The Aga Khan Connection

The Aga Khan recently died. This was the leader of most Ismaili Moslems. The Islamic religion split over who was the rightful successor to Muhammad. Some believed that Muhammad had chosen his son-in-law and cousin, Ali, to be his successor. But others disagreed and thought that the successor should be chosen by consensus.

The consensus side got their way and Abu Bakr, Muhammad's father-in-law was chosen as the first Caliph, or successor to Muhammad. Those who favored Ali disagreed. Ali eventually did become the fourth Caliph, but by then the split had become permanent. Those who favored Ali became known as Shia or Shiite Moslems and the ones who favored consensus became known as Sunni Moslems.

The vast majority of Moslems today are Sunni. Less than 15% are Shiite. The Shiites have further divided into three major branches. The largest is the "Twelvers", named for the number of successive Imams, that is commonly associated with Iran. Then there are the Zaydis, commonly associated with Yemen. The third branch is the Ismailis, most of which are led by the Aga Khan.

I am not quite sure how the leader of a significant branch of Islam became mostly associated with horse racing in Britain and Ireland. In the many discussions that I have had with Moslems, his name or title has never been mentioned.

Yet there is a major story here, both globally and locally. It was Ismailis that founded the Fatimid Caliphate. This is the fourth major Caliphate of Islam. The center of power for the Fatimids was Egypt and what they are best-remembered for is founding the city of Cairo as their capital.

The Fatimids were named for Fatima, Muhammad's daughter. Spain and Portugal were ruled by Moslems for about 700 years. A town was founded in what is now Portugal and named for Fatima. Centuries later, in 1917 with Portugal now Catholic, miraculous visions would be seen there. Nearby Fatima Shrine was built in memory of it.