Jamaat-khana
Encyclopedia
Jama'at Khana -literally, a "congregational place" an amalgamation derived from the Arabic word jama‘a (gathering) and the Persian word khana (house, place) is used by various South Asia
n Muslim
communities to denote a place of worship or gathering. Among South Asian Sunni Muslims, the term is often used interchangably with the Arabic
word Musalla, which is a place of worship that has not been formally sanctified as a masjid. Nizari
s, and other Ismailis use the term to denote their gathering places.
, or masjid, is the religious building most often associated with Muslim piety, a range of spaces for worship and practice can be found throughout the breadth of the Muslim
world. Some are concentrated within particular geographic regions while others are in use by specific communities. Some of these include: husayniya
s (also known as ashurkhanas, imambaras, matams or tekiyas) used by Ithna ‘Ashari Shi‘i communities; 'khanaqas, ribats, tekkes and zawiyas used by mystically-oriented Muslim communities commonly referred to as Sufis; the cemevi
of the Turkish Alevi
Muslims; and the majlis
and khalwa
s of the Druze Muslims. Other sites, such as shrines (dargah
, astan, rawzah, maqbara
, etc.), are a common feature of the Muslim religious landscape and can be found throughout the world. For Nizari Ismailis, the primary space of religious and social gathering is the jamatkhana. The jamatkhana is also the term used to designate spaces used by a number of other Muslim communities with bases in South Asia
: the Chisti Sufi tariqa, the Sunni Memon community and various branches of the Musta’li Ismaili community including the Dawoodi Bohra
s and Alevi Bohras.
The term jamatkhana is also shared with other Muslim communities in the Subcontinent to designate their communal spaces. These include members of the Chishti Sufi tariqa who utilize their jamatkhanas as a meeting space for conversation and counsel with the pir or teacher; the Shi‘i Bohra Ismaili communities use the term to designate the space for social gatherings and communal meals; the Sunni Memon
jamatkhana is a space for cultural gatherings and special occasions.
The term Jamaat Khana is commonly used by South Asian Sunni Muslims and their diaspora to describe a gathering place for communal prayer that has not been consecrated as mosque
(masjid), although in formal usage, the term Jamaat Khana is often replaced by the term Musallah (although musallah also can refer to a prayer rug). Spaces designated as jamatkhanas can also be seen in Mughal
complexes, such as that of the Taj Mahal
in Agra
.
14th century), emissaries appointed by the Ismaili Imam in Persia and sent to the Subcontinent in the service of the faith, established the first such spaces for the nascent Nizari Ismaili communities in Sindh, Punjab, Kashmir and China during their lifetimes. Jannatpuri, a long composition known as a granth and belonging to the genre of the ginan, by Sayyid Imamshah (d. after 1473) situates one of the earliest of these jamatkhanas to a place by the name of Kotda, which is thought to be in modern-day Pakistani Sindh. The same composition also mentions that the village headman, the mukhi (Sanskrit: mukhya) was closely associated with the jamatkhana as an official.
and Gupti, and traced their conversion to Islam through various Ismaili pirs. Collectively these communities adopted the practice of Satpanth (lit. true path), a designation for Shi‘i Ismailism of this period in the Subcontinent which included communal congregation in the jamatkhana
The term jamatkhana itself is derived from the Arabic word jama‘a (gathering) and the Persian word khana (house, place), which together can be translated as ‘a place of congregation’ or ‘assembly house’. The term, however, seems to have come in use to designate the place of Satpanthi religious gathering fairly late, possibly not until the last decades of the 18th or early years of the 19th centuries. The most common term used in the ginans to refer to these spaces is the term gat.
In 1870, the Bombay Jamatkhana in Khadak became the first jamatkhana assigned as a darkhana. The term, was initially used to designate the chief residence of the Imam. In later years, however, it came to stand for the principal jamatkhana in a national context. Today, eight countries have darkhana jamatkhanas in the Nizari Ismaili tradition. These include India, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Canada, Pakistan, England and Portugal.
Ismailis of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, namely Chitral, Ghizr, Gilgit, Hunza, as well as the border regions of China, were some of the first communities to adopt the jamatkhana into their ritual life. The seeds of these institutions were planted in 1923 when a missionary by the name of Ramzanali Sabzali (d. 1938) was sent to these various communities by Aga Khan III. Jamatkhanas were also introduced in Syria in the period of the 1940s. It was not however, until the tenure and leadership of the present Imam of the Ismailis, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (b. 1936) that similar spaces were also introduced in Iran (1960s), Afghanistan (1960s and 2001) and Tajikistan (2009). In parts of Iran, spaces referred to as khane-ye kolon and khanqah preceded the jamatkhana.
