The Ismailis
The Ismailis succeeded in establishing the
Fatimid dynasty, in 973, with their capital at Cairo . The founder of the dynasty was Ubeidullah, known as the Mahdi, who claimed descent through a line of "hidden
imams", from
Muhammad, son of Ismail, and through him, to Fatimah, daughter of the Prophet. He was accused of Jewish ancestry by his adversaries the Abbasids, the Sunni rulers of Baghad, who declared him the son or grandson of Ahmed, son of Abdullah ibn Maymun, an original member of the Brethren of Sincerity, by a Jewess.
The Fatimids operated from the Dar ul Hikmat, or the "House of Wisdom", a wing of Al Azhar, the oldest university in the world, and the most prestigious educational institution in Islam, though now under the orthodox Sunnis., which they established in 988. The process of Ismaili indoctrination offered by the Fatimids involved through nine progression through nine degree, culminating in a denial of Islam and the acceptance of the Gnostic Sabian doctrine. At first, the initiate was persuaded that all his former teachers were wrong, and that he must place his confidence solely in the Imams of the Ismailis, as opposed to the twelve
Imams of the Shiah. Eventually, he was taught to disregard the prescriptions set out by the Prophet Mohammed, and taught the doctrines of
dualism.
Finally, in the ninth degree, the adept was shown that all religious teaching was allegorical, and that religious laws need be observed only to maintain order, while he who understands the truth may disregard all such constraints.
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