Page "Aga Khan III" Paragraph 12

Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah also introduced organizational forms that gave Ismāʿīlī communities the means to structure and regulate their own affairs.

These were built on the Muslim tradition of a communitarian ethic on the one hand, and responsible individual conscience with freedom to negotiate one's own moral commitment and destiny on the other.

In 1905 he ordained the first Ismā ' īlī Constitution for the social governance of the community in East Africa.

The new administration for the Community's affairs was organized into a hierarchy of councils at the local, national, and regional levels.

The constitution also set out rules in such matters as marriage, divorce and inheritance, guidelines for mutual cooperation and support among Ismā ' īlīs, and their interface with other communities.

Similar constitutions were promulgated in the South Asia, and all were periodically revised to address emerging needs and circumstances in diverse settings.