In 1998, the third such Ismaili Centre was opened in Lisbon, Portugal. The Centre draws inspiration from regional influences of the Moorish architectural heritage such as the Alhambra in Granada as well as that of other Muslim cultural forms such as that of Fatehpur Sikri in India. In particular, the interplay and combination of outdoor and indoor spaces gave the building a different aesthetic and feel from the other Ismaili Centres that had been designed two decades earlier, further demonstrating how time and space influence contemporary Ismaili religious architecture.
The first Ismaili Centre in the Middle East was opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on March 26, 2008 by the Aga Khan in the presence of senior members of the ruling family of Dubai. The Centre, built on land donated by the Shaykh Mohammed b. Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler in 1982, is the first such Centre in the Middle East and reflects the centuries of Ismaili presence within the region. The building draws its inspiration from Cairo’s Fatimid architectural heritage, a dynasty founded by the Aga Khan’s forefathers and previous Imams of the Ismaili community in the 10th century.
An Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, firmly located in the Persian-speaking Muslim world, reflects and marks the centuries of Ismaili presence in Central Asia and surrounding regions. Opened on October 12, 2009 by Republic’s President, Emamoli Rahmon and the Aga Khan, its architecture blends a diverse range of artisanal and craft traditions of the region and draws upon as inspiration of the grand courtyards of Samarkand and Khiva in Uzbekistan as well as the 10th century Samanid mausoleum. Technical innovations include earthquake resistant roofing which transfers structural stress, a heating and air conditioning system based on water source heat pumps and a heat recovery wheel for energy efficiency.
Further Ismaili Centres, in various stages of development – will follow shortly. The first of these, and the second such centre to be built in Canada, will be located in Toronto’s Don Mills area and follows the pattern of earlier buildings, representing functionally and symbolically the presence of Ismaili communities in Europe and North America. The Ismaili Centre in Toronto will be the largest such centre in the English-speaking world. Centres in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California are also being planned.
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
n Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
communities to denote a place of worship or gathering. Among South Asian Sunni Muslims, the term is often used interchangably with the Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
word Musalla, which is a place of worship that has not been formally sanctified as a masjid. Nizari
Nizari
'The Shī‘a Imami Ismā‘īlī Tariqah also referred to as the Ismā‘īlī or Nizārī , is a path of Shī‘a Islām, emphasizing social justice, pluralism, and human reason within the framework of the mystical tradition of Islam. The Nizari are the second largest branch of Shia Islam and form the majority...
s, and other Ismailis use the term to denote their gathering places.
The Jama'at Khana as a place of gathering and worship
While the mosqueMosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
, or masjid, is the religious building most often associated with Muslim piety, a range of spaces for worship and practice can be found throughout the breadth of the Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
world. Some are concentrated within particular geographic regions while others are in use by specific communities. Some of these include: husayniya
Hussainia
A Hussainia, also known as an Ashurkhana or Imambargah, is a congregation hall for Shia commemoration ceremonies, especially those associated with the Remembrance of Muharram. The name comes from Husayn Ibn Ali, the grandson of Muhammad and an Imam of the Shia. Hussain was killed by Yazid I in...
s (also known as ashurkhanas, imambaras, matams or tekiyas) used by Ithna ‘Ashari Shi‘i communities; 'khanaqas, ribats, tekkes and zawiyas used by mystically-oriented Muslim communities commonly referred to as Sufis; the cemevi
Cemevi
A Cemevi means literally a house of gathering in Turkish, and is a place of fundamental importance for Turkey's Alevi-Bektashi populations and traditions. It is not a place of worship in the strict sense of the term; the accent is laid on its aspect as lieu of assemblage...
of the Turkish Alevi
Alevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
Muslims; and the majlis
Majlis
' , is an Arabic term meaning "a place of sitting", used in the context of "council", to describe various types of special gatherings among common interest groups be it administrative, social or religious in countries with linguistic or cultural connections to Islamic countries...
and khalwa
Khalwa
Khalwa .-Retreat:In Sufism, a solitary retreat, traditionally for 40 days , during which a disciple does extensive spiritual exercises under the direction of a sufi master...
s of the Druze Muslims. Other sites, such as shrines (dargah
Dargah
A Dargah is a Sufi shrine built over the grave of a revered religious figure, often a Sufi saint. Local Muslims visit the shrine known as . Dargahs are often associated with Sufi meeting rooms and hostels, known as khanqah...
, astan, rawzah, maqbara
Maqbara
The Arabic word Maqbara is derived from the word Qabr, which means grave. Though maqbara refers to the graves of all Muslims, it refers especially to the graves of religious figures or Waliyullahs who dedicated their life to Islam, striving to be true Muslims and training others to follow Islam...
