This paper focuses on the Alawi Bohra community in Vadodara, Gujarat, and their khiznat al-kutub, or treasury of books.
As Shii Ismailis, the Alawi Bohras consider themselves heirs of the Fat怗imidImamate(9091171). Whereas other Ismaili communities, such as the Nizaris, claim a genealogical link to the Fat怗imids through the presence of a livingImam, the Bohras legitimize their Neo-Fat怗imid identity through a living Arabic manuscript culture and documentary practices enshrined in khiznat in Gujarat. These treasuries, which are governed by the sacerdotal families of theBohracommunities, contain vast collections of rare Ismaili Arabic manuscript titles, ranging from legal works to philosophical treatises, to esoteric texts.
Yet these khiznat are more than repositories of books from the past: they are living manuscript scriptoria at work, where Fat怗imid and post-Fat怗imid texts have been manually copied for centuries under strict conditions of secrecy. While a philological link between the Bohras and the Fat怗imids has hitherto been acknowledged through the study of individual manuscript copies held in academic institutions, the social and historic importance ofBohrakhiznt in this chain of transmission remains uncharted territory.
Based on ethnographic observations and archival research among the Alawi Bohras, Dr Akkerman argues that these manuscripts, and their presence in Gujarat, are foundational forBohraIsmailism as it is practiced today in South Asia and for the transmission of its knowledge system. Their material survival ultimately defines the Alawi Bohras identity and legitimizes their position and authority in the larger Shii context and in the Muslimummaat large as heirs of the Fat怗imids.
