Microsoft & Aga Khan Foundation to collaborate to help underserved communities in Africa & Asia

Yesterday at Microsoft HQ, Michael Rawding, vice president of the Unlimited Potential Group at Microsoft, and Iqbal Noor Ali, CEO of the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate in the development of innovative technology solutions and human resource capacity through education, health, civil society, financial services, rural livelihoods and economic development programs in Africa, South and Central Asia.

The working collaboration between the Microsoft Unlimited Potential Group and the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. reflects a shared goal to expand the social and economic opportunities of underserved communities, irrespective of race, religion, political persuasion or gender.

As an initial area of collaboration, the two organizations will focus on education with the establishment of a global information and communication technology (ICT) strategy for the network of 18 Aga Khan Academies. The first Aga Khan Academy was inaugurated in 2003 in Mombasa, Kenya. Additional primary and secondary schools are in development in 14 countries across Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South Asia over the next 10 to 15 years.

Microsoft plans to provide technical assistance and advisory services to the academies and explore new ways that ICT can help enable quality education and teachers’ professional development, which may include Microsoft’s Partners in Learning program and Microsoft’s Digital Literacy Curriculum. Microsoft also will collaborate with the Aga Khan Foundation in Pakistan and East Africa to help enhance the quality and availability of math, science and technology education programs, as well as to expand digital access through Community Technology and Learning Centers (CTLCs).

“Today’s most pressing issues of social and economic development require more than traditional philanthropy,” Ali said. “Our agreement with Microsoft today marks a joint, long-term commitment to help the most vulnerable in society with the most innovative, appropriate solutions and technologies at our disposal.”

To promote rural economic development, the two organizations plan to help expand access to information and technology through the Aga Khan Foundation’s existing Rural Support Programs. Microsoft and the Aga Khan Foundation also will explore areas of joint research into new technologies relevant to rural populations and ways to raise awareness about the needs of the underserved rural segment among software developers in universities and around the world.

“If we are to meet our goal of reaching the next 5 billion people around the world who are not yet realizing the benefits of technology, it is critical that we look at innovative partners which span communities and geographies,” Rawding said. “We are thrilled that the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. will work with the Unlimited Potential Group to help address the needs of the marginalized urban and rural communities in Africa, South and Central Asia.”

Other areas of collaboration include the expansion of youth empowerment programs and shared best practices in ICT skills to help strengthen the development capacity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The first joint project in this area will take place in Tanzania, with the support of the International Youth Foundation. Microsoft and the Aga Khan Foundation also have agreed to jointly explore quality healthcare initiatives and how ICT can help expand outreach and lower costs for financial services for the poor (such as microcredit and savings, microinsurance, and other services).

The two organizations already have collaborated with success on projects in Egypt and India, where they have helped to open CTLCs for marginalized rural and urban areas, offering youth empowerment programs that provide vocational training programs in ICT and advanced courses for professionals to become Microsoft Certified Technology Specialists at the University of Central Asia. The Memorandum of Understanding signed today will expand upon the collaboration efforts between Microsoft and the Aga Khan Foundation to help empower more communities with the ICT access that can create new social and economic opportunities.

Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A., established in 1981, is a private, nondenominational, nonprofit international development organization committed to the struggle against hunger, disease and illiteracy. The Foundation works to address the root causes of poverty by sharing innovative solutions and by supporting over 100 programs in health, education, rural development, civil society and the environment primarily in East Africa and South and Central Asia. Using community-based approaches to meet basic human needs, the Foundation builds the capacity of community and nongovernmental organizations to have a lasting impact on reducing poverty.

The Foundation is an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network, a network of private, nondenominational, development agencies around the world, established by His Highness the Aga Khan, working to empower communities and individuals to improve living conditions and opportunities, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Central and South Asia, and the Middle East. The Network’s nine development agencies focus on social, cultural and economic development for all citizens, regardless of gender, origin or religion. The AKDN’s underlying ethic is compassion for the vulnerable in society. Its annual budget for social development is in excess of $300 million (U.S.).

Source: http://www.publictechnology.net/
article_avantgo.php?sid=16986

Faith Without Fear, on Aug. 17th, 2008

Yasmin Virani proudly presents a screening of Irshad’s Manji’s latest - Emmy Award Nominated - documentary, Faith Without Fear. Love her or hate her - join us for coffee and cheesecake, at 3:00pm on Sunday August 17th/2008, at The Drake Hotel (1150 Queen Street).

