Overview

Although the rule of the Omani sultanate in Tanzania came to an end following the Zanzibar Revolution in 1964, the legacy of its empire still exists today, along with its distinctive religious identity. The Ibadhi Muslims of Omani descent, who are neither Sunni nor Shi'a, have used a message of tolerance and harmonious coexistence to spread their beliefs across North and East Africa in a post-revolution and post-independence era. In Society of the Righteous, Kimberly T. Wortmann explores how the Ibadhi-Omani community in Tanzania has engaged in charitable activities, cooperation within the Muslim community, and economic development, despite facing suspicions of foreign influence and elitism. The focus is on the Istiqaama Muslim Community, an international charity network established in Oman and Tanzania in 1995. This ethnographic and transregional study documents the strategies employed by the ""People of Truth and Righteousness"" to preserve their unique religious practices and beliefs. Society of the Righteous moves beyond the typical discussions on global Muslim religion and politics, such as tradition versus modernity, conflicts between different branches of Islam, and the global war on terror. Instead, it explores the intricacies of a religious community whose significance has been obscured by the limitations of area studies paradigms. It illuminates the complexities of religious identity, transnational networks, gender relations, and the power of collective memory in shaping narratives of belonging, cultural preservation, and change in an increasingly interconnected world.

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9780253071156

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"""Wortmann delivers a well-researched and comprehensive examination of Istiqaama, the Ibadi faith-based organization in Tanzania that grew in the 1980s and 90s to support local Muslims, re-establish ties with Oman, and in many ways reinvent what it means to be an Ibadi in postcolonial East Africa. Navigating the memory of the 1964 revolution, Wortmann provides a highly nuanced picture of the tensions that can appear as a result of Tanzania's colonial past with Oman as well as the careful work of Tanzanian Ibadis as they reconstruct their tradition. Through Wortmann's work, we witness the newest phase of Ibadism in East Africa.""—Adam Gaiser, author of Shurāt Legends, Ibādī Identities: Martyrdom, Asceticism, and the Making of an Early Islamic Community"

""Wortmann delivers a well-researched and comprehensive examination of Istiqaama, the Ibadi faith-based organization in Tanzania that grew in the 1980s and 90s to support local Muslims, re-establish ties with Oman, and in many ways reinvent what it means to be an Ibadi in postcolonial East Africa. Navigating the memory of the 1964 revolution, Wortmann provides a highly nuanced picture of the tensions that can appear as a result of Tanzania's colonial past with Oman as well as the careful work of Tanzanian Ibadis as they reconstruct their tradition. Through Wortmann's work, we witness the newest phase of Ibadism in East Africa.""—Adam Gaiser, author of Shurāt Legends, Ibādī Identities: Martyrdom, Asceticism, and the Making of an Early Islamic Community

Author Information

Kimberly T. Wortmann is an assistant professor and a scholar of religion at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Her research and writing are centered around transnational Muslim communities, religious institutions, and Swahili-speaking societies in East Africa and the Arab Gulf region.

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