Derived from the Persian聽khwajah, a term of honour, the word聽Khoja聽referred to those converted to聽Nizari Ismaili聽Islam in the Indian sub-continent from about the thirteenth century onward.
More particularly, it included certain groups, predominantly from Gujarat and Kutch, who retained strong Indian ethnic roots and caste customs while sustaining their Muslim religious identity under continual threats of persecution.
In the nineteen century, the聽滨蝉尘补颈濒颈听颈尘补尘补迟聽(office of the聽imamIn general usage, a leader of prayers or religious leader. The Shi’i restrict the term to their spiritual leaders descended from 士Al墨 b. Ab墨 峁乴ib and the Prophet’s daughter, Fatima.) became established in India and a programme of consolidation and reorganisation of the community and its institutions began. These changes led to differences of opinion among聽KhojasA term probably derived from the Persian khw膩ja (lord, master). The Khojas are one of the Ismaili communities originating from the Indian subcontinent and now living in many countries of…. While the majority of聽Khojas聽remained Ismaili, one group became聽Ithna鈥 ashari聽and a smaller group adopted Sunnism.
In the context of the overall policy of the Ismaili聽imam聽of the time,听Aga Khan聽III, of consolidating the聽Shi鈥榓聽Ismaili identity of his followers, the ethnic connotation of being 鈥淜hoja鈥 became diluted over time and a wider sense of self-identification as Ismaili Muslims began to emerge. With the increasing recognition of the diversity of the worldwide Ismaili community itself and the positive value of the pluralist heritage represented within each of the traditions, the聽Khojas聽now regard themselves as an integral part of the larger Nizari Ismaili community, to whose development they make a strong contribution.
罢丑别听Khoja Ithna鈥 asharis, while seeking to develop relationship with the larger聽罢飞别濒惫别谤听厂丑颈鈥榓听community, retain their own organisational framework.
罢丑别听Khojas聽live today in East Africa, the Indian sub-continent, Europe and North America, and show a strong commitment to values of Muslim philanthropy in their entrepreneurship and contribution to societies in which they live.
This is an edited version of an article that was originally published in the聽Encyclopaedia of Islam and Muslim World, Vol. II, p. 393, ed. Richard C. Martin, MacMillan Reference Books, New York, 2003
Authors
Professor Azim Nanji
Azim Nanji is currently Special Advisor to the Provost of the聽, and a member of the Board of Directors of the聽聽in Ottawa, a joint partnership between His Highness the Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. and the Government of Canada. He has held many prestigious academic and administrative appointments, most recently as Senior Associate Director of the Abbasi Program in Islamic Studies at聽, where he was also lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies. From 1998 to 2008, Professor Nanji served as Director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London.
Professor Nanji has published numerous books and articles on religion, Islam and Ismailism, including:聽The Nizari Ismaili Tradition听(1976),听The Muslim Almanac听(1996),听Mapping Islamic Studies聽(1997) and聽The Historical Atlas of Islam聽(with M. Ruthven) (2004) and聽The Dictionary of Islam聽(with Razia Nanji), Penguin 2008. In addition, he has contributed numerous shorter studies and articles in journals and collective volumes including聽The Encyclopaedia of Islam,听Encyclopaedia Iranica,听Oxford Encyclopaedia of the Modern Islamic World, and聽A Companion to Ethics. He was the Associate Editor for the revised Second Edition of聽The Encyclopaedia of Religion.
Within the聽, he has served as a member of the task force for the聽聽(AKU-ISMC) and Vice Chair of the Madrasa-based Early Childhood Education Programme in East Africa. He served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture in 1998, 2001 and 2016.鈥嬧