Lund University

Center for Middle Eastern Studies

VT 15

The Aga Khan Development Network Projects –

A Case Study of Karachi’s Health Service

A Research Proposal

MOSN08 Key Methods in Middle Eastern Studies Research

Handed in by Linda Hewitt

Lecture: Nina Gren

Word Count: 4292

Date: 29.05.2015

Abbreviations

AKDN - Aga Khan Development Network

AKHS - Aga Khan Health Service

AKRSP - Aga Khan Rural Support Programme

ANT – Agency Network Theory

VO - The Village Organization

1

Introduction

Prince Shah Karīm Al Ḥussaini known as his Highness Prince Aga Khan IV undemocratically

inherited the leadership of Nizārī Ismai’lism, a religious community that belongs to the Shi’a

sect. The Aga Khan is the 49th

Imam of the Nizārī Isma’ilis and represents an authoritative,

unquestionable religious leadership that is built upon his institutional work and ethical vision

along with his religious understanding. He is the leader of a minority Muslim community that

is spread all over the world with followers of more than 15 million believers1 (Poor 2014, 1-

2). Despite the lack of a territorial rule, he has a big transnational network of bureaucratic

institutions through the charitable Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), an independent

self-governing system of institutions, agencies, and programs that is integrated in the public

image of the Isma’ili imamate which represents the Aga Khan in his leadership role. The

Isma’ili imamate reconciles belief with the world, balances reason and revelation, and links

citizenship and identity (Poor 2014, 21). The AKDN serves as Isma’ili institution for cultural,

economic, and social service that reflects, but also expands the Aga Khan‟s vision of

improving the quality of life of his followers. The Aga Khan does not seek for being the head

of a state, but rather seeks for being the head of his network of institutions.

The discourse of modernity is incorporated in the AKDN through the usage of modern

technologies and emphasis of equality and liberalism. However, the Aga Khan highlights on

the perception of tradition and on the importance of pluralism within society. Hence, he

stresses that it is possible to combine Islamic discourses with secular or „modern‟ concepts

(Clarke 1976, 486). He aims to create a balance between the religious values and secular

world. The transformation of the community through the establishment of modern education,

health, housing, and economic institutions reflect a modern attitude in the community, despite

its preservation of spiritual and traditional values (Weisinger 2014).

Literature Review

There is a vast amount of literature about the history and creation of the Isma’ili branch and

their holistic view. Just to name a few significant scholars; Heinz Halm (1982; 1988; 1991;

Halm and Brown 1997), Farhad Daftary (Daftary 1992; 1996; 1998; 2004; 2005), Paul E.

Walker (2008; 2009) and Hamid Haji (2006) published several articles and books about the

historical events of the Isma’ili community and its formation. However, the contemporary

1 Since this community does not have an own nation state, various sources gave different numbers ranging

from 15 to 20 million believers.

2

development of the Isma’ili Muslim minority is scarcely studied and research on

contemporary communities‟ narrative and model of leadership is lacking. Even the

institutional research basis the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London published mostly

analyses of historical „dead‟ texts and has not developed an independent research field for

Isma’ili thoughts of present days, as it rather represents a glorified image of the present imam

in non-academic publications (Devji 2014, 57). Therefore, I decided to observe this case out

of a religio-sociological angle within a contemporary context.

The Isma‟ili community went through various phases of development in history which

influenced the office of the imamate in several ways. The Iranian Isma’ili Daryoush

Mohammad Poor recently published the book Authority without Territory (2014) that deals

with recent changes in the current Isma’ili imamate. His monograph examines the role of the

contemporary Isma‟ili leader the Aga Khan and the shift of authority and his style of

leadership. Poor defines the Aga Khan‟s role as a hybrid leadership in a modern Muslim

context (Poor 2014). Additionally, Poor analyses the Aga Khan‟s religious authority in

relation to the AKDN. He explains the shift of authority from “the person of the imamate” to

the institutionalisation of “the office of the imamate” through the activities of the AKDN in

order to connect the transnational community (Poor 2014, 79). Poor also explains the work of

the AKDN, its different sections, its role as a transnational NGO and its ethical framework

within a progressive Islam that combines modernity with traditional values (Poor 2014, Ch.

