A Critical Analysis of the Researchers’ Approach in Claiming the Formation of Mu’minshāhī Sect

After the fall of Almut and death of Khurshah, the Nazarene Isma‘ilīs’ job did not come to an end; rather, his son, Shams al-Dīn Muhammad went to Azerbaijan along with his followers and after that the clandestine period of the Nazarene Imams began. After that, due to the special political situation of the followers of this sect, it was difficult to distinguish their Imams from their advocates (dā‘ī s). Lack of sources and insufficient information inculcated the researchers that a branch called Mu’minshāhī and Qāsimshāhī had formed in this period. The main theme of the present research is to clarify on what theoretical basis the researchers have come to believe in the creation of such branching and whether this branching has occurred only at the appellation level of the two Isma‘ilī Imams or there is a difference in the intellectual and ideological principles and fundamentals. This research is intended to explain this subject historically with an objective look at the events and documented historical and intellectual events that have been collected through fieldwork.