The Trust and the Kenya government signed a memorandum of understanding  recently in Nairobi. Prince Hussain Aga Khan represented the Trust while on the government side were  former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and ministry of Local Government Prof Karega Mutahi and Dr Jacob ole Miaron, Permanent Secretary at the ministry of State for National Heritage and Culture.

The agreement was reached after a two-year negotiation over the possibility of returning the facility to its original use. This means that the Trust will collaborate in the rehabilitation and restoration of the Nairobi City Park to international standards in terms of architecture, landscape and horticulture.

“The agreement marks the initial steps to give the Park a metropolitan face, which will enhance its appeal to Kenyans as well as visiting global citizens,” said Prince Hussain Aga Khan.

“It is an important step towards ensuring that the historical and cultural heritage, as well as the significant biodiversity of Nairobi City Park, are conserved now and for generations to come.”
In its continued support for local cultural heritage, the Trust will fund the restoration. The actual cost of the project will be disclosed later, after deliberations of the steering committee formed by the three signatories have been agreed upon.

“Many of us remember how good it was in the 1960s and ‘70s to go for outings in the Park when it was patronised by both tourists and locals,” said Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi. “The experience of rehabilitating and restoring Nairobi City Park will give us direction on how to manage other parks, which also need attention,” he told reporters at the signing.

Source: http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/-/22212-city-park-for-major-restoration

Dar es Salaam.The Aga Khan Award for Architecture would be doubled to $1 million (Sh1.6bn), it has been learnt. According to a statement released by the Agha Khan Development Network (AKDN), his Highness the Aga Khan said doubling of the Award was meant to assist and support the recipients, many of whom are not well-known or well-funded architects or urban planners.

“One of key aspects of the Award is that winners should be able to reposition their future with the support they get from the Award, both professionally and institutionally,” said the Agha Khan on the occasion of the announcement.

The Aga Khan Award for Architecture is given every three years to projects that set new standards of excellence in architecture, planning practices, historical preservation and landscape architecture. The next prize will be awarded in 2013. Nominations for the Award are now being accepted and will run until 15 September 2012.

The Award, says the statement, seeks projects that represent the broadest possible range of architectural interventions, with particular attention given to building schemes that use local resources and appropriate technology in innovative ways, and those that are likely to inspire similar efforts globally. The projects must successfully address the needs and aspirations of societies in which Muslims have a significant presence.

In recent cycles, the Award has encouraged the submission of projects which improve public spaces and which tackle the issues of rural societies and communities on the peripheries of urban centres as well as industrial buildings that provide a quality environment for employees.

Recent recipients of the Award include well-known architects such as Norman Foster and Cesar Pelli, but also municipalities, master masons and clients. In 2010, the five recipients of the triennial prize were: a school integrated into a bridge in Xiashi, Fujian, China, the Wadi Hanifa Wetlands in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and the Ipekyol Textile Factory in Edirne, Turkey, the Madinat al-Zahra Museum in Cordoba, Spain and the Revitalisation of the Hypercentre of Tunis, Tunisia. Other projects that have received the Award since its first ceremony in 1980 include a slum networking project in Indore, India, the Central Market of Koudougou, Burkina Faso and the National Assembly building in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Source: http://thecitizen.co.tz/news/4-national-news/21862-akdn-ups-award-for-architecture.html

His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims, recently paid a brief visit to Dushanbe, Asia-Plus learnt from the presidential press service. Sitora Shokamolova, Communications Officer, Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe said that His Highness the Aga Khan who is founder and Chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) met with Tajik Head President Emomali Rahmon. In the course of talks, the sides discussed current and planned projects of AKDN in Tajikistan.

They noted that the majority of AKDN-sponsored projects being implemented in Tajikistan are of regional significance and peoples of Afghanistan and other Central Asia’s nations are also benefiting from those projects.   They also discussed a number of national and regional problems as well as opportunities for further expansion of cooperation. In the course of the talks, His Highness the Aga Khan expressed gratitude to President Emomali Rahmon for an official registration of the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe that is graphic evidence of freedom of religion and tolerance in the country, the source said. The sides were pleased with the results of a long-term cooperation on enhancement of sectors like education, health, communications, culture and energy as wells social protection of the population in Tajikistan.

It should be noted that AKDN is a group of development agencies with mandates that include the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalisation of historic cities. AKDN agencies conduct their programs without regard to faith, origin or gender.