4).

Jonah Steinberg Isma‘ili Modern: Globalization and Identity in a Muslim Community

is one of a few ethnographic works on contemporary Isma‟ili communities (2011). This

monograph talks about transnational organization and expansive practices of identity in the

processes of globalization. He documents the emergence of various networks that connect the

Isma’ili community and analyses the formation of a transnational identity, what he calls

global Isma’ilism, through its institutions (Steinberg 2011, 3). Steinberg emphasizes on the

importance of those projects in order to create a unified Isma’ili community. In the first part

of the book, Steinberg analyses the different institutions with a discursive analysis by using

documents of the institutions. He examines textual representations by the AKDN and the

Institute of Ismaili Studies itself. In the second part, he complements these documents with

interviews and observations from his fieldwork in Pakistan and Tajikistan.

These publications give me a good overview about the Isma’ili community, their

history, bureaucratical organisation of the AKDN and structure of their development projects.

3

Both authors believe that the Aga Khan aims for progress and development within Islamic but

also liberal modernist values. Yet, the literature lacks precise ethnographic examples and

personal opinions by local participants of how they perceive religious values and the Isma’ili

discourse which could give a more profound insight into the Isma’ili’s everyday life and

personal views on the AKDN.

Virginia Sales‟ essay stresses on the Aga Khan Education Service (AKES)

programmes in Northern Pakistan which tries to meet especially females‟ need for localized

training. She emphasises a gender-aware approach to teacher education and states that “AKES

schools not only compensate for the lack of Government provision, but […] provide a better

service than the impoverished and demotivated Government sector.” (Sales 1999, 409). The

AKES provides a programme of teaching and education development that adapt to village

norms (Sales 1999, 420). The projects mostly operate in Isma’ili communities who are

influenced by the AKDN. Also, the importance of the presence of women‟s teachers in a

gender segregated society is highlighted as there are not enough female instructors available

(Sales 1999, 410). Her study is based on fieldwork of the AKES in Northern Pakistan,

whereby she used observation methods and semi-structured interviews in order to explore

perception of individuals within the education system.

Additionally, in cooperation with Jonah Steinberg, Emily Manette conducted

ethnographic research in Northern Pakistan about The Village Organization (VO) an Aga

Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP). That focuses on rural development especially in

Isma’ili communities (Manetta, Emily and Steinberg, Jonah 2008). This paper examines how

the AKDN through the VO forms a new kind of civil society, meaning that it creates an

alternative conceptualization of citizenship and local political participation in a transnational

network (Manetta, Emily and Steinberg, Jonah 2008). Since the AKRSP also worked in India

and Tajikistan it establishes “a new mode of shared experiences across Himalayan borders”

(Manetta, Emily and Steinberg, Jonah 2008). The authors explain the work of the VO, its

dependence on the AKDN, the local political work and financial contributions and the VO‟s

ideology. As I also intend to do a “context-specific exploration of conditions within one

particular community […]” (Sales 1999, 410) those articles are significant in observing the

social and economic development of projects in the Himalayan region as comparable data.

Many publications are not very critical regarding the work of the AKDN and voices of

Isma’ilis, thus people who are affected by the projects seem very unobtrusive. I believe that

there are issues that remain unaddressed such as inequalities when it comes to

4

power/hierarchical structures, access of income, decision-making processes etc. Devji is one

of a few scholars who analyses the Isma’ili leadership a bit more critically. He states that most

analyses on Isma’ilism “tend to result in a scholarship that is about an increasingly narrow

classification of differences” (Devji 2014, 51). He believes that the original thinking of

Isma’ilism as a “form of thought” (Devji 2014, 51) is slowly destroyed by the current

leadership that praises for a progressive Islam and forbids certain traditional Shiʿa narratives

that represent failure e.g. mourning for the martyrdom of Imam Ḥussayn or wearing black to

honor it (Devji 2014, 54). Thus, the community would rather focus on the present and their

devotion to the present imam. Devji claims that this turns “Ismailism into a secular cult of

personality in process” as the AKDN is neither a religious body nor does it benefit only

