ISMAILI CENTRE, LONDON, UK

As I walk out of the dimly lit and seemingly empty Jamatkhana, I look back at the beautiful tranquility that seems to have settled over the majestic prayer hall. As I look further, I realize that I am not alone…Shellyza Moledina

TASHKORGAN JAMATKHANA, CHINA

Tashkorgan is home to an Ismaili Jamatkhana. The town of approximately 30,000 people also has an art and culture centre in which a huge room is dedicated to the Ismailis of the region, their faith and culture. The centre is open to all and has Ismailis as tour guides…Simerg

KAMPALA JAMATKHANA, UGANDA

The Jamatkhana was light and airy, on two floors, the bottom floor just an open hall. From the second-floor prayer space you could see the lights come up on opposite hills as the prayers were about to commence. It was built in the 1930s, with donations from community leaders, matched by the Imam…Vali Jamal

5 PALACE GATE, LONDON, UK (I)

You could imagine…a young Mawlana Hazar Imam…going up those stairs to the third or fourth floor quickly, I imagined it. Because it was ‘Mawlabapa’s house’ and our Jamatkhana…Navyn Naran

ISMAILI CENTRE, BURNABY, CANADA

It was Chandraat, the night of the new moon, which brings with it immense spiritual peace and barakah (happiness). I was dropping my great aunt home after Jamatkhana ceremonies, and decided to visit her before scooting off. Inside her cozy apartment, I saw an unexpected and surreal art-scape…Pervis Rawji

5 PALACE GATE, LONDON, UK (II)

I came to England in 1958. It was a Friday and my brother took me to Palace Gate. The prayer room was full by the time we arrived and so we just stayed out in the foyer. I was very nervous as the jamat were mostly from the upper classes, with “accents” to go with…Vali Jamal

TOWN JAMATKHANA, NAIROBI, KENYA

On my arrival in Nairobi, just a few weeks after the independence of Kenya in December 1963, I can still recall the independence decoration banners, displayed in the colors of the new flag of Kenya –- red, green and black with white stripes and the Coat of Arms depicted by the shield and spears, that our Ismaili community had built…Zahir Dharsee