Isma'ilis

Society Religion & Philosophy
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The Isma’ilis are a Shi’a offshoot that during the 9th - 13th centuries almost managed to gain control of the whole Muslim world. After failing in this attempt, they gradually dwindled and now number some 3 million people. They are scattered around the Muslim world from the Indian sub-continent and Central Asia to the Mediterranean. Estimates give 2 million Isma’ilis in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Tajikistan (estimates, especially for the Indian sub-continent and Central Asia vary greatly, some going up to 10 and even 20 million!). Syria has 125,000, Saudi-Arabia 130,000, Iran 50,000, Yemen 25,000. There are also small groups in East-Africa, Lebanon, Iraq, and in the West.

At present there are two main Isma’ili groups - the Nizaris headed by the Aga Khan and the Bohras (or Tayybis) whose leaders are called Da’i Mutlaq.

Isma’ilism is an extreme branch of the Shi’a. It split off from the main branch after the death of the sixth Imam, Ja’far al-Sadiq, over a dispute about the succession. The Isma’ilis are called Seveners because they believe Isma’il, Ja’far’s eldest son, to be his father’s true successor and the seventh and last Imam who is now in occultation (in hiding, unseen, ghaybah) but who will one day return to earth as the Mahdi (Messiah) to usher in a golden age.

The Shi’a majority, the Twelvers, who are found mainly in Iran, Iraq and Lebanon, accepted Ja’far’s second son Musa as the next Imam. He was followed by five Imams up to the Twelfth who disappeared and who is expected to return as the Mahdi on the last day.

Another Shi’a group, the Zaydis of northern Yemen, are called Fivers because they accept only the first four common Imams. Their fifth Imam is Zayd, considered by them to be the Mahdi.

Isma’ilism was based on four key elements: 1. A secret mystical (esoteric) teaching, which under the outward form of Islam contained a syncretistic mix of metaphysical traditions from many sources. 2. A compact organisation as a secret society effectively ruled by the hierarchy. 3. An effective propaganda (missionary) machine. 4. A ruthless political programme. It greatly influenced other extreme Shi’a groups (Ghulat) such as the Druze, 'Alawis, Yezidis and 'Ali-Ilahis and had a great influence on Sufism and on Twelver Shi’a doctrine.

The Isma’ilis integrated into their belief system ideas taken from Jewish and Christian mysticism, Gnosticism, Manichaeism, Neo-Platonism, Hinduism and Buddhism.

There were many divisions amongst Isma’ilis and many variations on the basic doctrines. There was some confusion on who really was the seventh Imam: was it Isma’il, or was it his son Muhammad who succeeded him?

The Isma’ilis have survived centuries of intensive persecution. They have always been highly organised and loyal to their spiritual leaders and active in propagating their faith to others.

ISMA’ILI DOCTRINE

SECRET, ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE - GNOSIS, MA’RIFAH, BATIN

Isma’ili doctrine is founded on the distinction between the literal teaching of the Qur’an and the esoteric (mystical, secret,) truth hidden behind it. Every verse of the Qur’an has a literal (Zahir) and a hidden (Batin) meaning. A spiritual world is concealed behind every word of scripture, waiting to be discovered by those who are trained to use the keys of allegory, symbolism and numerical combinations. These hidden truths are the really important ones and they are revealed only to Isma’ili initiates by their spiritual guides in carefully programmed stages.

The Isma’ili disciple thus gained the emotional satisfaction of discovering the “divine secrets” of the universe. He was also bound by oath and ceremony to the spiritual hierarchy of the sect, headed by the Imam, which operated as a secret society. The secret wisdom which had been transmitted over centuries, was accessible only through the Isma’ili leaders and missionaries (Da’is) who spread the faith and initiated the new believers into the sect.

Muhammad was seen merely as the revealer of the literal word and its outward, legalistic, meaning. The Isma’ili Imams were the interpreters of the much more important hidden spiritual truths, and were thus potentially greater than the Prophet himself.

