Nizari identity which led to the formation of Ithna-Asheri Khoja communities. In early 1870s, some Khojas led by Dewji Jamal met Shaykh Zayn al-'Abidin Mazandarani during their visit of Najaf and emphasized on the necessity of sending a teacher to India for teaching Islamic teachings to them. This meeting made the grounds for inclination of some Khojas toward Twelver Shia. Following that meeting, Ayatullah Mazandarani sent Mulla Qadir Husayn to India. Mulla Qadir Husayn, with the assistance of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia, officially established his first community in Bombay in 1899. Following that, Aga Khan lifted the level of fear among them to force them to break up the community. With the increase of such pressures and also happening of drought, this group moved to east Africa.

Institutions

Khoja Communities

To preserve their internal integrity, Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia establish communities in every city and country, even with small number of members. This way, they demonstrate their religious identity and follow their activities. Jama'at (community) is the smallest institution of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia which is normally works under the supervision of regional federations or larger communities. First Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia communities were established in 1882 in Zanzibar. In 1899, Mulla Qadir Husain , with the assistance of Dewji Jamal and some Khojas, formed the Jama'at of Bombay.

Bilal Muslim Mission

Bilal Muslim Mission is among important institutions of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia. This institution was established in 1967 by Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi and some other Shia leaders in Tanzania. Its major goal is promotion of Islam and especially Shia among Africans in the region. The journal of light in English and Sawt al-Bilal in Swahili belong to them. The activities of this institution has reached outside Africa and in addition to African countries such as Kenya, it offers material and spiritual services to Khoja Shia in its branches in the United States, Sweden, etc.

WIPAHS

WIPAHS (World Islamic Propagation and Humanitarian Services) is among promotional institutions belonging to a group of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of Tanzania whose management did not accept the supervision of Bilal Muslim Mission or the Africa Federation. It offers educational, health and other services to poor Muslims of the country independently from the other two organizations.

Dignitaries

• Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi (1927 – 2002) was the founder of Bilal Muslim Mission in Tanzania. He made a lot of efforts in bringing integrity among Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia communities. His most important action was the establishment of Bilal Muslim Mission. He was also the author and translator of some works in English, Arabic, Urdu, etc. such as the translation of some volumes of Allama Tabataba'i's al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qur'an. He passed away at the age of seventy six and was buried in Shia cemetery in Dar es Salaam.

• Mulla Qadir Husain (d. 1890s) was the clergyman sent by Ayatullah Mazandarani and became the founder of the first Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia community in Bombay. He was not a Khoja, but he was considered among them since he was the first clergyman and preacher in their society.

• Muhammad Ali Jinnah (1876 – 1948) known as the Qayid-i-Azam (Great Leader) was the leader of independence movement and founder of Pakistan. Some Shia authors have considered him among political figures of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia.

• Dewji Jamal (1820 – 1905) was among the leaders of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of India who asked Shaykh Zayn al-'Abidin Mazandarani to send preachers for the Khoja communities of Bombay and Zanzibar. Following the acceptance of Ayatullah Mazandarani, Mulla Qadir Husayn was sent to Bombay in 1873 and 10 years later, Shaykh Abu al-Qasim Najafi Kashani and Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Mar'ashi were sent to Bombay and Zanzibar.

• Mulla Asgarali Jaffer (1936 – 2000) known as Mulla Asghar was the head of the World Federation of Khoja Shia Ithna-Asheri Muslims Communities and a member of the supreme council of the Ahl al-Bayt (a) World Assembly. He was among Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia dignitaries who was an agent of some religious authorities such as Sayyid Muhsin Hakim, Sayyid Abu al-Qasim Khu'i and Sayyid Ali Sistani. He had some works including the English translation of questions and answers from Ayatullah Sistani in Islamic rulings.

• Ghulam Ali Haji Isma'il (1864 – 1943) known as Haji Naji was among influential dignitaries and first Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in Bombay. He translated some works from Arabic to Gujurati Indian. His works include the translation of the Qur'an, Mi'raj al-sa'ada and some other supplications; but, his major activity was the publication of some journals for Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia.

Journals

• Rah-i Nijat, published in 1890 in Bombay by Ghulam Ali Haji Isma'il known as Haji Naji. It included articles about Islam, Shia and public charity activities.

• Nur-i Iman published in 1892 in Bombay by Haji Naji in Gujurati language. This journal offered knowledge about Islam and Shia.

• Bagh-i Nijat, was published in 1906 by Haji Naji.

• Munadi, was published in Gujurati language in Zanzibar. Its editor-in-chief was Abd al-Husayn Sachedina. It was mostly about Islam and the Khojas living in Zanzibar.