On 21 March, Ismaili Muslims worldwide observe Navroz (Nowruz), a festival celebrated in many Muslim communities and cultures, particularly those belonging to the Shia. For many communities, it marks the beginning of a new year and the first day of spring. More generally, it signifies a time of spiritual renewal and physical rejuvenation, as well as the spirit of gratitude for blessings and an outlook of hope and optimism towards the future.

The festival of Navroz commemorates a centuries-old, agrarian custom that over time was integrated into various cultures and faith traditions. Today, Navroz is celebrated in many parts of the Middle East and Central and South Asia, particularly among peoples influenced by Persian and Turkic civilisations. In countries such as Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, Navroz is observed as a public holiday.

In Surah Ya-Sin of the Holy Qur’an, Allah says:

Let the once dead earth be a sign to them. We gave it life, and from it produced grain for their sustenance. We planted it with palm and the vine and watered it with gushing springs, so that men might feed on its fruit. It was not their hands that made all this. Should they not give thanks?

— Surah 36, Verses 33–35

Ismailis across the globe celebrate Navroz with the recital of devotional poetry in the form of ginans, qasidas, and manqabas. Dried fruits, nuts and grains are distributed among Jamati members, symbolising blessings of abundance and sustenance. Navroz is also a time of family gatherings and celebratory meals, thus strengthening family bonds and fraternal ties.

Navroz Mubarak!

Source: http://www.theismaili.org/cms/960/Navroz

The current predicament of ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan and Pakistan is a cause of grave concern, and it is essential for the international community to be aware of multiple complexities and rivalries in the region. For this article I partnered with an ethnic Hazara human rights activist and Chinese-educated medical doctor, M. Saleem Javed, based in Quetta, Pakistan to provide a brief history of this threatened community and to document the challenges they are currently facing.

Origin and Identity

Central Asia has been the crossroads of ethnicities for millennia as exemplified by the diversity of languages and other cultural expressions in this region. The West has been exposed to these narratives in the past decade unfortunately through the lens of conflict in Afghanistan. As NATO forces withdraw from the region, the plight of indigenous minorities deserves greater attention and scrutiny. Perhaps the most vulnerable of these minority groups are the Hazara people. Phenotypically, the Hazara have distinct similarities to Mongols and there may have been an ethnic connection as evident from the etymology of many Hazara names. There was likely widespread intermarriage when the Mongols invaded South-central Asia in the twelfth and the preexisting descendants of the Indo-Hephthalite Kushan Buddhist empire as well as subsequent Persian settlers.

A Chinese traveler, Tauchaun, wrote about people similar to Chinese in Hazarajat called ‘Hosalo’ in June 644 A.D. Since the Chinese alphabet does not have an ‘R,’ this reference could have been ‘Hozora’ or Hazara’. The proximate etymology of the word is derived from the Persian word for a ‘thousand’ (Hazar) which may be a reference to a military contingent. During the various conquests of the times perhaps this syncretic identity emerged beyond the battlefields. Now more than 5 million people consider themselves to be Hazara, a vast majority of whom live in Afghanistan (constituting at least 20% of the country’s population), followed by around a million in Pakistan. In Iran, there is a sizeable population of Hazara but they are intermingled with the Khawari ethnic group and a definitive census is hard to determine. The largest Hazara diaspora abroad is in Australia, which has been welcoming of Afghan immigration due to old ties of Afghan workers during British colonial times (even now one of Australia’s major train lines is called “The Ghan” in respect of this legacy).

Marginalization and Conquest

Discrimination towards the Hazara was poignantly portrayed by Afghan-American writer Khaled Hosseini in his epic novel The Kite Runner. The roots of persecution towards the Hazara are largely related to sectarian rifts within Islam – the dominant religion in the region. Though a comprehensive census eludes us, it is fair to say that a vast majority of Hazara are Shia (believing in twelve imams) with small Sunni and Ismaili minorities as well. While a majority of Pashtuns are Sunnis, there are also several Shia groups within Pashtun ranks, particularly among the Orakzai tribes. As documented in Sana Haroon’s book Frontier of Faith, there were several episodes of anti-Shia movements during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Most notable among these was the one led by Mullah Mahmud Akhunzada against the Shias of Orakzai which led to a bloody confrontation and expulsion of many Shias in 1929. The British supported the Shia at the time as a persecuted minority, though tribal leaders (particularly the Afridis) were highly suspicious of British intentions and tried to prevent their intervention by mobilizing their own dispute resolution system with the mullahs.