THE ISMA’ILI CONCEPT OF GOD - TAWHID, NEGATION OF ATTRIBUTES

True worship means Tawhid - declaring the Unity of God. This includes the negation of all attributes which humans would give to God, the Ultimate One, who is totally different and transcendent. He is the unknowable mystery of mysteries, undefinable, unattainable and incomprehensible. God as the “supreme void” is beyond concept, beyond existence and beyond good or evil.

Since God is beyond human comprehension, there must be intermediaries between him and our material world. This was solved by placing a whole hierarchy of emanations (lesser Gods who separated from the same divine essence) between The One Ultimate God and our world.

EMANATION AND CREATION

The first emanation from the Divine Essence was the Divine Will, also called the First Intellect or the Universal Mind. From the Universal Mind emanated the Universal Soul which in turn created the next emanation and so on down to the tenth. The material world of earth and man was the bungling creation of the tenth emanation, the Demiurge, who in his pride and folly had rebelled against his God given office (a sin of which he later repented). In some traditions, the Demiurge was actually the third emanation, but because of his error was downgraded to become the tenth.

The process of creation was thus accompanied by a cosmic struggle and fall in which fragments of divine light were trapped in the matter of this world. These can be released by men who hear God’s call and respond to it. Their response - and their salvation - lie in intuitively recognising the Divinity of the Imam of their age.

God manifests himself cyclically to this world until the end when the Mahdi will return to establish a golden age. Finally this world will disappear and only the Ultimate, the Supreme Void, will remain.

Isma’ilism also accepts the existence of a whole hierarchy of angels and other spiritual beings. An important teaching is that all the emanations and some of the spiritual hierarchy are always manifested in living men throughout the ages - especially in leaders of the Isma’ili hierarchy.

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ISMA'ILI VIEW OF HISTORY - IMAMS AND PROPHETS, SEVEN CYCLES

Isma'ilis viewed history as a succession of seven cycles of revelation (seven is symbolic and sacred). In each cycle a prophet and a fundament appear first, followed by a series of Imams.

Each cycle is started by a Speaker Prophet (a legislating prophet, messenger, Natiq) who brings a scripture with a law, and is then followed by a Silent One (Samit, a Fundament) who reveals the hidden esoteric truth concealed in that scripture. The Fundament is then followed by a series of seven Imams, each one of whom has his Seal (Hujjah). The seventh Imam then assumes the rank of Speaker of the next cycle.

The last Imam, when he appears, will abrogate all organised religions and their laws and will institute a new era with a universal religion.

ISMA'ILI CYCLE

  1. SPEAKER PROPHET (MESSENGER, NATIQ) - REVEALS NEW SCRIPTURE AND LAW.

  2. SILENT ONE (SAMIT, FUNDAMENT) - REVEALS ESOTERIC MEANING OF SCRIPTURE AND LAW.

  3. SEVEN IMAMS FOLLOWING ONE ANOTHER. EACH HAS A HUJJAH.

  4. SEVENTH IMAM RISES TO BECOME SPEAKER PROPHET OF NEXT CYCLE, ETC.

The Seven Speakers were Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Isma'il (or his son, Muhammad al-Tam). The Seven Silent ones were Seth, Shem, Ishmael,Aaron, Peter, 'Ali and as seventh various Isma'ili leaders were suggested.

CYCLE SPEAKERS SILENT ONES IMAMS

1 ADAM SETH 7 Noah 7th

2 NOAH SHEM 7 Abraham 7th

3 ABRAHAM ISHMAEL 7 Moses 7th

4 MOSES AARON 7 Jesus 7th

5 JESUS PETER 7 Muhammad 7th

6 MUHAMMAD 'ALI 7 Isma'il 7th

7 ISMA'IL (THE MAHDI) ON HIS RETURN. THE GOLDEN AGE.

The sixth cycle is the age of Islam in which Muhammad is the Speaker Prophet and 'Ali the Silent Fundament. Isma'ilism sees the Fundament as more important than the Prophet, placing 'Ali above Muhammad.

The Isma'ilis expected the Messianic new age to be ushered in by the last Imam - Isma'il or his son Muhammad -on his return from occultation. Later, with the establishment of the Fatimid Caliphate some saw it as a continuation of the Imamate in the Islamic age whilst others accepted the first Fatimid Caliph as the Mahdi inaugurating the new and final cycle. Many continued to expect the return of Muhammad ibn-Isma'il as Mahdi and saw the Fatimids as his representatives on earth.

