Isma`ili, << ihs may EE lee, >> Muslims , or Isma`ilis, are a worldwide religious community belonging to the Shī`ah branch of Islam (see Islam ). The full name of the community is the Shī`ah Imami Isma`ili Muslims. There are about 15 million Isma`ilis living in about 25 countries, chiefly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. There are also Isma`ili communities in Europe and North America. Historically, Isma`ilis have been committed to the pursuit of knowledge and social development.
The Isma`ilis, like other Shī`ites (followers of Shī`ah Islam), owe total allegiance to an imam, a spiritual leader tracing his descent back to Ali ibn Abi Talib. Ali, the cousin and son-in-law of the Prophet Muhammad, was the first imam, according to the Shī`ites. The Isma`ili community takes its name from Ismail ibn Jafar, the elder son of Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth Shī`ite imam. Another group followed Jafar al-Sadiq’s younger son, Musa al-Kazim ibn Jafar, and became known as the Ithna Ashari. The Isma`ili community is divided between the Nizari Isma`ilis, who accept Aga Khan IV, born Shah Karim al-Husayni, as their imam; and the Dawoodi Bohra Isma`ilis, who accept the spiritual leader Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin as the representative of their imam, who is in hiding.
See also Aga Khan .