The inhabitants of Hazarajat in the central highlands of Afghanistan, were semi-independent until Amir Abdul Rahman, the King of Afghanistan, invaded their homeland in the late nineteenth century with the help of Sunni clergymen who declared Jihad (religious decree) against the Hazara Shias. According Afghan historian Mir Ghulam Mohammad Ghubar The Amir’s army and tribal militiamen massacred almost 60% of the Hazaras, confiscated much of their fertile land and enslaved many others. Many of them sought refuge in Quetta Pakistan and Iran’s Mashhed at that time leading to current populations in these areas. The remaining population has faced persecution and social discrimination at the hands of Afghan rulers ever since then.

Similar dynamics of dissent and conflict with foreign forces in the region appear to be playing out almost a century later. In March 1979 the Hazara launched a major offensive against the communist Afghan government and claimed their homeland (Hazarajat) in just a few months. However, in the 1980 various Hazara factions were engaged in a civil war while trying to establish domination over Hazarajat which ended in 1988 under the platform of the Hizb-e-Wahdat.

Taliban terror and its aftermath

Following the Russo-Afghan war and the subsequent Afghan civil war, the Taliban toke over Kabul in 1996 which marked the beginning of another wave of persecution and repression against the Hazara. From 1998 to 2002 thousands of Hazaras were massacred by Taliban in Mazar-e-Sharif (1998) , Rotak Pass (2000), Bamiyan (1998 -1999) , Yakao lang (January 2001) and other places of Afghanistan. Human Rights Watch (HRW) has documented through archived sources the massacre of thousands of Hazara Shias by Taliban forces during these years. Mullah Manan Niazi, the Taliban governor of Mazar-e-Sharif, had issued a Fatwa that ‘Hazaras are not Muslim, killing them is not a sin’. While the Taliban did make some tentative alliances with a few Hazara, it is widely believed that it was an official policy of the Taliban to marginalize the Hazara, confiscate their lands and force them into exile, particularly in Iran.

Termination of the Taliban government was wholeheartedly welcomed by the Hazaras and other ethnic and religious minorities in Afghanistan. The situation greatly improved as compared to Taliban times as the Afghan constitution gave fundamental protection to persecuted minorities, including the Hazara. However, minority communities continued to have grievances even under Hamid Karzai’s democratic government and violence continued. In 2004, 16 Hazaras were pulled from their vehicle by Taliban forces in south-central Afghanistan and executed. Hundreds of them have been massacred by Kochi nomads—who are presumptively allied with Taliban — in Behsud since 2007. Afghanistan’s Independent Human Rights Commission has produced a report on the dreadful series of incidents in this region.

Quo vadis NATO?

After ten years of the presence of US led NATO forces and at the eve of their withdrawal, there are ominous signs of a return to wider persecution of the Hazara Shias. On December 7, 2011 more than 70 Shias, mostly Hazaras, were killed in simultaneous suicide attacks on the tenth day of Moharram in Kabul and Mazar e Sharif. These attacks were ambiguously claimed and then denied by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi-al-Alami, a Pakistan based Taliban affiliate, with historic ties to Pakistani intelligence services that have operated under the despicable doctrine of “strategic depth” (exerting influence through destabilization of Afghanistan in order to gain leverage with their arch-rival India).

Pakistani Hazara diaspora protesting in Oslo Norway, Photo by Penny Thew, creative commons license

Similar attacks have taken place against the Hazara Shias of Pakistan since 1999 in which more than 700 innocent people have lost their lives along with hundreds injured and maimed. Two of the worst attacks which shocked the world were when 29 Hazara passengers were taken off a bus, made to stand in line and executed one by one in Mastung on 20 September 2011. Another 13 were executed after being identified as Hazaras Shias in Akhtarabad, Quetta, on Oct 04, 2011. The responsibility of almost all such attacks/targeted killings have been claimed by Lashkar e Jhangvi. A few weeks before the massacre, this banned terrorist outfit had circulated an open letter addressed to Hazaras in Quetta reading: “All Shi’ites are worthy of killing. We will rid Pakistan of unclean people….”

London-based Minority Rights Group (MRG) has identified the Hazara as the ‘most under threat minorty group’ in Afghanistan. The Hazara, both in Afghanistan and Pakistan, have been persecuted because of their religious and/or ethnic heritage and are particularly fearful of the peace talks with Taliban that are being brokered by Qatar. These talks may lead to the release of a particularly ruthless anti-Hazara Taliban commander and former deputy defense minister in their regime, Mullah Muhammad Fazl from Guantanamo Bay, who is known for his pernicious attacks on Shias.