Isma’ilis (Devji 2014, 54). Even though the AKDN aims a secular expression within a

religious obligation Devji states that “[…] it is not clear what kind of religion lies behind the

AKDN”, as it seems rather like a NGO that uses religious bureaucracy to create work (Devji

2014, 55). He criticises the dependency of the imam who is the first and final objective of any

claim or conflict within the community as people within the institutions are unable to exercise

authority and due to the imam‟s meager availability in person, the field of religious thought

seem to be unfilled (Devji 2014, 56). Especially when Isma’ilism and the Aga Khan

emphasise its stands for the „West‟ due to liberal approaches this shows that the autonomy has

lost its original form of thought which produces clashes with Sunni societies (Devji 2014, 61).

The above mentioned studies can be useful for my analysis as comparative material, as

well as examining the discourse of the AKDN. I believe these works give a good background

on the topic, but can also serve as good guideline for my study and supplement my

ethnographic research.

Research Aim

In my research I will examine the role of the Aga Khan‟s divine authoritative

leadership through the AKDN and his influence on the Isma’ili community through

development projects. Thus, I want to observe which and how religious values are carried out

in combination with „modern‟ secular values and how employees of the AKDN perceive

Islamic principles. In order to carry out the research, I decided to do a case study and thereby

chose the Aga Khan Health Service (AKHS) institution in Karachi. The first AKHS opened in

1924 in Pakistan and was a maternity hospital. Since then the health service focuses on

maternal and child health service and reaches over 1.1 million people by offering superior and

cost-effective health care with specialists in obstetrics, gynaecology and paediatrics (Aga

5

Khan Health Services 2007). It is the largest not-for-profit private health care system in

Pakistan and seeks to complement Pakistan‟s health care provision. In order to narrow down

my narrative I will focus on employees of the AKHS which is affiliated to the Aga Khan

University Hospital in Karachi. The main task of my research is to focus in-depth on the

ethnographic results. I want to examine how the employees agree or disagree with the

project‟s values. How do they relate to the idea of modern, transnational identity and perceive

the Aga Khan as their leader that combines modernity and development within traditional

Islamic values? Are they aware that they are subject of a larger connection system? Do they

experience that connection? In my research, I will observe the work of the institution, its

bureaucratical organisation, influence on the community, employees‟ commitment and

competence as well as perception of religious values within their everyday work life. Thereby,

I want to look at two angles:

a) How do employees define Islamic values, tradition and modernity and how do they

combine those values in their work with patients at the AKHS?

b) How is the project associated with the society that it serves? Does the AKDN take

into consideration local opinion when implementing development projects?

I believe that this study can be beneficial for Middle Eastern contexts as comparative material

with other AKDN projects such as Egypt or Syria in order to see how religious values and

modernity are framed but also combined. Since “Post-Islamism” and “modern Islam” are

noteworthy topics in the Middle East these days.

Theoretical Framework

The role of discourses of modernity is important to mention in the case of the Isma’ili

community as the Aga Khan emphasizes the development and innovation of the Isma’ili

community. Combining modernity with tradition and „Eastern‟ with „Western‟ ideologies

creates a transformation of authority. Hence, my theoretical part will focus on modernization

discourses, as well as pluralism within religion i.e. Islam in order to understand my question

in relation to others and contextualise the issue.

