Abstract
As one of the Shiite interpretations of Islam, Ismailism has a significant role in the shaping of Islamic thought in general, and in particular in bringing together some schools of thought and jurisprudence under the name of Sunnism. In a sense, it can be said that Ismaili teaching indirectly contributed to the consolidation of Sunnism. This situation was shaped especially under the influence of the rivalry between the Fatimids, who represented Ismailism, and the Abbasids, who were the defenders of Sunnism. Despite this transformative role, Ismailism, which could not take its deserved place in academic gatherings in the Islamic world until recently due to the influence of the classical rejectionist literature against Ismailism, has often been shown as a destructive movement against Islam (Sunnism). This situation started to change with some studies in the West in the 1900s, and Ismailism began to take its place in Islamic thought by being the subject of research through its own sources. A similar situation is partially observed in the Islamic world in the recent period. Claiming that the legitimate leaders (caliphs/imams) of the Islamic world were imams from the descendants of Ali appointed by Allah, Ismailism entered into a fierce struggle with Sunnism during the Fatimi-Abbasi conflict. Ismailism, which was divided into two main branches as Nizaris and Mustalis after the death of Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir in 487/1094, entered into competition with the Seljuks through the Alamut Ismaili Nizari state since the last quarter of the eleventh century. However, with the abolition of this Ismaili state by the Mongols in 1256, Ismailism remained in the background both politically and intellectually. Having lived a period of silence for a long time, Ismailism entered a new phase by reviving politically and socially during the reign of the Ismaili Imams, known as the Aga Khans. This article will focus on the socio-political reconstruction of Nizari Ismailism during the Aga Khan period. First of all, the activities of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) and its affiliated sub-organizations will be discussed as the parameters of the transition from a traditional Shiite sect to a modern community. The role of the Ismaili imams in the transformation process of the Nizaris into a transnational political structure, and the ironic relationship between a modern-secular effort and the understanding of the Innocent imam, which is believed to be divinely appointed, are other issues to be discussed.