For peace to prevail in Afghanistan and Pakistan, assuring security of the Hazara minority is essential. The United States and all interested states must not compromise on the security of this persecuted minority population in their peace talks. The Hazara constitute a vital indigenous culture that has survived for centuries and is threatened. While all groups must try to promote sectarian harmony internally, the responsibility of protecting the fundamental human rights of the Hazara remains with the Afghan and Pakistani states and their allies who purport to support peaceful pluralism.

http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2012/01/16/hazara_afghanistan_pakistan/

Monday, December 13, 2011 – Ismailis in Afghanistan on the occasion of 75th birth day of His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan, the 49th Imam (spiritual leader) organized gatherings in Afghanistan.

The Aga Khan council for Afghanistan organized the event in capital Kabul which was attended by a number of high level Afghan governmental officials and guests.

Sayed Shah Nasir Rahnuma, presidential adviser and Sayed Makhdom Raheen were among the participants.

Prince Karim Aga Khan IV was born on 13 December 1936 and is the 49th and current Imam of the Shia Imami Nizari Ismaili Muslims.He became the 49th spritual leader of the world Ismailis on July 11, 1957 at the age of 20, succeeding his grandfather, Sultan Mohamamd Shah (Aga Khan III).

Prince Karim Aga Khan is one of the significant donors for Afghanistan reconstruction. The Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) launched operations in different sectors after the fall of Taliban in 2001.

AKDN has been actively engaged in the reconstruction of Afghan historical sites, reconstruction of health clinics, provision of educational services, construction of roads and bridges since 2001 in Afghanistan.

Last year, the Ismaili Walk raised over $300,000, and has now raised over $3.8M since inception. The 20^thAnnual Ismaili Walk featured a full day of live entertainment, delicious heart-healthy meals, and activities for the whole family. Healthy Families BC was one of many proud supporters of this year’s record-setting Walk.

For more information visit www.healthyfamiliesbc.ca.

Princess Zahra Aga Khan accepted the Ashden Sustainable Energy Award on behalf of the Aga Khan Planning and Building Service (AKPBS) at a VIP ceremony here at the Royal Geographical Society.

Greg Barker MP praised the work of AKPBS in Pakistan for working with “vulnerable people”. He told The News there is a lot that can be learnt from the relatively simple but “innovative ways” used by the organisations to change the lives of the local people. He said the local and simple techniques were being helpful in switching to a sustainable lifestyle.

He said the UK government was “keen to support such initiatives. He said the politicians internationally have yet to come together to find solutions of energy and climate change yet the local NGOs, whether in Pakistan or elsewhere, were taking a lead in bringing people together, encouraging local communities to be part of the solution. “They are empowering people and not waiting for the solutions to be given to them to help form resource-sufficient and prosperous economies.”

Princess Zahra Aga Khan told The News that they were working to help lift thousands of families out of the vicious cycle of poverty through simple and efficient use of simple technology in high mountain areas.

She explained that the organization has nearly 70 products in building and construction programme, from smoke-free stove to, making insulated walls and water production locally as well teaching communities on the use of the new technologies. The princess said the team in Pakistan had done a fantastic work to deserve this award.

Sarah Butler-Sloss, founder Director of the Ashden Awards and chair of the judging panel told that the initiatives of AKPBS are exemplary because “they are bringing enterprise and solutions of environment, energy and poverty in a vulnerable and important part of Pakistan.

We are delighted by the work they do as they show it is possible to improve the lives of thousands of families and successfully tackle the major challenges of deforestation and climate change.

They are inspiring and their techniques are replicable”. The Aga Khan Planning and Building Service in Pakistan (AKPBS) was awarded £20,000 for helping families in remote mountain villages save energy and enjoy warmer and more comfortable homes by installing a range of energy-efficient products.

Source: http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=53246&Cat=2&dt=6/18/2011

Families, corporate teams among those who take stroll through Stanley Park to fight poverty in developing nations

The World Partnership Walk, held under sunny skies in Stanley Park on Sunday, raised more than $2 million to help fight poverty in developing countries, organizers said.

The walk benefits global development projects supported by the Aga Khan Foundation Canada.

