The Ismaili community has shown remarkable ability to peacefully assimilate into the pluralistic ethos of the 21st century
Esam Sohail for Dhaka Tribune: When a big organisation sees most of its departments performing at sub-par levels and public relations hitting a nadir, some consultants opt for bringing in outside academics to look into “root causes,” while others in the management craft would search for smaller-scale imitable working models closer to home. Sometimes, such models are simply smaller, less heralded, and less conspicuous units within the organisations.
In the case of global Islam, a religious tradition followed in various forms by a billion and a half people across the six continents and seven seas, the repeated, heightened, and legitimate scrutiny in the aftermath of terror attacks across Western cities is only to be expected. Somewhere, somehow, the rot of militancy, extremism, and violence has concocted to become a toxic brew that has become the public face of Muslims in much of the world.
Instead of the endless search for ever new methods of apologia, futile academic exercises in the “true meaning” of this or that, or rehashing of dubious glories of a thousand years ago, perhaps thoughtful Muslims need check much closer in time and space for a model that works quite well here and now.
Though quite small in absolute numbers, the Ismaili Muslim community is spread out across all the continents, and in every country of its domicile has been nothing but a stellar example of temporal achievement, spiritual uplift, and breathtaking philanthropy.
More at the Source: Dhaka Tribune
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