As part of its showcase at the Global Encounters Festival (GEF) 2025, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) sat down with Dr Wafi Momin, Head of Ismaili Special Collections, and Dr Fayaz Alibhai, Coordinator of the Ismaili Heritage Project. They discuss how the Institute understands, protects, and interprets Ismaili heritage through research, documentation, and collaboration with communities.
Featured conversation
Relevance of IIS Heritage Preservation to the Jamat
Dr Wafi Momin & Dr Fayaz Alibhai
In this opening conversation, Dr Wafi and Dr Fayaz reflect on the Institute’s efforts to address historical gaps in Ismaili memory and scholarship. They discuss the discovery of rare manuscripts, the significance of oral histories, and the restoration of important heritage sites across Central and South Asia.
This series explores how the Institute preserves, documents, and interprets Ismaili heritage across regions and time periods. The conversations focus on the urgency of safeguarding oral traditions, the criteria used to identify and document heritage sites, and the links between history, contemporary identity, and community life. Dr Wafi and Dr Fayaz explain how manuscripts, artefacts, buildings, and lived memories help shape our understanding of who we are and how communities have developed. The series highlights why heritage matters, how preservation decisions are made, and how the Institute works with partners and local custodians to protect knowledge for future generations.