Isma’ilism has different meanings for each individual and need to be contextualised,

yet it constitutes an identity through its networks and community centres. The Isma’ili

discourse promotes welfare for his followers and a regulative principle of worship (Clarke

1976,485). Clarke states that many Isma’ilis perceive themselves as a member of Isma’ili

6

community rather than being „a Muslim‟ which defines a heterogeneous, complex, and

diverse community, while Isma’ilis prefer to be seen as a unit. Hereby, I will borrow

Varisco‟s claim that emphasises the dynamic of various Islamic beliefs and behaviours,

whereby he sees the religion of Islam as a faith that is diverse in its various aspects (Varisco

2012). He states that the representations of „Islam‟ often lack a related complexity and many

important facts remain hidden. Because every Muslim community has certain values it shares

with other Muslim communities, yet each community and individual has its own way of

living and practice their everyday-life differently along those shared values (Varisco 2012). In

the context of Isma’ilism, Varisco‟s argument can be mentioned to the extent that there are

divine experiences within Islam that Muslims from different sects and also other believers

might share, yet there is no universal Islamic understanding. Furthermore, Varisco (2012)

states that the image of „Islam‟ is often misrepresented by anthropologists and ethnographers

without acknowledging the various forms. Varisco believes that anthropologists cannot

observe Islam as such, yet they can observe a certain group of Muslims in their way of

articulations and expressions, while „Islam‟ as a religion can only be represented. Scholars

need to contextualize their observation (Varisco 2012). I agree with Varisco‟s view that this

universal approach of „Islam‟ does not necessarily help to understand the behavior of

„Muslims‟ who act on their norms, since the cultural, political, historical, traditional, ethnic,

and sectarian as well as social background needs to be taken into account. Yet, observations

of certain communities can serve as a descriptive guide and provide anthropologists with a

wider knowledge of various religious behaviors in order to understand the inner and outer

aspects of Islamic values. This theory will help me to see how and which beliefs of the

Isma’ili community in Karachi are implemented in practice through actions of the AKDN.

There are different alterations within Islamism which Bayat calls “post-Islamism”. He

stresses that Islamism is in the process of integrating into notions of democracy and pluralism.

Thus, post-Islamism is an attempt to conceptualise the rational and modalities of transcending

Islamism in social, political, and intellectual domains (Bayat 2005). Post-Islamism does not

suggest being anti-Islamic or secular; a post-Islamist movement dearly upholds religion but

also highlights citizens‟ rights. It aspires to a pious society within a democratic state, thus it

fuses religiosity with rights and liberty (Bayat 2005). Rights, plurality, historicity and rather

the future than the past become important. Post-Islamism can be seen as an „alternative

modernity‟ which can be expressed through social practices, political ideas, movements,

feminist approaches or theological standpoints (Bayat 2005). Even though Bayat emphasises

on movements, I believe the approach of Islam, democracy and pluralism can be useful for

7

my analysis of the AKDN‟s aim to fuse religious values with „modern‟ principles. Yet this

brings up the question of what does “modern” mean?

Scholars define modernisation in many different ways and there is little agreement of a

precise definition of modernity. However, theorists agree that society passes through a period

of modernity and that modernity contrast archaic past (Latour 1993, 10). To understand the

discourse of modernity, I will look at Gidden‟s and Latour‟s theoretical definitions of

modernity. Giddens considers modernity as inevitable dynamic which can result in

advantages but can also pose dangers for society. He does not equate liberalism and

capitalism with modernity but believe that they provide important features as a framework for

understanding modern societies (Giddens 1995). Another modernity concept that is useful for

my analysis is Latour‟s approach of modern epistemology and the actor-network theory

(ANT) (Latour 1993). ANT sees objects as part of social networks whereby relations are

perceived as material (things) and semiotic (concepts), thus ANT explores social connections

within a network. ANT also look into how certain strategies connect different elements into a

network in order to form a coherent whole through continuous performances (Latour 2005).

Latour states that modern constitutions are characterized by purification (distinction of zones)

and hybridization and the division of humans and non-humans, nature and society that “mark

the arrow of time” (Latour 1993, 10-11, 67). Those concepts cannot be separated, yet

contemporary issues of globalized societies mix politics, science and specialist discourse that

nature-culture contrast is not possibly anymore. Even though pre-modern people did not

separate between these two concepts. Latour argues that we have to rethink the division and

definition of modernity between „Us‟ and „Others‟ and hybrid/reconnect natural and social

phenomena (Latour 1993, 142-144). Within this theory I will exemplify how the narratives of

my research may relate to the broader pattern of ANT.

