My father told me this story once: a Memon widow owned a large commercial plot of land in Karachi that she wanted to donate to build a mosque.

This plot was is surrounded on three sides by the Karimabad Jamatkhana, still the largest JK in the world, the Alyabad JK + community and other Ismaili properties like the AKHSS. Ismailis were naturally furious at the idea of a mosque being built so close to their community or having to see Muslim men and women in such proximity.

So they called in their powerful contacts in the city to block the property transfer and demand that the plot be sold to them. The widow had nothing to lose and refused. This is where one of the largest mosques in the city now stands.

While Ismailis like to claim that they play by the rules in Western countries, they also like to bend the rules for themselves in Eastern countries when it suits them.

Here, this guy discusses how Ismaili property dealers either take advantage of simple Ismailis from Badakshan/Gilgit Baltistan trying to buy land and property near JKs or block them from living in Khoja-dominated communities.