SALVATION AND GUIDANCE

Isma'ilism used allegory, symbolism and numerical manipulations to reveal the secret meaning of scripture (similar methods are used by other mystical systems, e.g. Jewish Kabbalah). This Batini meaning often contradicted the plain meaning of the Qur'anic passage. The shock that accompanied the revealing of this hidden meaning to the new believer was a deliberate part of the process of Isma'ili training and brainwashing which was planned to lead to the total submission of the initiate to the Isma'ili system and to his spiritual guide.

Salvation depends on the secret divine knowledge (Ma'rifah) reposing in the Imam being recognised by the initiate. The act of recognition is an enlightenment which saves the disciple's soul.

Every man needs a divinely guided, infallible and authoritative leader in religion - and this is the Isma'ili Imam, whether hidden or revealed. The divine light (Nur Muhammad) residing in the Imam has been transmitted from Muhammad down through 'Ali's line and each Imam passes it on to his successor. There is always an Imam present in the world, whether visible or invisible. He is sinless and infallible, of higher rank than the prophets, second only to God himself in this world.

ISMA'ILI WRITINGS

The oldest book of the Isma'ilis is the Kitab al-Kashf (book of revelation) dealing with the myth of the pride and fall of the Demiurge - the emanation (lesser God) who created this world.

Isma'ilism appealed to the Muslim intellectual elite. It encouraged study and established great libraries at al-Azhar in Cairo and later in the areas it controlled in Iran and Syria.

Some Isma'ili intellectuals in Iraq formed a secret society in the 10th century called "The Brethren Of Purity". They wrote a philosophical encyclopaedia "The Epistles Of The Brethren Of Purity" (Rasa'il Ikhwan al-Safa) containing fifty-one epistles. It endeavoured to be include all the human knowledge of that time. They believed all religions to be an outward shell or veil to the inner esoteric truths they had discovered. These epistles were popular in all Muslim lands from India to Spain and strongly influenced later Muslim thinkers.

The most important Isma'ili thinker was al-Kirmani who lived in the 11th century in Iraq.

ISMA'ILI HISTORY

  1. ORIGINS

After the death of the sixth Shi'a Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq in 765, his followers split into two groups disputing which of his two sons - Isma'il or Musa - was the appointed successor. The followers of Isma'il became known as Seveners or Isma'ilis, whilst Musa's followers became the majority main line Twelver Shi'as.

Isma'il had actually died before his father. Some of his followers denied his death and claimed that he was in occultation (ghaybah) and would return, whilst others recognised his son Muhammad as the valid Imam. During the late 8th and early 9th centuries Muhammad and his son organised the intricate hierarchical structure and propaganda machine of the sect.

By the early 10th century the 'Abassid Empire was in turmoil with growing discontent amongst the oppressed peasants, slaves and town proletariat. Isma'ili revolutionary propaganda appealed to all resentful elements of society.

The sect was at first active mainly in rural and tribal areas, but it soon acquired a considerable following in the towns too. Many craftsmen and merchants joined the movement, and they created new trade and crafts guilds at the same time also infiltrating the established Islamic guilds. For centuries they ruled the guilds which constituted an important element in Muslim society, and bent them to their purposes. Their mysterious and elaborate rituals were later imitated by medieval European guilds and secret societies.

The Ismailis were organised into a hierarchical secret society with members ranked in several grades. The leader in a province was called the Da'i. On the basis of the Shi'a doctrine of Taqiyah, the organisation was kept secret. The initiate was forbidden under oath to reveal anything about the teaching or membership of the community. Da'is were sent to all corners of the Muslim world with the commission of starting Isma'ili cells everywhere and their network soon spread worldwide.
2. THE QARAMITAH

The Qaramitah were an extreme Isma'ili party of the peasants and the poor named after their founder Hamdan Qarmat who first appeared in Iraq in 890. They actively tried to destabilise the 'Abassid regime by carefully planned plots and violent rebellion. Between 901 and 906 their armed bands ravaged Syria, Palestine and northern Mesopotamia.