‘In an era in which Islam is often portrayed in the media as harsh and violent and Muslims as fundamentalist fanatics, Faith Without Fear offers a complex and multi-faceted inquiry into one of the world’s great religions, from the perspective of a woman who is dissenting, yet deeply engaged with her faith.’

YOU’VE HEARD ALL ABOUT HER BOOK …
HERE’S YOUR CHANCE TO WATCH HER FILM

SHE’S A WOMAN …’Bigger, much bigger, than girl meets god.’
-O, The Oprah Magazine

SHE’S A LESBIAN …’Hot with revolutionary questions, anger, and challenges!’
- The Independant (UK)

AND SHE TALKS ABOUT ISLAM … ‘Osama bin Laden’s worst nightmare!’
- United Press International’

Tickets Only: $15.00
Students: $10.00

RSVP @ www.yasminvirani.com

The IIS has just launched “The Ismailis”

The IIS has just launched The Ismailis: An Illustrated History which was authored and edited by Dr. Farhad Daftary and Dr. Zulfikar Hirji (Class of 1997). Dr. Hirji is currently Assistant Professor of Anthropology at York University, Toronto. Other IIS alumni who were involved with the book were Dr. Fahmida Suleman (Class of 1997), Dr. Miriam Ali-de-Unzaga (Class of 2000) and Alnoor Merchant (Class of 1987).

The Illustrated History is based on the most recent academic research on Ismaili and Islamic history, and is meant for the general reader. The book has four main chapters that take the reader from the advent of Islam and the formation of the Shi‘a through to the historical developments that led to the formation of the Ismailis and their history up until the present-day. Each chapter contains a synopsis, maps and chronology of key events, as well as special sections devoted to important figures, themes and events in Islamic, Shi‘i and Ismaili history. Many of the beautiful images of manuscripts and objects in the book are found in private and public collections, and some are here published for the first time. The book also narrates the history of the Ismailis using contemporary and historical photographs of places and landscapes.

When Zul was asked about the book he commented that, ‘When I conceptualized the book, I imagined taking the reader on a journey through time, across continents, over valleys and mountains, and between oceans. I wanted readers to imagine themselves walking through the city of Cairo, feeling the isolation and majesty of living in a fort or castle perched on the roof of the world, and sailing across the ocean to a new frontier. Ismaili history for me is very much about constant movement and the ever-evolving understanding of faith and the meaning of life. To capture this spirit of movement, the book often juxtaposes materials from a variety of sources in different formats. The production of the book has itself been a journey of discovery. In the process, we have found new materials on Ismaili history, particularly in terms of manuscripts, objects and photographs, and re-thought the role and place of extant materials.’

Ali to Karim premieres in Los Angeles

Approaching the Redondo Performing Arts Center, near Los Angeles, the theatre’s marquee was visible and I was excited. With the evening performance totally sold out and a sizable audience for the matinee show, ALI TO KARIM: A Tribute to the Ismaili Imams was going to be a special event.

From the elegant and informative programme booklet to the anticipation of the audience, it was evident that the unfolding of the Imamat and the Jamat’s 1 400-year history was going to be engrossing. While some anecdotes and historical facts may have been familiar, the lives of the Imams, their heroic sacrifices and contributions, and the community’s displacement and survival over the centuries, were presented in an innovative manner.

A simple white stage lit up as the cast of professional British and local Ismailis took the audience on a roller coaster of emotion. Tears rolled at the description of the massacres at Karbala and Alamut; pride swelled at the mention of Al-Azhar, one of the earliest universities in the world. And in between, the antics of some characters made spectators chuckle and laugh in merriment.

Multimedia images provided the stage backdrop and lent context to the tale. The mix of drama, comedy, narrative, legend, poetry, painting and film used to illustrate the chronology of the 49 Ismaili Imams, carried the audience from one period to the next, seizing them in rapt attention.

Whatever their level of prior knowledge about Ismaili history, members of the Jamat responded overwhelmingly with appreciation at the incredible effort expended over the past year in the conception and realisation of this historic Golden Jubilee International Programme.

A thunderous standing-ovation at the end of the two-and-a-half-hour performance was not the only sign that the immense effort of the project team was appreciated. Elementary school children and senior citizens alike were intent on capturing every word and understanding every gesture.

“Absolutely unbelievable,” said high school graduate, Raziq-Omar Jivani. “It reinforced what I knew. It brought our history to life in a surprising and creative production. I would definitely recommend all to see it. Five stars!”

