Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe


The Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe is one of six such centres world-wide and is an Ismaili jamatkhana. It was the fifth purpose-built Ismaili Centre, and the first in Central Asia.

Background

Dushanbe is the capital of Tajikistan, a country characterised by an unusually extensive Ismaili population: the region of Badakhshan, which spills over northeastern Afghanistan, eastern Tajikistan and North Pakistan, is the only part of the world where Ismailis make up the majority of the population. Under Soviet rule, the religion was discouraged, but since 1991 has increased its public prominence, and the Personal Representative of the Ismaili imamate has been granted full diplomatic status. In May 1995, Aga Khan IV became the first Aga Khan known to have visited the region, invited by the governments of Tajikistan and Kyrgyz Republic.

Function

Following extensive development work for Ismaili people in Tajikistan, the Centre was inaugurated on 12 October 2009 by the Aga Khan and the Tajikistani president, Emomali Rahmon. The centre gave the traditionally peripheral Ismailis a prominent architectural focus in the capital city, while retaining the Ismaili Centres' customary sense of seclusion for those within the building, and is a mark of the increasing integration of Tajik Ismailis into the global Ismaili community. The Centre was designed 'to become part of the fabric of the civil life of the area', and accordingly includes not only facilities for worship, but also for conferences, lectures and cultural performances.

Architecture

Designed by the Canadian architect Farouk Noormohamed, and like various post-independence Tajik buildings, the Ismaili Centre evokes Samanid architecture, its brickwork particularly evoking the Ismaili Samanid Mausoleum. The building is set within gardens featuring fountains and Persian silk trees.
The Centre is also notable for some of its sustainability features, such as earthquake-resistance and the use of an innovative water-source heating and cooling system.