The Qaramitah seem to have had communistic tendencies. They rejected many outward religious forms such as prayer, fasting and the pilgrimage and encouraged wine drinking and music. They also sent missionaries to Yemen and Iran.

They conquered al-Hasa on the Gulf coast of north-eastern Arabia where they founded a Qaramitah state which included Bahrain. In 930 the Qaramitah of al-Hasa under Abu-Tahir Sulayman advanced on Mecca, massacred pilgrims and inhabitants and took the holy Black Stone to al-Hasa. This act was meant to symbolise the end of the Islamic era and the beginning of the new cycle. Twenty years later they returned the stone under pressure from the Fatimid Caliph al-Mansur. The Qaramitah were finally overthrown by the 'Abassids in 1077.

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  1. THE FATIMIDS

Isma'ilis penetrated into Yemen about 880 AD. From there they sent out missionaries to North Africa, who converted the Berber Kutamah tribe of Ifriqiyeh (Tunisia) to their faith. The Berbers, amongst whom there had been Gnostic and Manichaean sects in the pre-Islamic period, found Isma'ili doctrine very appealing.

With the ground well prepared by his emissaries, the Isma'ili Imam 'Ubaid Allah al-Mahdi, who had been living in secret in Salammiyah, Syria, was proclaimed in 908 as the first Fatimid Caliph in Ifriqiyeh.

The first three Fatimid Caliphs ruled only in Ifriqiyeh (Tunisia). As descendants of Fatimah and 'Ali they however claimed the right to be leaders of the whole Muslim world. In 969 AD Mu'izz, the fourth Fatimid Caliph conquered Egypt where he built the new city of Cairo as his capital and founded the great mosque of al-Azhar as the religious centre of Isma'ilism. The Da'wa or propaganda bureau was based there and from it the Isma'ili faith was propagated in all directions.

The Fatimids ruled Egypt for two centuries during which they competed with the 'Abbassids of Baghdad for control of the Muslim world. They rapidly expanded their Empire over Syria, Palestine and Arabia including the holy cities, and it eventually stretched from the Syrian border and Hejaz in the east to Morocco in the west. Their administration was relatively tolerant and they were great patrons of culture and art. Under them Egypt again became the centre of a flourishing civilisation.

The Fatimids also encouraged agriculture, manufacturing and trade and Egypt became the main junction for the major trade routes. Their navy secured the sea routes and they had extensive relations with the Italian City States. The Indian trade moved from the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea. Fatimid merchants travelled extensively and often were missionaries who propagated their faith from Spain to India.

The Fatimid government was highly centralised and divided into three branches: civil, military and religious. The Wazir supervised the military and civil branches, whilst the Chief Da'i headed the religious establishment. This included the higher schools of learning and the propaganda branch of the Isma'ilis. The Chief Da'i directed a vast network of agents throughout the Islamic world who spread the faith and created civil unrest in enemy lands.

The Fatimid conquest of Egypt in 969 was understood by Isma'ilis everywhere as a sign that the promised days of the last cycle were at hand, when the Imam would unify all Muslims, overthrow the infidels, inaugurate the golden age and "fill the earth with justice as it is now filled with injustice". Their various subgroups all over the Muslim world recognised the Egyptian Fatimids as the true Imams, entitled to the exclusive obedience of all Muslims. The Fatimid Caliph was seen as the infallible semi-divine Imam, a manifestation of the Universal Mind, who was both religious and secular overlord.

Fatimid power reached its height during the reign of the Caliph al-Mustansir (1036-1094). After him the power of the Caliphs declined as the Wazirs wielded more and more power and reduced the Caliphs to mere figureheads.

Isma'ilism in Egypt was limited to the court and to an intellectual elite who did not force the majority Sunni population of Egypt to convert. Sunnis, Christians and Jews were able to hold high office in the administration. There was sporadic persecution of Christians and Jews, especially under al-Hakim (985-1021) who also demolished the church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, creating the formal excuse for the Crusades. His reign also saw the formation and the breakaway of the Druze movement which deified him.

