Voices of the American Ismaili Community

"As we enter the next generation, we naturally extend our open and accepting hearts beyond the faith community as we strive to help all and make the world a better place." -Shahnil Punja

 

Social scientists define a community to be comprised of a group of people with diverse characteristics who are linked by social ties, share common perspectives, and are engaged in joint action. 

 

Its members share values, interests, resources, pleasures, and apprehensions. Yet, a healthy community turns on the right balance of commonality and difference amongst its constituents. But for them to feel a sense of community requires them to experience emotional safety, a sense of identification, personal investment, influence, fulfillment of their needs, and a shared emotional connection.

 

While not exclusively so, collectively, these attributes help to form a major part of one's identity.

 

Ismailis living in the United States are not only a community organizationally, but experience intrinsically a sense of community, despite their different backgrounds. Below, we share individual narratives on communal awareness and affinity.

"The Jamatkhana as a physical space, or any other place of worship, in my opinion, plays an integral role in drawing and holding the community together. It draws a devotee into its cushion of security and creates a sense of belonging, placing her among people who share her faith, beliefs, and values. Thus, faith and Jamatkhana, as the tangible space of prayer, become the invisible glue that hold us together as a community.

 

As a little girl, in India, my mom took my sisters and me to Jamatkhana almost daily. We would walk approximately two miles each way. When we moved to a building across from Jamatkhana, its constant presence was a source of comfort and security. It meant that there was a group of people like me nearby, to whom I could turn whenever I might need help. Even when we travel, we immediately feel a sense of belonging to any Jamatkhana we visit in any part of the world.

 

Living near a Jamatkhana helps to shape and solidify my children’s identities as Ismaili Muslims. It instills the values of volunteerism, and respect for community and its leaders, while encouraging them to aspire to serve the Imam and the Jamat throughout their lives. The Religious Education Center has complemented and influenced the religious formation of my children from a very young age. Thus, Jamatkhana as a space has become a necessary counterpart to the nurturing we provide at home, reinforcing our faith and values, and the positive traits which we hope they will carry with them throughout their lives as global citizens serving humanity at large."

"'I can’t do all the service the world needs, but the world needs all the service I can do.' This adage, borrowed from songwriter Jana Stanfield and tailored to fit my life, has been my mantra since I was in middle school. While I may identify as a servant leader, a connector, an entrepreneur, at my core, my identity as an Ismaili Muslim encompasses all these roles. For it is this community that showed me how to serve others through leadership, how to bring about change through my network, and how to adjust my strategies in changing times while holding on to our fundamental principles. It is this identity that serves as my foundation and my compass.

 

When I realized, in college, that service was not a part of everyone’s life or community, I appreciated the true impact our Ismaili community had on me. From my dad, I learned the art of networking and connecting people to one another. From my mom, I learned to stand up for what I believe in, even if I was standing alone. Through my extended family, I understood humility and service to others.

 

I work hard to communicate and teach this ethos. In leadership positions outside the community, I introduce myself as an Ismaili Muslim, to counter some of the perceptions that may be there. Even though I may not make it to Jamatkhana on a regular basis, I have stayed very connected to the community."

"From a young age, I have always been surrounded by Ismailis. Because going to Jamatkhana is such a core practice in our faith, Ismailis were my first friends, and our faith has always been a central part of my identity.

 

As I reflect on the strength of our community, I am struck by the impact of the community on the immigrant experience. I recognize, from my own parents’ experience, the strain of being a first generation immigrant: the dislocation, the language deficiency, and encountering the unfamiliar.

 

Our community makes this transition easier. We are welcoming towards all immigrants, helping in many ways, suggesting economic opportunities, connecting them to social services, and facilitating educational enrichment. This willingness to help each other fundamentally creates a sense of community amongst Ismailis."

 

As these testimonies demonstrate, Ismailis in the United States experience communal affinity, no matter their age, gender, profession, or background. Even as Ismailis incorporate other communities into their identities, they remain bound to the faith community by their history, their sustained rituals and ethics, and by their common experience as diverse members of the American melting pot.

 

(1) MacQueen KM, McLellan E, Metzger DS, et al. What is community? An evidence-based definition for participatory public health. AJPH 2001;91(12):1929-38.

 

(2) Chavis, D.M., Hogge, J.H., McMillan, D.W., & Wandersman, A. (1986). Sense of community through Brunswick's lens: A first look. Journal of Community Psychology, 14(1), 24-40.