An 11-acre Ismaili Muslim religious center is coming to Texas.
Part one of this two-part series described how the small sect of Shiite Islam will soon open the huge prayer hall and social center in Houston. Ismaili leaders emphasize an adherence to pluralism and interfaith dialogue, and this article will discuss how this assertion fits—or clashes—with Ismaili history.
For Ismailis today, who number between 12 and 15 million across 35 countries, pluralism is more than a commitment—it is near dogma. That is due to the center’s subsect, Nizari Ismailism, and its distinguishing feature: the living imam. Most Shiite Muslims name the leader of the Islamic community an imam, but only the Nizari sect claims he is alive and actively present in the world today.
And the imam’s legitimacy originates in his descent from Muhammad.
Islam’s prophet married and had several children, but only his daughter Fatimah survived to adulthood. She married Ali, Muhammad’s nephew and adopted son, and they had two daughters and three sons, one of whom likely died in infancy. All Muslims hold these descendants in high regard, and the current king of Jordan is one of thousands who trace their lineage back to Muhammad.
Yet the branches of Islam divided over who they saw as Muhammad’s true heir. Shiites believe that prior to his death, Muhammad designated Ali as his political and spiritual successor, so they call him “imam.” They also elevate Ali, Fatimah, and their sons Hasan and Hussein as Ahl al-Bayt, “the family of [Muhammad’s] household,” and believe these five received divine knowledge and infallibility. Only Muhammad holds the title of prophet, but his grandsons, in turn, became the second and third imams.
Sunni Muslims reject the claim of special favor, but honor Ali as the fourth community-chosen caliph, the highest Islamic political office. They dismiss the idea that an imam or any other human can inherit Muhammad’s aura of divine guidance.
Sunnis won the ensuing civil war in Islam and then set up a hereditary caliphate. Shiites rallied around Ahl al-Bayt, with some rebelling against the caliph’s authority and others adopting a quiet posture of perseverance. The majority, known as Twelvers, trace a line of 12 imams who from Hussein are designated directly from father to son. Twelvers are prominent in Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, and Azerbaijan.
Ismailis, found primarily in Central Asia, East Africa, and the Indian subcontinent, separated over a disputed succession. In AD 765, the Shiite community faced a crisis when Jafar al-Sadiq, the sixth imam, died at home, allegedly poisoned by the Sunni caliph who had previously detained him. Many of his followers believed he had designated his oldest son, Ismail, as the next imam—who died two years earlier than his father.
Sadiq’s other sons claimed Shiite leadership, with Twelvers following Musa al-Kazim as the seventh imam. But the crisis was more than just political—it was theological.
If an imam is infallible, how could he wrongly designate his successor? A dissenting party no longer in existence concluded that Ismail must still be alive and in hiding. Others held that Ismail’s son Muhammad should next inherit leadership, consistent with the father-to-son pattern. Most Ismailis today follow this line, and their head, known as Aga Khan V, is the 50th imam in the succession.
A century later, a different theological crisis hit the Twelver community. In AD 874, the eleventh imam died without an obvious heir. Consensus emerged that he did have a son who went into “occultation,” concealed from public view. Yet he never reappeared, and Twelvers judged that this Hidden Imam, miraculously preserved, will return to rule at the end of the age. Until then, fallible Shiite scholars lead the community.
In contrast, Ismailis offered Muslims…
This article originally published at Christianity Today on November 4, 2025. Please click here to read the full text.
Jayson Casper 