In 1094 the heir to the Caliphate, Nizar, was assassinated by the Wazir al-Afdal, who appointed Nizar's younger brother, al-Musta'li, as Caliph. This split Isma'ilism between those who remained faithful to Nizar (the Eastern, Nizari faction which continued mainly in Syria and Iran), and those who accepted Musta'li (the Western, Musta'li group of Egypt and Yemen).

Al-Musta'li's son, al-Amir, was assassinated by a Nizari supporter in 1130. His followers claimed that al-Amir had a two year old son, al-Tayyib, who the Yemeni Isma'ilis accepted as the legal successor. The Caliphate however was taken over by al-Amir's cousin al-Hafiz, whom the Egyptian Musta'lis recognised as their Imam.

After the Sunni Sultan, Saladin, abolished the Fatimid Caliphate in 1171, Ismailism in Egypt slowly disappeared. Supporters of Nizar and of al-Tayyib continued to exist and flourish in Iran, Syria and Yemen.

  1. TAYYBI ISMA'ILIS - BOHRAS

The Musta'li Isma'ilis in Yemen recognised al-Tayyib, the son of the murdered Caliph al-Amir, as their Imam. Nothing is known about his fate, but his followers claim that he is in occultation as the returning Mahdi. They are known as Tayybis.

Tayybis believe that since al-Amir died in 1130 there has been no revealed Imam. Beginning with al-Tayyib there has always been a hidden Imam. Until his visible return, absolute authority lies with the Da'i Mutlaq who is his personal representative on earth. Each Da'i Mutlaq appointed a successor and they resided in the Yemen for several centuries. The Isma'ilis in Yemen were severely persecuted in the 16th century and the residence of the Da'i Mutlaq was then moved to India where the group became known as Bohras. The majority of Taybbis today live in the Indian subcontinent.

With the death of the twenty-sixth Da'i Mutlaq there was a dispute for the succession and a resulting split into two groups, the Daudi Bohras and the Sulaymani Bohras. The Da'i of the Daudis lives in India. The main body of Sulaymanis live in Najran in Saudi-Arabia and their Da'i resided there until recently.

  1. NIZARI ISMA'ILIS - ASSASSINS - AGHA KHANS

The Eastern Nizari branch of Isma'ilism was carried on by Hassan al-Sabbah who in 1090 conquered the impregnable fortress of Alamut in the province of Daylam in the Elburz mountains of North Persia and made it his headquarters. His followers came to be known as Assassins because they used murder as a political weapon. They Isma'ili groups in the mountains of northern Syria, around Masyaf and Salammiya, also accepted his leadership. Their local leader was known as "The Old Man Of The Mountain". Urban terrorism was one of their main tactics and Muslim (and Christian) leaders all over the Middle East were afraid of them. They were hated by the Sunnis and sporadic massacres of Isma'ilis were common.

Hassan developed the teaching that every Muslim is in need of a divinely appointed religious teacher and guide. Only the Isma'ili Imam fulfills this role, and his is the final and only authority in Islam. The Imam reveals himself intuitively (by enlightenment) to the true seeker after truth who then has no need of external proof.

Based on Alamut, the Nizari Ismailis established a small state in the Elburz mountains south of the Caspian Sea. From this centre they plotted against the dominant Sunni Seljuks and propagated their secret teachings and societies, waiting for the day when they could again establish their dominance over the Muslim world.

In 1164 their Imam proclaimed that the end of the world and the resurrection had taken place, so it was no longer necessary to keep Shari'a law. The Imams could now suspend or apply the religious law as circumstances required.

Alamut fell to the Mongols in 1256 and at the same time the Mamluks stamped out Isma'ili power in Syria. The movement however escaped total destruction. The last Imam of Alamut smuggled his son to a safe place hiding place in Azerbaijan which became the Isma'ili centre for the next two centuries. In 1840 the Imam Hassan 'Ali Shah, who had taken the title Agha Khan, settled in India where his followers were known as Khojas. There they have been identified with the Ni'matullah Sufi order.