These modernity theories will help me to understand the infusion of modern

ideologies, liberal humanism and rational individualism that is part of the agenda of the

AKDN‟s social service and „Islamic Modernism‟, a movement that attempts to reconcile

Islamic faith with „modern‟ (Western) values of civil rights, nationalism, democracy, equality

and progress (Kennedy 1996, 83). A focus on „modernity‟ is useful to contrast pre-modern

(traditional) and modern (post-traditional) culture as the AKDN institutions are influenced by

both.

8

Choice and Implementation of Research Methods

I decided to focus on an singular case study research design as a qualitative approach while

working with the AKHS in Karachi (Creswell 2013, 74). For the data collection I will use

multiple sources of information i.e. observation, interviews, and relevant documents

(Creswell 2013, 75).

I will engage in a participant observation, as grounded theory (Burawoy 1998, 27), by

interacting with the community, attending meetings, talking to patients and employees

(directors, members), but also non-members of the AKDN. As Okely (2012) states

“[p]articipation through shared action brings vital insights and instrumental acceptance among

the people themselves.” (Chapter 4). Thereby, I can study customs, behaviour and mentality

of people within the institution which gives me the opportunity to learn “beyond the verbal

and cerebral” (Okely 2012, 77) in order to understand the contextual sensitivity. The

observation will take place over an eight-week period from October to December 2015. I will

observe how employees and volunteers work with and in that project, their relationship

among each other (is there are hierarchy?) but also with patients. Furthermore, I want to

observe how patients are socially treated and incorporated in the center and what values are

important to that center.

Additionally, I will conduct semi-structured interviews with project members and

employees of different political affiliations and social backgrounds. When arranging the

interview I will use O‟Reilly‟s guideline of how to plan an interview in order to be prepared

(O'Reilly 2009, 139-156). While conducting the interview I will keep Hermanovics‟ interview

strategies in mind i.e. listen, react, respond and understand. If needed, I will hire an interpreter

for the conversations. I decided to use semi-structured interviews to minimize my influence in

order to get a deeper insight into the perception of the work in the institution and their

personal values (Hermanowicz 2002, 488). I believe one strength of semi-structured

interviews is that it gives insight on personal experiences and different perspectives can help

the researcher to keep issues in mind that the researcher might have found irrelevant before or

would not have considered at all. Semi-structured interviews can provide enriching; original

voices that can be used to construct research narratives and similar perspectives of

participants may help analyzing the context of a case study because narratives reflect a

dynamic interplay between life, experience and story (Eastmond 2007, 248). This method

within a religio-sociological and cultural context can give valuable insights, meaning and

quality to the topic. Also, face-to-face interviews give the researcher the opportunity to

9

develop a relationship with the participant which can be beneficial for further research (The

American Anthropological Association), but also allows me to observe the interviewee and

her/his reactions. This is what O‟Reilly calls, an ethnographic interview (O'Reilly 2009, 115).

For the interview participants I will use snowball sampling which means I will need a

gatekeeper who will get me in touch with others in order to initiate this method. The flaw of

snowball sampling is that my research will be dependent on the initial gatekeeper who can

recommend me through her/his personal network to other research participants that are

willing to engage with the study. This creates a degree of selection bias based on the initial

gatekeeper, yet I believe that despite the limitation, this method will help me to gain access to

the local community (Cohen and Arieli 2011, 428).

By analyzing the interview atmosphere there is a thin line between critical realism and

constructivist perspectives as the researcher tends to analyse the atmosphere out of its own

perspective. Interviews are mostly based on values and assumptions that influence the study

and thus those need to be questioned to clarify research decisions (Clough and Nutbrown

2002, 17 and 22). However, I believe conducting interviews and letting participants speak is

important as it can generate rich data, gives a better understanding of others‟ perceptions even

if the data can be analysed in different ways (which can also be enriching). Thus, I will not

claim any expected outcome or results beforehand as I believe this would influence my

personal behavior towards certain agents and my interview performance.