, etc.), are a common feature of the Muslim religious landscape and can be found throughout the world. For Nizari Ismailis, the primary space of religious and social gathering is the jamatkhana. The jamatkhana is also the term used to designate spaces used by a number of other Muslim communities with bases in South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
: the Chisti Sufi tariqa, the Sunni Memon community and various branches of the Musta’li Ismaili community including the Dawoodi Bohra
Dawoodi Bohra
Dawoodi Bohra is a subsect of Ismāʿīlī Shīʿa Islām. While the Dawoodi Bohra is based in India, their belief system originates in Yemen, where it evolved from the Fatimid Caliphate and where they were persecuted due to their differences from mainstream Sunni Islam...
s and Alevi Bohras.
The term jamatkhana is also shared with other Muslim communities in the Subcontinent to designate their communal spaces. These include members of the Chishti Sufi tariqa who utilize their jamatkhanas as a meeting space for conversation and counsel with the pir or teacher; the Shi‘i Bohra Ismaili communities use the term to designate the space for social gatherings and communal meals; the Sunni Memon
Memon
Memons are an ethnic group who trace their roots largely to Sindh, Kutch and Kathiawar in South Asia, and are sometimes seen as transitional between the three regions. Memons predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam...
jamatkhana is a space for cultural gatherings and special occasions.
The term Jamaat Khana is commonly used by South Asian Sunni Muslims and their diaspora to describe a gathering place for communal prayer that has not been consecrated as mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
(masjid), although in formal usage, the term Jamaat Khana is often replaced by the term Musallah (although musallah also can refer to a prayer rug). Spaces designated as jamatkhanas can also be seen in Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
complexes, such as that of the Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
in Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
.
The Jama'at Khana in Ismailism
The exact origins of the use of jamatkhana in the Nizari Ismaili tradition are not as yet clear. However, communal memory, oral traditions and individual ginans (Indo-Muslim religious poems) narrate that Pirs Shams (fl. between 13th and 15th centuries) and Sadr al-Din (fl.Floruit
Floruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
14th century), emissaries appointed by the Ismaili Imam in Persia and sent to the Subcontinent in the service of the faith, established the first such spaces for the nascent Nizari Ismaili communities in Sindh, Punjab, Kashmir and China during their lifetimes. Jannatpuri, a long composition known as a granth and belonging to the genre of the ginan, by Sayyid Imamshah (d. after 1473) situates one of the earliest of these jamatkhanas to a place by the name of Kotda, which is thought to be in modern-day Pakistani Sindh. The same composition also mentions that the village headman, the mukhi (Sanskrit: mukhya) was closely associated with the jamatkhana as an official.
The Earliest Ismaili Jamatkhanas
The jamatkhana was a space particular to several localized Nizari Ismaili communities of the Subcontinent, primarily in delta regions. It was subsequently adopted by a wider range of Indian Ismaili communities in subsequent decades and centuries. These diverse groups, each with their own histories, identities and social organization identified themselves using various names such as Momin (or Mumna), Shamsi, KhojaKhoja
The Khojas are ethnic group of Shia Muslims. The word Khoja derives from Khwaja, a Persian title .In Pakistan, many Khojas migrated to and settled in the province of Sindh and especially in the city of Karachi. While in India, most Khojas live in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and...
and Gupti, and traced their conversion to Islam through various Ismaili pirs. Collectively these communities adopted the practice of Satpanth (lit. true path), a designation for Shi‘i Ismailism of this period in the Subcontinent which included communal congregation in the jamatkhana
The term jamatkhana itself is derived from the Arabic word jama‘a (gathering) and the Persian word khana (house, place), which together can be translated as ‘a place of congregation’ or ‘assembly house’. The term, however, seems to have come in use to designate the place of Satpanthi religious gathering fairly late, possibly not until the last decades of the 18th or early years of the 19th centuries. The most common term used in the ginans to refer to these spaces is the term gat.
The Evolution of the Jamatkhana
By the mid-19th century, however, as Ismaili communities migrated from towns and villages to urban centres throughout the Indian Ocean littoral, the khana seems to have become a distinct space housed in a separate structure, usually located within a mohalla, or enclave, of Satpanthi believers. Several of the oldest extant examples of jamatkhanas go back to this period. Most, however, have subsequently been renovated and added to, to accommodate the changing functional needs and ritual practices of the jamats (congregation) that they serve. The oldest of these urban structures can be found in places such as Gwadar (present day Pakistan), Zanzibar and Bombay (present day India). More modest examples that date from this period can also be found throughout Kutch and in Jerruk in interior Sindh, the residence of Aga Khan I upon his arrival to the Subcontinent. The architecture and organization of these spaces tell us that there was no single architectural template or model of the jamatkhana, but rather each was constructed based on a series of circumstances including such things as location, cultural environment, architectural practices of the period and resources available. The variations from one jamatkhana to the next also gives us clues to the nature of practices, the use and allocation of space and the nature and function of social relationships. Some of these were due to the cultural milieu in which the jamatkhanas were situated while others followed general traditions of pietic and religious culture, which in turn informed rules of decorum and etiquette within these spaces.In 1870, the Bombay Jamatkhana in Khadak became the first jamatkhana assigned as a darkhana. The term, was initially used to designate the chief residence of the Imam. In later years, however, it came to stand for the principal jamatkhana in a national context. Today, eight countries have darkhana jamatkhanas in the Nizari Ismaili tradition. These include India, Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Canada, Pakistan, England and Portugal.
