The Ismaili Muslim community in Portugal consists of 8,000 people who follow the precepts of Islam, one of the main monotheistic religions, whose followers make up a quarter of the world’s population.
The Ismailis believe in God and that Muhammad is his messenger.
“There are two main currents in Islam: Shiism (Shiites) and Sunism (Sunnis). According to Shia teachings, where the Ismaili community is inserted, the Prophet Muhammad appointed his cousin and son-in-law Ali as Imam. Muslim communities, thereby establishing the institution of the Imamat, to which they give the power to guide the community in spiritual and secular matters,” according to a portrait of the community published by the structure itself.
The Shia community, a minority in Islam, eventually split and the Shia Ismaili community became the second largest among the Shiites. The name comes from Ismaili, the eldest son of Imam Jafar al-Sakid.
The Imam, the leader of the people, was appointed hereditary after the death of the Prophet Muhammad in a line of succession traced from the first Imam Ali to Prince Karim Aga Khan.
According to the same source, the Shiite Ismaili community currently numbers about 15 million people, who live mainly in South Asia, Central Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North America and the Far East.
“Like the Muslim world as a whole, the Ismaili community represents a rich diversity of cultures, languages and nationalities,” the document says.
The Ismaili community is governed by the Constitution, adopted in 1986 and amended in Lisbon in 1998, which, like the previous ones, is based on the spiritual union of each with the current Imam, while maintaining the union that all Ismailis owe to persons who are citizens of the countries of which they are citizens .
The Aga Khan considers an imam to be 60 years old. He is the founder and president of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), which operates in over 30 countries, primarily in South Asia, Central Asia, East and West Africa and the Middle East, and has over 80,000 employees.
The AKDN’s annual budget for non-profit development activities is approximately $900 million.
In Portugal, the Aga Khan Network has existed since 1983. The Aga Khan Foundation was formally recognized in 1996 by decree-law as a Portuguese foundation.
The Aga Khan Development Network and the Portuguese Aga Khan Foundation currently employ about 100 people.
The Foundation’s activities in Portugal range from research to intervening in children’s education and responding to social exclusion and urban poverty.
The Ismaelita Center in Lisbon was the target of an attack Tuesday morning by a man armed with a large knife, according to the PSP, who was arrested and taken to hospital after killing two people, according to the release.
The attack occurred while classes and other activities were being held at the Ismaili Center, Rahim Firozali, president of the National Council of the Ismaili Muslim Community, said.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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