• Salsabil, was among old journals of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of Zanzibar. It was published since 1924, for 19 years by the efforts of Ghulam Husayn Wali Muhammad Darsi. It discussed different issues about Islam, Shia and the necessity of the unity among Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia.

• Samachar, is the official journal of the Federation of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of Africa which covers the ideas of the leaders of this federation and Islamic issues for the past 45 years. This journal is distributed in east and east west of Africa, England, India and north America.

• Shia International, offers news and reports about Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in the world and their economic and social situation. Its editor-in-chief is Hasnain Walji and publish it in Ontario, Canada. It has been published since 1992.

• Insight, gives reports about different activities of the World Federation.

• Light, the first issue of this magazine was published in the form of pamphlet in March, 1963 in 75 copies. Toward the end of 1964, the number of its copies reached 300 and in 1965, Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi published it in the form of a journal. Following the suggestion of Sayyid Sa'id Akhtar Rizvi, the journal was published in 1968 by Bilal Muslim Mission. It publishes articles about Islam, Shia, Shia scholars and clergies, Khoja dignitaries and life condition of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in east Africa.

• Sauti Ya Bilal (the Voice of Bilal); this journal was published by Muhsin Alidina, the representative of Bilal Muslim Mission in Mombasa. In 1967, Bilal Muslim Mission took the responsibility of its publication and Sayyid Muhammad Mahdi Shushtari became its editor-in-chief. This journal is being published every two weeks in Swahili and is distributed with free price in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda and Swahili regions of Zaire and Burundi.

Seminaries

• Seminary of Sayyid al-Khu'i in Birmingham

• Jamia Wali al-'Asr Seminary in New York

• Islamic Institute for Postgraduate Studies in Damascus

• Religious School of Ahl al-Bayt (a) for Islamic Studies in Tanzania

• Amir al-Mu'min Religious School in Mombasa, Kenya

• Al-Mahdi Seminary in Birmingham

Khoja-resident Regions

Although, Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia are from Kutch district in Gujarat state of India, but now live both in India, as well as other places in Asia, east and south Africa, north America and Europe and have independent communities and institutions in every country.

• India: About 25 thousand Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in India. They live in Kutch district in Gujarat state, Bombay and other cities such as Bhuj, Baroda, Surat, Mandu, Ahmedabad, Morbi and Bhavnagar under supervision of the federation of Kutch and the council of Gujurat. The main center of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in India is Bombay which has the largest number of Shia.

• Pakistan: After the separation of Pakistan from India in 1947, some Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia and other Muslims immigrated to Pakistan. They first settled in Karachi and then in Hyderabad and afterwards in other cities of Pakistan. In early 1960s, a small number of Khojas living in Africa moved to Pakistan. Following the war between India and Pakistan in 1971, some of the Khojas of this country returned to east Africa, but the next year, after the exile of Asians from Uganda, many of Khojas immigrated to Karachi. The population of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of Pakistan is about 42 thousand people, most of whom live in Karachi.

• Dubai: A number of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in Dubai. They immigrated to Dubai in early 1960s, after the revolution of Zanzibar. The immigration of some dignitaries of Khoja to this city was made under the respectful consideration of Shaykh Rashid b. Maktum. Rida Fadhil Karmali and Akbar Jessa were at the top of the first group of Khoja who immigrated and resided in Dubai in 1967. Also, some Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in Yemen, Bangladesh, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Qatar.

East and South East Africa

The Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia Mosque in Bujumbura, Capital of Burundi Many Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in east and south east African countries. Khoja communities in these countries, especially in Tanzania and Kenya, are among the most important Khoja communities and had an important role in the establishment of the World Federation and Khoja propagation institutions.

• Tanzania: Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia went to Tanzania toward the end of 19th century. After some Khojas settled in Zanzibar, some of them went to east African countries such as Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Since 1880, some of them settled in Dar es Salaam, Bagamoyo, Lindi, Kilwa, Arusha and other cities. These Shia established several communities in different cities of Tanzania. The largest community of Khojas is in Dar es Salaam.

• Kenya: About two thousand Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in Kenya. They mostly live in Nairobi, Mombasa and Nakuru. Khojas immigrated to Kenya in 1873 when some of them who were in Zanzibar went to Lamu island and built mosque, Imambargah, etc. Now, there are historical sites there with more than 100 years of age.

• Zanzibar: When they entered to Africa, Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia settled in this island and later some of them emigrated to other places in the east and south east Africa. Zanzibar community was the first Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia community. It was established in 1882, some years before the establishment of Bombay community. After entering this famous island, Khojas built the famous mosque of Quwwat al-Islam.