What began in Vancouver in 1980 as a fundraiser and celebration of giving for Vancouver’s Ismaili community has become a national event with walks in Toronto and Victoria on the same day, and walks in other Canadian cities later this month.

“What makes the walk unique,” said representative Karim Salemohammed, “is that it is underwritten by the Aga Khan foundation, and 100 per cent of all funds raised goes to projects around the world.”

Walkers, including families and corporate teams, took advantage of the sunny day to walk five kilometres through Stanley Park before joining festivities that included bhangra and other musical performances at Lumbermen’s Arch.

They also had a chance to taste some Ismaili specialties, including sugar cane juice, fresh-cut young coconut, tamarind seeds and traditional barbecue.

The Aga Kahn Foundation Canada is a non-denominational registered charity dedicated to finding solutions to global poverty through grassroots projects focusing on education, sanitation, clean water and rural economic ventures in some of the world’s poorest countries.

“The walk is really all Canadians saying we care about the world. We can do something locally and make a difference globally,” said Salemohammed.

Jameel Dawood, a volunteer at the walk’s global village tent, said what he finds most exciting about working with AKF Canada is the partnership with the Canadian International Development Agency, which meets every dollar raised with a corresponding amount of $8 or $9.

“Just $10 can educate a child in a developing country for a year,” he said.

“Most projects we support start at a grassroots level and use a sandwich approach, bringing research and development and best practices to communities at a grassroots level.”

Funds raised through the annual walk and other Aga Khan Foundation events and partnerships go to communities in countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, Mozambique and Kenya.

Since 1980, the event has raised more than $60 million.

Source: http://www.vancouversun.com/business/World+Partnership+Walk+garners+
more+than+million+world+poor/4859688/story.html#ixzz1NsiTDEUc

While preserving the dying qawwali tradition, the Trust hopes to simultaneously create spaces in the Nizamuddin Basti, like the Chaunsath Khamba, the Central Park opposite the MCD school and the Dargah, where regular performances can take place. As part of a cultural revival initiative called the ‘Aalam-e-Khusrau’, co-funded by the Ford Foundation, the Trust is facilitating public performances, discussions, research, archiving and documenting, research fellowships, scholarship programmes and multimedia exhibitions on Khusrau.

Since its beginning in the 13th-14th Century by the Sufi Saint Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya in Ghiyaspur, qawwali is said to have been adapted in many situations and variations, but all of them display the distinct musical style and structure of the present-day qawwali. Amir Khusrau, the most beloved disciple of Hazrat Nizamuddin Auliya, supposedly created this style of music as a form of veneration.

Scholars, however, say the tradition is now dying out. Children in qawwal families are found to carry the tradition forward, but without any formal knowledge of music. To train them, AKTC is now in the process of hand-picking children from these families from the Nizamuddin Basti, Chitli Qabar in Old Delhi and Fatehpur Sikri. They will be sent to maestros in classical music for formal training.

Last year, the ‘Jashn-e-Khusrau’ programme included khanaqahi qawwali performances, poetry-reading, lectures and discussions on qawwali and Amir Khusrau, exhibitions depicting the world of Dargah Hazrat Nizamuddin and the Basti area urban renewal projects, as well as heritage walks through the settlement of the Hazrat Nizamuddin Basti.

A similar programme is being planned for 2012, when a travelling exhibition-cum-workshop will also travel to UP, Rajasthan, Punjab, and Jammu-Kashmir, where the AKTC is documenting and archiving the existing qawwali traditions.

The AKTC has also put forth a suggestion to the Ministry of Culture to set up an Amir Khusrau Resource Centre that can house books, manuscripts, illustrations, recordings and artifacts pertaining to Khusrau’s legacy.

The AKTC has proposed that the centre be located in the Nizamuddin area, while regular events can be organised at central locations like the India International Centre and monuments such as Chaunsath Khamba that will create an interface between performers and scholars to ensure that Khusrau’s legacy is carried on.

“Qawwali traditions initiated by Hazrat Amir Khusrau here in the Nizamuddin area in the 14th Century are as much our contribution to the world’s heritage as Humayun’s Tomb. Hopefully this programme will lead to the revival of the pure art and generate greater interest amongst the younger generation while giving the qawwals new performance venues and greater recognition,” Ratish Nanda, project director, AKTC, told Newsline.

“Nizamuddin Basti has been the cradle of Hindustani culture for 700 years and we hope to revive it through these programmes.”