Choice and Implementation of Analysis of Data

After the documentation of observation through my field notes as well as organizing

and transcribing the collected interviews, I will undertake a qualitative analysis of the field

notes and in-depth analysis of my interview notes. I will also consider political, social-cultural

and institutional settings in order to contextualise the collected data. If necessary, I will relate

them with comparative analyses of projects in the Himalayan region (Tajikistan and Northern

Pakistan). I will examine the discourse of the AKDN through their own publications and

representation on their website and look if the Aga Khan‟s aim is fulfilled through my chosen

project. As an analytic strategy I will look for common themes that transcend the case and

may identify an issue of the case to give the report a meaning (Creswell 2013, 75). In the

analysis I will keep Varisco‟s idea of Islamic pluralism in mind and will use the previous

mentioned discourses of modernity as a framework.

10

Limitations, Practical Problems and Difficulties

Period restrictions require less time than it may be ideal for an ethnographic study. A longer

research period would improve the results, but by being bound to the two month internship

only some aspects of leadership practice, organizational culture and team communication may

be unrevealed during my observation period. I am aware that being an outsider with a non-

local appearance and who does not speak the local language will limit possible revelations.

My presence as Western female researcher may raise suspicion, hence, trust needs to be

gained and also maintained through respect and professionalism. Furthermore, participants‟

opinions need to be valued throughout the whole process. I will observe the rules of the

ethical code, meaning that I will inform participants about the nature of my research, assure

that they participate voluntary and that it will not harm the participants in any way (The

American Anthropological Association). Another issue that may arise is that employees of the

health care center are bound to the AKDN, hence they may not dare to reveal negative aspects

of this network as they might fear losing their job. Employees of the center may be instructed

beforehand how to and what (and what not) to talk about with me. This is what Denscombe

calls the interviewer effect, as some participants may answer in a way they think the

interviewer wants to hear (Denscombe 2007, 184). Also, sex, age and ethnical background of

both interviewer and participant can influence how much the participant is willing to reveal to

the interviewer and in which (s)he expresses her/himself, as some topics may be ethically

sensitive. Thus, some responses may be influenced by the situation and some responses may

be partial, incomplete or distorted (Gunaratnam 2003, 20). Consequently, every research has

its biases, evasion, limitation and selective interpretation that need to be taken into account

(Gunaratnam 2003, 23).

Tentative Time Plan

The following table is a broad time plan that I calculated2, but will probably change and adapt

accordingly. Yet, it gives me a good overview of planning my research and helps me to keep

track on my progress. During the summer, I will start the reading list that I agreed upon with

my supervisor. In the beginning of September, I will start the literature review before I start

my field work. From September until beginning of December, I will do my field work and

collect my interviews and field work notes which I will analyse right after my observation

starting beginning of December. During my field work, I will keep up with my reading list

2 In collaboration with a fellow student.

11

and meanwhile prepare the assignment for the methodological course. After Christmas the

writing and analysing part will be more intensive as I intend to send the first draft to my

supervisor by end of January and the second draft by end of February. By the end of March I

will send a complete draft to my supervisor and will use the month of April for editing and

include my supervisor‟s advice. Thus, I intend to complete my final report by the 16th

May

2016.

List of tasks

14/0

6/20

15

28/0

6/20

15

12/07/20

15

26/0

7/2015

09

/08

/2015

23/08

/2015

01/0

9/20

15

20/0

9/20

15

4/10

/2015

12/10/20

15

18/10

/2015

1/11/2015

15/11/2015

29/11/20

15

06

/12/2015

13/12/2015

27/12/2015

10/0

1/2016

24/0

1/2016

7/02/20

16

21/02/20

16

6/0

3/2016

20/0

3/2016

3/04

/2016

17/04

/2016

01/0

5/2016

15/05/20

16

Initial Reading Period

Provisional Bibliography

Literature Review

Internship/Field Work

Field Report + Analysis

Methodological Course

Specific Reading

First Chapters Draft

Data Analysis

Second Part Draft

Complete Draft to Supervisor

Add in Comments

Final Editing

Reading

Writing

Editing

Planning/Submissions

Data Collection

Non-Thesis Tasks

Literature

Aga Khan Health Services. 2007. Accessed May 22, 2015. http://www.akdn.org/akhs_countries.asp.