In 1885, following the request of Dewji Jamal, Shaykh Zayn al-Abidin Mazandarani sent his student Sayyid 'Abd al-Husayn Shushtari to Zanzibar. After him, his adopted son, Sayyid Husayn Shushtari followed the way of his father. Before the revolution of 1963, Zanzibar was among the most populated centers of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia, but after the revolution, 90 to 95 percent of Khojas moved to Tanzania, Kenya, Madagascar, Europe and north America due to political pressures and restrictions; and now, less than 50 families of Khojas are remained in this island who are mostly elderly people and attend the two historical mosques of Quwwat al-Islam and Hujjat al-Islam.

• Uganda: In 1903, some Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia families went to Kampala through Mombasa and Nairobi and established the first community of Khojas in this city. Gradually, the number of Shia increased in this city, but Abdi Amin expelled Asians including Khojas from Uganda. Thus, many of them immigrated to England, Sweden, India and Pakistan. After the downfall of Abdi Amin, some Khojas returned to the country. Of the population of 1000 Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in Uganda, most of them live in Kampala.

• Somalia: In the past, about 1200 Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia lived in Somalia, but after the critical political and economic situation of the country in 1990, 1053 of them left the country and settled in Tanzania, Kenya, America and Canada.

• Burundi: a number of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia emigrated from Tanzania and Madagascar to this country in the middle of 1960s. In the early 1990s when the war erupted in the country, Khojas moved to Tanzania and after the war they gradually returned to Burundi.

A number of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in Madagascar, Comoros, Murris and Réunion.

North America

There is no information about the exact date when Khojas moved to the United States; but, based on evidences and documents, they moved there in different times from east Africa in the middle of 1920s and early 1930s and settled in different cities such as New York. In 1940s, some Khojas living in Canada moved to the United States and settled in some of northern states. After the World War II, another group of Khojas immigrated to the United States from Tanzania, Kenya, India and Pakistan. In early 1970s, some Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia moved to the United States, after they were exiled from Uganda. Khojas live in several states of the United States and make different activities under the Organization of North American Shia Ithna-asheri Muslim Communities (NASIMCO). Ayatullah Sistani has given them the permission to spend a part of the Share of Imam (a) from Khums to build Islamic centers.

Canada

The history of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia in Canada dates back to 1967 when a group of Khojas moved there from Tanzania and Kenya and settled in Toronto and Vancouver. In 1972, a group of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia immigrants moved there after they were exiled from Uganda. Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia of Canada have several official communities in Vancouver, Edmonton, Toronto and Ontario. However, the Khojas of Calgary, Windsor, Ottawa, Hamilton, Brooks, Kitchener, etc. do not have official communities. All official and non-official Khoja communities of Canada altogether make a population of 4000 to 5000 people.

South America

A small number of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in Mexico, Venezuela and Argentina. Since they do not have a community, they do not have any major independent religious activities and participate in the gatherings of Lebanese Shia living there.

Europe

A group of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia live in England, Netherland and France. Communities of this group are influential in decision-making of the world and regional federations. In addition to organization of Khoja communities of Europe, the Council of European Jamaats (CoEJ) organizes hajj for Khojas. A very small group of these Khojas live in Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Denmark and Germany.

• England: Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia went to England in early 1950s, when a group of them emigrated from east African countries to England to study in the universities of England. In 1972, when Khojas were exiled from Uganda, a new wave of their immigration to England began. They settled in London, Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester, Peterborough, Leeds, Wessex, Milton, etc. London community with a population of 5000 members is among large communities of Khojas. This community had an important role in the establishment of the World Federation, and by their support, established the Husaini Islamic Center.

• Netherland: of about 200 thousand Shia living in Netherland, a very small number are Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia and the rest are Turk, Afghan, Iraqi, Kurd, Lebanese and Iranian immigrants. Immigration of Khojas to this country dates back to early 1970s. First immigrants were some exiled immigrants from Uganda. Since 1986, Khojas hold their programs in a center called Mehfil-e Zainab in Lahey. They do not have an official center and usually follow their religious activities in Mehfil-e Zainab.

• France: In early 1970s, a group of Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia immigrated to France from east and south east Africa (mostly from Madagascar). Of the population of about 200 thousand Shia living in France, about 150 thousand ones of them are Iranian and the rest are Shia from Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, Algeria, Morocco and a small number of them are Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia. Khojas living in France are mostly engaged in importing and exporting goods. They have the right to vote in the elections, but due to secular policies of the government, they are under a relative pressure of governmental institutions.

Oceanic Region

Most Khoja Ithna-Asheri Shia living in the Oceanic region live in Australia and comprise of three communities in Sidney, Melbourne and Kogarah. The members of these communities have emigrated from Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. Their population is 80 people. Also, some Khoja families live in New Zealand.