The Jamatkhana as the Centre of Ismaili Practice
While the jamatkhana initially began as a space of congregation specific to Satpanthi communities, it eventually was adopted by Ismaili communities with different geographic, cultural and linguistic backgrounds and historical experiences who before this congregated in spaces with different trajectories and nomenclatures. During the seven decades of Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah, Aga Khan III’s (d. 1957) Imamat, formal relationships with Ismaili communities living in Tajikistan, Afghanistan, China, the Northern Areas of Pakistan, Persia and Syria, were strengthened.Ismailis of the Northern Areas of Pakistan, namely Chitral, Ghizr, Gilgit, Hunza, as well as the border regions of China, were some of the first communities to adopt the jamatkhana into their ritual life. The seeds of these institutions were planted in 1923 when a missionary by the name of Ramzanali Sabzali (d. 1938) was sent to these various communities by Aga Khan III. Jamatkhanas were also introduced in Syria in the period of the 1940s. It was not however, until the tenure and leadership of the present Imam of the Ismailis, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan (b. 1936) that similar spaces were also introduced in Iran (1960s), Afghanistan (1960s and 2001) and Tajikistan (2009). In parts of Iran, spaces referred to as khane-ye kolon and khanqah preceded the jamatkhana.
Ismaili Centres
In 1979, the foundation stone was laid for what was to become the first ‘Ismaili Centre’ in London’s South Kensington neighbourhood. The high-profile building which was opened by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (b. 1925; r. 1979-1990) in the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan in April 1985 was an important chapter in a new era of Ismaili presence in Europe. Several months later in August, another Ismaili Centre was opened in Vancouver’s Burnaby district (Canada) by Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (b. 1939; r. 1984-1993). Each architecturally unique, these purpose built centres constructed by internationally reputed architects occupy prominent places in their respective cities and include, in addition to the central prayer hall, spaces to facilitate intellectual and social gatherings, meeting rooms, educational facilities, libraries, gardens and water features. The buildings were not only meant to act as symbolic markers of the Ismaili community’s presence in England and Canada, but also as an ambassadorial bridge which would continue to help them develop and maintain relationships with other faith groups and civil society organizations.In 1998, the third such Ismaili Centre was opened in Lisbon, Portugal. The Centre draws inspiration from regional influences of the Moorish architectural heritage such as the Alhambra in Granada as well as that of other Muslim cultural forms such as that of Fatehpur Sikri in India. In particular, the interplay and combination of outdoor and indoor spaces gave the building a different aesthetic and feel from the other Ismaili Centres that had been designed two decades earlier, further demonstrating how time and space influence contemporary Ismaili religious architecture.
The first Ismaili Centre in the Middle East was opened in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on March 26, 2008 by the Aga Khan in the presence of senior members of the ruling family of Dubai. The Centre, built on land donated by the Shaykh Mohammed b. Rashid al-Maktoum, Dubai’s ruler in 1982, is the first such Centre in the Middle East and reflects the centuries of Ismaili presence within the region. The building draws its inspiration from Cairo’s Fatimid architectural heritage, a dynasty founded by the Aga Khan’s forefathers and previous Imams of the Ismaili community in the 10th century.
An Ismaili Centre in Dushanbe, Tajikistan, firmly located in the Persian-speaking Muslim world, reflects and marks the centuries of Ismaili presence in Central Asia and surrounding regions. Opened on October 12, 2009 by Republic’s President, Emamoli Rahmon and the Aga Khan, its architecture blends a diverse range of artisanal and craft traditions of the region and draws upon as inspiration of the grand courtyards of Samarkand and Khiva in Uzbekistan as well as the 10th century Samanid mausoleum. Technical innovations include earthquake resistant roofing which transfers structural stress, a heating and air conditioning system based on water source heat pumps and a heat recovery wheel for energy efficiency.
Further Ismaili Centres, in various stages of development – will follow shortly. The first of these, and the second such centre to be built in Canada, will be located in Toronto’s Don Mills area and follows the pattern of earlier buildings, representing functionally and symbolically the presence of Ismaili communities in Europe and North America. The Ismaili Centre in Toronto will be the largest such centre in the English-speaking world. Centres in Houston, Texas and Los Angeles, California are also being planned.