Rebuilding Community: Displaced Women and the Making of a Shia Ismaili Muslim Sociality

Shia Ismaili Muslim communities were displaced over the twentieth century, and Shenila Khoja-Moolji's book Rebuilding Community highlights the critical role of women in this process. Khoja-Moolji argues that Ismaili women who fled East Pakistan and East Africa in the 1970s recreated religious community (jamat) in North America through placemaking activities that reproduced bonds of spiritual kinship. These activities were situated within the framework of ethical norms that defined and sustained the Ismaili sociality. By emphasizing women's care work in producing relationality and repairing trauma, Khoja-Moolji disrupts the conventional articulation of displaced people as dependent subjects.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 272 pages
Publication date: 20 September 2023
Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc

Over the course of the twentieth century, Shia Ismaili Muslim communities faced repeated displacement, leading to the reformation of their communities. In the aftermath of these displacements, women played a crucial role in rebuilding and reshaping their communities. Shenila Khoja-Moolji's book, "Rebuilding Community," sheds light on the significant contributions of Ismaili Muslim women in this process, challenging traditional narratives by including them in modern Ismaili history.

"Rebuilding Community" tells the story of Ismaili Muslim women who fled East Pakistan and East Africa in the 1970s, seeking refuge in North America. These women faced the challenge of recreating religious community (jamat) in a new land, often without the support of their male relatives. Khoja-Moolji's research is based on oral histories, fieldwork, and memory texts, providing a rich account of the women's experiences and their efforts to establish and sustain spiritual connections.

Through her analysis, Khoja-Moolji highlights the placemaking activities undertaken by Ismaili women to reproduce bonds of spiritual kinship. These activities include cooking for congregants on feast days, caring for sick coreligionists, and engaging in memory work through miracle stories and cookbooks. Khoja-Moolji situates these activities within the broader framework of ethical norms that define and sustain Ismaili sociality. She emphasizes that jamat, and religious community more broadly, is not a given but an ethical relation that is maintained daily and intergenerationally through everyday acts of care.

By emphasizing women's care work in producing relationality and repairing trauma, Khoja-Moolji disrupts the conventional articulation of displaced people as dependent subjects. She challenges the notion that women's roles are limited to domestic responsibilities and highlights their active participation in shaping and rebuilding their communities. Khoja-Moolji's book contributes to our understanding of the resilience and adaptability of Shia Ismaili Muslim communities in the face of displacement, and it underscores the importance of recognizing and valuing the contributions of women in the process of community rebuilding.

Weight: 410g
Dimension: 235 x 159 x 20 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780197642030