Dina Mousawi, the Iraqi-Ukrainian actress who played several characters, was asked about her experience of working on the production over the past several months. “What stands out the most and is the most moving,” she said, “is how so many from this community came forward to help… I have never seen such generous people or such volunteer spirit in any Muslim community.”

A member of the National Cast, Noren Panjwani, from Charlotte, North Carolina, had been rehearsing with the cast for three weeks and was appreciative of how the professional actors had helped the novices with their acting — skills that will endure long after the performance. She noted that “the [non-Ismaili] cast seems to know more about our history and faith than most of us,” a reflection of the tremendous amount of research that went into writing the script and educating the cast.

At the end of the evening I felt as though I had returned from a time capsule that had transported me across several continents and centuries. Members of the Jamat eagerly conversed with one other, discussing what they had learnt. Pride in our Ismaili heritage was apparent in the smiles all around.

For more information on ALI TO KARIM and a schedule of cities and dates on this tour, please visit TheIsmaili.org/AlitoKarim.

Source: http://www.theismaili.org/cms/500/Ali-to-Karim-premieres-in-Los-Angeles

Canada’s Engagement in Afghanistan

Farrah Musani: Action Diplomacy

Kandahar, Afghanistan — Kandahar might seem like an unusual place to run into a diplomat. It’s a conflict area, after all, and whether or not you have diplomatic passport, stepping outside prescribed safe areas can land you in a good bit of hot water.

But that’s exactly where Farrah Musani, an officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs, has been for the last year.

“This is a totally atypical environment for DFAIT to be working. I don’t think there’s anything else like it,” Musani tells me over coffee in the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) cafeteria.

“It’s been a pretty intense experience – but a very good one.”

Born outside Toronto, Musani moved with her family to Calgary in 1987. She graduated from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government before joining the Foreign Affairs team 2 years ago.

After a year with START– the Stabilization and Reconstruction Task Force – in Ottawa, Musani got the call to head south. “I remember I got a phone call in mid-May last year,” she recalls.

“I called my parents and said, ‘How would you feel about my going to Kandahar for a year?’ At first all I got was silence on the other end of the line, but actually they were pretty cool about it.”

Musani’s work has focused on a number of areas, including assessing the state of the justice system in the region.

“A lot of what I do has focused on gathering information, and assessing people’s perception of what’s needed.”

The policing sector in Afghanistan is widely acknowledged – by Afghans and the international community alike – as needing fairly comprehensive reform. Indeed, this will increasingly be a focus for Canada, both in Kandahar, and country-wide.

Through the Global Peace and Security Fund, Musani is bridging the intangible diplomatic work characteristic of her department, with bricks-and-mortar projects like building police sub-stations. She suggests that Canadians and Afghans have been working closely on the file, and are starting to see results.

BRINGING BALANCE
The Government of Afghanistan’s effort to further the justice file is also a focus for Musani. She suggests that presently the justice sector is divided between the formal system, with judges and lawyers, and the informal system, which is generally described as being more “restorative” and is “supposed to return a sense of balance” to society.

“There are clearly limits to both systems,” Musani says, and she has been working with leaders from all walks of life in Kandahar to determine how best to identify and work within those limits.

It’s with talk of meeting chief justices and prosecutors, that one gets a sense for Musani’s background in diplomacy, and of the tremendous impact that such political officers can – and have – make on the ground. “I can really see the progress made since I started last year – we’re learning how to work as a team.”

The team she’s talking about involves not just Afghans, but also Canadians from a wide spectrum of agencies: the Canadian Forces, the Canadian International Development Agency, Corrections Canada, her home department of DFAIT and the RCMP. “There’s a complementary way of operating here in Kandahar. We’re not pinned into any one department’s possibly narrow way of doing things.”

Canada’s engagement in rebuilding Afghanistan is the largest in our country’s history. And Musani seems proud to be a part of it. “This is a huge engagement for Canada – and I feel like if we’re going to do it, we should do it right.”

Musani wraps up her stint in Kandahar this summer, but further adventures are not far off: she’s slated to start at Canada’s embassy in Kabul come the fall.

Source: http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca
/canada-afghanistan/kandahar/diplo.aspx

Keep Afghanistan expectations realistic, says departing ambassador

By Graham Thomson

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - Calling Afghanistan the most underdeveloped country in which he has ever worked, Canada’s ambassador here says Canadians “should be realistic” about how much progress can be achieved before Canada’s combat mission in Kandahar province ends in 2011.

