Scientific life. Scientific business trip In August-September 2002, the Alan-Pamir Research Group of the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences conducted an expedition to the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajikistan (hereinafter - GBAO) and the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This was the first expedition undertaken by Russian scientists to the Pamirs in recent years. N. M. Yemelyanova, the author of these lines, and U. V. Okimbekov, a post-graduate student of the Institute of Information Technology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, took part in it. The tasks of the expedition included the resumption of contacts with scientists and scientific institutions of GBAO, studying the prospects for joint scientific research, collecting field materials about local Ismailis and Pamir peoples. In the province of Badakhshan, it was supposed to study the socio-economic conditions in which local residents live. Our main assistants and companions in GBAO were employees of Khorog State University and the Institute of Humanities of the Pamir branch of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan. Scientific contact was established with the heads of these scientific institutions M. G. Shabozov and Shodikhon Yusufbekov. We managed to collect new materials about the customs of local Ismailis and understand the specifics of the religious structure of their community in our time. The main feature of the Ismaili religion (tariqa) is that unlike other Muslims, Ismailis have their own supreme head-Imam Aga Khan IV, whom they call "His Highness". The imam's headquarters are located near Paris in Aglamont. The Institute of Ismaili Studies in London plays an important role in the religious and secular education of Ismailis. In the mid-1990s, a special department was created here, which included the Ismaili Tariqah and Religious Education Committee (hereinafter referred to as YREC) for activities in Tajikistan. Its members were appointed by the Aga Khan IV hims ... Читать далее