The Nizari Isma'ilis have small communities mainly in India (Gujarat, Bombay), Pakistan, Afghanistan and East Africa. They also have a community at Salammiya in northern Syria. Smaller groups are scattered in Lebanon, Iran and in the West.

During the reign of the third Aga Khan (d. 1957), the Isma'ili community began a process of drawing nearer to mainstream of Islam, a trend that accelerated under the present leadership of Karim Agha Khan. Isma'ili leaders now describe their faith as the "Isma'ili Tariqah" of Islam, a movement similar to the Sufi orders or to the Islamic schools of law.

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Some more information on Nizari Ismailis (Hashishens):

Sect inside Shi’i Islam, more specifically the Nizari Isma’ilis, in the period from the 11th to the 13th century. More than that the Assassins are famous for their fearless murders especially during the times of the crusades.
There are plenty of legends connected to the Assassins, and many are most doubtful, and more a result of medieval European story tellers fantasy than facts (among these story tellers is Marco Polo). The main theme is that the Assassins performed their acts under strong intoxication of hashish, resulting in their own deaths, but with the promise of immediate entry to paradise. A paradise that had been staged for them during their training at the Alamut, a paradise of sweet food and wine and beautiful and willing women.
These stories have never been confirmed by any investigations of temporary Isma’ili sources, and there is good reason to believe that such a lack is a clear indication that such stories are fabrications.
From the original sources, we learn that the Assassins changed the original Isma’ili doctrine, so that terrorism became a religious duty. Growing out from their centre in Kazvin, the Assassins built a number of strongholds all over Iran and Iraq.
The idea of a paradise constructed around Alamut was probably based upon the sayings of imam al-Kahir, where he talks about a Paradise that man has already entered. However, al-Kahir’s paradise was meant as a spiritual one.
They had a system of terrorists as well as secret agents positioned in enemy camps and cities. The Assassins worked often closely with certain state leaders of Muslim states, as their services were attractive: noone were better able to kill important persons in enemy states. They were for long periods allied with the Christian crusaders, not because the Christians sympathized with them, but because they had common enemies.
One of the most imporatant Muslim allies of the Assassins was the Seljuk ruler of Aleppo. Ridwan. Through this cooperation, they were able to establish themselves in the Syrian mountains, where several fortresses were erected. Without being declared in the same terms of other temporary states, the Assassins had in reality their own state here. But the Assassins’s influence over Aleppo came to be immense, and they effectively ruled the politics and economy of the city and its surroundings for a couple of decades.
Even Saladin came to treat the Assassins as allies, even if he started off with a campaign aimed at eliminating them. The reason for this alliance, was that Saladin, following two assassination attempts, feared for how own life, and that he had more imminent enemies.
The Assassins were ranked according to intelligence, courage and trustworthiness. The underwent intense education as well as physical training.
When the Assassins were out on mission, they generally worked alone, it was rare that there were two or more of them working together. They dressed up as tradesmen or aschetic religious men, and use plenty of time around town, in order to get well aquainted with the houses and streets, as well as the daily routines of the future victim. But the actual murder was performed with a dagger and in public, often inside the mosque on a Friday. By doing it all in public, the information on the act was soon well known, and people were scared. In general, the Assassin murderer himself was killed immediately after by guards of the victim.
HISTORY
1071: Hassan-e Sabbah moves to Fatimid Egypt, as the Shi’i orientation in Islam was no longer tolerated in his native Persia.
1070’s: A movement in opposition against the weak Fatimid caliph al-Mustansir is headed by the caliph’s son Nizar. Hassan joins the organization, and becomes central in planning how the caliphate shall be rejuvenated with Nizar as caliph.
1090S: Hassan captures the hill fortress Alamut near Kazvin in Iran, whereupon he forms the organization soon to be known as Assassins.
1092: The famous Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk is murdered by an Assassin in Baghdad. He becomes their first victim.
1094: Al-Mustansir dies, and Hassan does not recognize the new caliph, al-Mustali. He and his followers transferred their allegiance to his brother Nizar. The followers of Hassan soon even came at odds with the caliph in Baghdad too.
1113: Following the death of Aleppo’s ruler, Ridwan, the Assassins are driven out of the city by the the troops of Ibn al-Khashab.
1110’s: The Assassins in Syria changes their strategy, and start undercover work and builds cells in all cities around the region.
1123: Ibn al-Khashab is killed by an Assassin killer.
1124: Hassan dies in Alamut, but the organization lives on stronger than ever.
— The leading qadi Abu Saad al-Harawi is killed by an Assassin killer.
1126 November 26: Emir Porsuki of Aleppo and Mosul is killed by an Assassin killer.
1131 May: Buri, the atabeg of Damascus, is seriously wounded by two Assassins. He dies 13 months later.
12th century: The Assassins extend their activities into Syria, where they could get much support from the local Shi’i minority as the Seljuk sultanate had captured this territory.
— The Assassins captures a group of castles in the Nusayriyya Mountains (modern Syria). The most important of these castles were the Masyaf, from which the “The Old Man of Mountain”, Rashideddin Sinan ruled practically independent from the main leaders of the Assassins.
1173: The Assassins of Syria enter negociations with the king of Jerusalem, with the aim of converting to Christianity. But as the Assassins by now were numerous and often worked as peasants, they payed high taxes to local Christian landlords, that Christian peasants were exempted from. Their conversion was opposed by them, and this year the Assassin negociatiors were murdered by Christian knights. After this, there was no more talk of conversion.
1175: Rashideddin’s men make two attempts on the life of Saladin, the leader of the Ayyubids. The second time, the Assassin came so close that wounds were infliceted upon Saladin.
1256: Alamut fortress falls to the Mongols under the leadership of Hülegü. Before this happened, several other fortresses had been captured, and finally Alamut was weak and with little support.
1257: The Mongol warlord Hülegü attacks and destroys the fortress at Alamut. The Assassin library is fully razed, hence destroying a crucial source of information about the Assassins.
Around 1265: The Assassin strongholds in Syria falls to the Mumluk sultan Baybars 1.

