Ali Asani: The Ismaili Ginans of South Asia as Devotional Literature

This talk will introduce the ginans, hymns of wisdom of the South Asia’s Ismaili communities, and their most important themes. It will also discuss their ritual and performative contexts and the manner these have been impacted by a variety of political, social and religious influences in colonial and postcolonial times

Ali Asani is Professor of Indo-Muslim and Islamic Religion at Harvard University. Prof. Asani holds a joint appointment between the Committee on the Study of Religion and NELC. He also serves on the faculty of the Departments of South Asian Studies and African and African-American Studies. A specialist of Islam in South Asia, Professor Asani's research focuses on Shia and Sufi devotional traditions in the region. In addition, he studies popular or folk forms of Muslim devotional life, and Muslim communities in the West.