Shafique N. Virani

University of Toronto

2008 Honorable Mention

Shafique Virani, a professor of Islamic studies in the Department of Historical Studies at the University of Toronto, unravels (as if he is pursuing a mystery) the history of the Nizari Ismaili community and how it survived its political devastation under the Mongol conquests and how it dealt with subsequent persecutions.  In this engagingly written book, Shafique Virani explains how this minority Shi’i community was forced underground and how the people preserved their religious heritage under the most adverse circumstances.  He focuses on the ways that the esoteric thought of the Ismailis animated the people and enabled them to persevere to the present day.  He uncovers the most obscure period, from the aftermath of the Mongol invasions to the eve of the Safavid revolution (the mid-thirteenth century to the end of the fifteenth).  His discussion relates primarily to the Iranian region, but he is also interested in Ismaili enclaves elsewhere.  His writing style is richly nuanced and compelling, thus making the book appealing to specialists as well as to more general audiences. 

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