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Let me get this straight. You posted three huge posts to bash Ismailis?

I mean, I hope you know very well, that if a member complains that this thread violates rules 2, 3 and 4 of this forum, it will be removed without notice.

Respect begets respect.

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all i wanna say is that ismailis are not shia..thank you

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By all means this is not 'bashing' these are 'facts' which even Ismailis do not deny, unlike twelvers, who deny being originated by Abdullah ibne Saba. The historians from east to west, muslims, non-muslims, sunnis, seveners and twelvers all know the Ismaili activities, hasan ibne sabah, hashishen, links with fredrick and other crusaders and the long chain of assissinations of Islamic rulers. This post was rather an informational than allegation or anything else.

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I hope wahabhis stop denying that they are originated from Ibne Wahab too.

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by smooth_guy: *
By all means this is not 'bashing' these are 'facts' which even Ismailis do not deny, ... This post was rather an informational than allegation or anything else.
[/QUOTE]

When you say "even Ismailis do not deny", do you include statements like this?
- 3. An effective propaganda (missionary) machine
*]4. A ruthless political programme
And by the way, unless u wrote the whole thing yourself, you may wanna give some references as to the source of all this? Weblink? Books? Researcher?

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I agree Faisal. If you found it biased or bashing on Ismailis then do as you like it.

I found it interesting and informative as I read in lotsa history books about Assissins and their activities. Even its mentioned in Harry Williams book about Salahuddin Ayobi that he himself encountered with them right before he got engaged in the crusades of his times. They not even had a lots of influence in the region but also had effected Islamic empire and its rulers. Its a unfolded chapter for ordinary young muslim readers which do not know how the anarchy and unrest was developed througout the Islamic history.

Here is the link.

http://www.angelfire.com/az/rescon/mgcismai.html

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Pagluu: *
I hope wahabhis stop denying that they are originated from Ibne Wahab too.
[/QUOTE]

exactly

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hmmmm

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Interesting...

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Pagluu: *
I hope wahabhis stop denying that they are originated from Ibne Wahab too.
[/QUOTE]

 any proof

no alleegeation without proff.......hmm

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[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by bao bihari: *
any proof
no alleegeation without proff.......hmm
[/QUOTE]
The proof is the name for Wahabis.