Kaiser, Paul. Culture, Transnationalism, and Civil Society: Aga Khan Social Service Initiatives in Tanzania. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1996. 133 pp.

In 1996, when this book was first published, Dr. Kaiser was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Mississippi State University. He obtained his Ph.D. in 1994 from Indiana State University. This publication is based on his doctoral dissertation entitled "Culture and Civil Society in an International Context: The Case of Aga Khan Health Care and Education Initiatives in Tanzania." Actually, this is a better title for this work!

As "Ismailis" and "Aga Khan" are constantly encountered in Dr. Kaiser's thesis, they should be explained at the outset. The Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims are generally known as the Ismailis. They belong to the Shia branch of Islam; the other, larger branch being the Sunni. During its long history from the seventh century C.E., the Ismaili community has included people from many different cultures, and cultural diversity continues to characterize the community.

In 1996, the Ismailis lived in more than twenty five different countries, mainly in Central and South Asia, East Africa, the Middle East, Western Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States. The Ismailis in East Africa, including Tanzania, are of Indo-Pakistani origin. They are also known as Nizari Ismailis and Khojas.

In common with other Shia Muslims, the Ismailis affirm that after the death of Prophet Muhammad, his cousin and son-in-law, Ali, became the first Imam (spiritual leader) of the Muslim community. Prince Karim Aga Khan IV is the forty-ninth hereditary Imam of the Ismailis, having succeeded his grandfather Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III on July 11, 1957. Spiritual allegiance to the Imam of the Time (Hazar Imam) supersedes ethnic, cultural, geographic and linguistic diversity within the global Ismaili community. The Ismaili identity is a religious one.

However, in Tanzania, Professor Kaiser has detected the importance of additional identities of the Ismailis. They were Asians in a predominantly African country and their nationality and later citizenship further defined them in the eyes of the government. (pp 1-37 p. 41 104-107).

The Ismaili presence in East Africa (modern Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) began in the late nineteenth century. The heterogeneous Asian immigrant communities from the Indian subcontinent were expected by the European colonial governments to provide their own social services. (pp 62-63). For the Ismaili community, the foundation of what later became the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) was laid during the Imamat (spiritual leadership) of Aga Khan III (1885-1957). Under Aga Khan IV (1957-present) AKDN has blossomed into one of the largest, most efficient, cost effective and respected private development agencies in the world (pp. 55-61).

Kaiser starts his discussion of transnationalism culture and civil society with an extract from Aga Khan III's speech to the Royal Society for Asian Affairs in 1992:

"To create a pluralistic, civil society, private institutions must be established that meet the needs of their constituent groups. The state cannot do it all. To be successful, these private institutions must meet two conditions: their members must have a sense of common purpose; and those members must be organized so as to achieve that purpose.

The above statement "captures the essence of current research on civil society and its relationship to the state." In the wake of decreasing foreign aid and the governments' inability to meet the expectations of the population, the role of nongovernmental organizations (NGO) such as AKDN has become vitally important. Kaiser has likened AKDN to a transnational corporation. In addition to an impressive range of written sources, the author has based his study on numerous interviews with paid professional and an army of volunteers in East Africa, Europe and the United States who run AKDN.

What differentiates AKDN from a transnational corporation is "decentralization, philanthropy, and voluntarism, along with management practices that emphasize economic efficiency." (p. 65). Generally there is a surplus which is reinvested to strengthen social services at the local level. When necessary funds are provided from the AKDN headquarters at Aiglemont, France (p. 27). The notion of sustainability and self-sufficiency are as fundamental as improving the quality of life of the people.

Through a detailed study of Aga Khan Education Service and Aga Khan Health Service in Tanzania, Kaiser demonstrates that the overall Ismaili response to the challenges posed by the European colonial regimes and later the post independence African government was cooperation or accommodation rather than confrontation. "The Ismailis developed survival instincts that enabled them to maintain private-sector initiatives in an overtly hostile environment" (p. 93)

However individual Ismaili reaction to the two major challenges to their livelihood -the Arusha Declaration in 1967 which introduced socialism, and the 1971 Acquisition of Buildings Act which nationalized real estate and businesses - was markedly different. "The immediate consequence of these ... was a gradual exodus of Asians (including many Ismailis" (p. 27). Being members of an international community, these Ismailis whose economic prospects in Tanzania had suddenly dimmed, found it less traumatic to resettle in Britain and North America. (p. 42-47).

By 1995, the Ismaili population had decreased to around four thousand from a pre-1971 estimate of twenty-five thousand. Those who remained behind saw Tanzania as their home; Ismaili identification with Tanzania was not merely economic. "Their devotion to Aga Khan IV and their commitment to social development through hospitals, schools and clinics demonstrated a deeper attachment to Tanzanian society."

Dr. Kaiser's systematic and analytical study of the non-profit, transnational AKDN, at the local level, is an important contribution to scholarship on Third World development. He concludes: "The Ismailis in Tanzania are part of a well organized community with established links to a sophisticated international network of economic, social, and religious institutions held together by the spiritual legitimacy and strong leadership of Aga Khan IV." (p. 50).

The Ismaili Imam's enlightened leadership and interpretation of the faith have revealed intellectual, ethical, dynamic and philanthropic aspects of Islam seldom covered by the media. This global, intellectual humanitarian outlook of the Ismaili Imamat evolved during his grandfather's long and remarkable reign as the forty-eight Imam. See Aga Khan III. Selected Speeches and Writings of Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah, edited by K.K. Aziz. Kegan Paul International, London and New York 1998.

Professor Kaiser's thoroughly documented and well-written book is addressed to the specialist as well as the educated generalists.

Nizar A. Motani

Atlanta, GA