Bayat, Asef. 2005. „What is Post-Islamism?“. In ISIM Review 16(1).

Burawoy, Michael. 1998. „The Extended Case Method.“ In Sociological Theory. 16(1), 4–33.

Clarke, Peter B. 1976. „The Ismailis: a Study of Community.“ In British Journal of Sociology Volume. 27(4), 484–94.

Cohen, Nissim and Arieli, Tamar. 2011. „Field research in conflict environments: Methodological challenges and snowball sampling.“ In Journal of Peace Research. 48(4), 423–35.

Creswell, John W. 2013. Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. 3rd ed. Los Angeles: SAGE Publications.

Daftary, Farhad. 1996. Mediaeval Ismaʻili history and thought. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Daftary, Farhad. 1992. he Ism ʻ l s heir history and do trines. 1st ed. Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.

———. 1998. A short history of the Ismailis: Traditions of a Muslim community. Islamic surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

———. 2004. Ismaili Literature. A Bibliography of Sources and Studies. London: I.B. Tauris Publishers.

———. 2005. Ismailis in medieval Muslim societies. Ismaili heritage series 12. London, New York, London, New York: I.B. Tauris; in association with the Institute of Ismaili Studies; Distributed in the USA by St. Martin's Press.

Denscombe, Martyn. 2007. The Good Research Guide: For Small-scale Social Research. 3. Aufl. Buckingham: Open University Press.

Devji, Faisal. 2014. „The Idea of Ismailism.“ In Sects. Bd. 10, hg. v. Ziauddin Sardar und Robin Yassin-Kassab, 51–62. Critical Muslim 10. London: C Hurst & Co.; Muslim Institute.

Eastmond, Marita. 2007 . „Stories as Lived Experience: Narratives in Forced Migration Research.“ In Journal of Refugee Studies. 20(2), 248–64.

Giddens, Anthony. 1995. Konsequenzen der Moderne. 1. Aufl. Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft 1295. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.

Gunaratnam, Yasmin. 2003. Researching Race and Ethnicity. London: SAGE Publications.

Haji, Hamid. 2006. Founding the Fatimid State. The Rise of an Early Islamic Empire: An annotated English translation of al-Qadi al-Nu'man's Iftihah al-Da'wa. London, New York: I.B. Tauris Publishers.

Halm, Heinz. 1982. Die islamis he Gnosis Die extreme S hia und die ʻAlawiten. Die Bibliothek des Morgenlandes. Zürich: Artemis Verlag.

———. 1988. Die Schia. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft.

———. 1991. Shiism. Islamic surveys. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press.

Halm, Heinz und Allison Brown. 1997. Shi'a Islam: From religion to revolution. Princeton series on the Middle East. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers.

Hermanowicz, Joseph C. (2002) . „The great interview: 25 strategies of studying people in bed.“ In Qualitative Sociology. Vol. 25 (4), 479–99.

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Kennedy, Charles. 1996 . „Islamization of Laws and Economy, Case Studies on Pakistan.“ In Institute of Policy Studies, The Islamic Foundation.

Latour, Bruno. 1993. We have never been Modern. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.

———. 2005. Reassembling the Social: An Introduction to Actor-Network-Theory. Oxford.

Manetta, Emily and Steinberg, Jonah. 2008. „Localizing modernity: The Aga Khan Foundation and the global dissemination of the Village Organization.“ University of Vermont.

Okely, Judith. 2012. Anthropological Practice - Fieldwork and Ethnographic Method. London, New York: Berg.

O'Reilly, Karen. 2009. Ethnographic Methods. London, New York: Routledge.

Poor, Daryoush M. 2014. Authority without Territory. The Aga Khan Development Network and the Ismaili Imamate. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Sales, Virgina. 1999 . „Women teachers and professional development: gender issues in the training programmes of the Aga Khan Education Service, Nothern Areas, Pakistan.“ In International Journal of Education Development. Bd. 19, 409–22.

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