“What is hard for Canadians to understand, as it is for the public in the rest of the Western countries, is just how big the development task is here,” said Arif Lalani, who is packing his bags to leave the country after a 15-month posting in Kabul. “This is an extremely underdeveloped country. It’s the most underdeveloped country I have worked in. And it has had 30 years of war.”

Lalani’s comments in a telephone interview reflect a lowering of expectations by the federal government on what Canada can do to improve the situation in an impoverished country where insurgent-led violence has increased over the past year.

“We have had a tough summer both in terms of Kabul and Kandahar in terms of security incidents,” said Lalani, making a reference to almost daily attacks on soldiers and civilians by Taliban fighters whose most spectacular assault involved freeing almost all the prisoners at the Sarpoza prison in Kandahar City in June. The escalating violence has meant more American troops are dying in Afghanistan than Iraq, and insurgents seem to be destroying schools as fast as coalition countries can build them.

However, Lalani - who has worked as a Canadian diplomat in Jordan, Iraq, Georgia and Azerbaijan - said the news isn’t all bad. He defended Canada’s record on development work that includes helping feed countless Afghans, immunizing thousands of children against polio and taking the lead on building a national education system.

“When we have setbacks it’s too easy to think that any bad day ruins whole years of work and that’s just not true,” said Lalani who credits the work of the NATO-led coalition in general and Canada’s help in particular with improving life in Afghanistan since 2003 - even if the improvements don’t always look impressive at first glance.

“When we look five years later at Kabul City or Kandahar City and there are tin stores with a paved road with some basic lighting selling some basic things well into the evening, that actually is a sign of recovery and success. But it may not look like it if we’re expecting a higher level of development. I think that’s the hard part for people to understand, just how basic it is and how difficult the challenge is to move this community, to get around 30 years of war.”

Experts, including several Canadian military officials, have said any long-lasting reconstruction work will take decades. With such a huge task still ahead, Lalani confirmed Canada’s development work will carry on after Canadian troops leave under a parliamentary order in 2011.

“Our development program is going to continue, and that means our development work will continue. So, I think we need to look at how that’s going to take shape in 2011.”

What is not clear is how Canada will deliver that development help in Kandahar province. At this point, it’s not even known whether Canadian civil servants who now administer the programs will be pulled out along with the soldiers and sent to another part of the country, or whether they would remain and do their work under the protection of whichever NATO country takes over the combat mission from Canada.

One possibility would see the development work handed over to non-governmental agencies, such as the Aga Khan Foundation, which already does anti-poverty projects with Canadian money in Bamiyan province under the protection of New Zealand troops.

“Development assistance is very dependent on security but it’s not dependent just on Canadians providing security,” said Lalani. “Canada has projects in the north, in the east, in the west of this country where we’re implementing projects where other troops are actually providing the security. So let’s not forget that we work throughout the country, not just where we have Canadian soldiers.”

No country has yet volunteered to take Canada’s combat role in the volatile Kandahar province, which remains the heartland of Taliban support. The United States might be the most obvious candidate, having already promised to send 1,000 troops to help Canadians sometime this year while American politicians talk about sending thousands of troops to Afghanistan next year.

Another possibility suggested by Canadian senators who wrote a report entitled “How are we doing in Afghanistan?” is that Canada will decide not to pull out of Kandahar as planned because it will have fallen short of its goals.

The alternative, though, seems to be to shrink the goals, not extend the mission.

Canada has adopted new, moderate priorities for progress which replaced its once lofty ambition of undermining the Taliban as an effective fighting force and substantially cutting the opium trade.

Canada is now focused on the delivery of humanitarian assistance, enhancing border security with Pakistan and promoting law and order.

“Canadians should be realistic about what we’re doing,” said Lalani, “but they should be proud of what Canada is doing here.”

Lalani will be leaving Afghanistan within days but his exact departure date is a secret for security reasons. His replacement has not yet been announced.

Edmonton Journal

gthomson@thejournal.canwest.com
Source: http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=
62cf4bec-85a3-4a13-b872-5f78dff9c753

Youngster raises $10,000 to beat world poverty

By: Julie Slack

June 9, 2008 01:29 PM - An eight-year-old Mississauga boy has raised more than $10,000 in his quest to end world poverty.

Amyn Mawani recently walked from Toronto’s Metro Hall, along with thousands of Torontonians, at the 24th annual World Partnership Walk. The largest event of its kind in Canada, the five-kilometre fundraising walk helps alleviate global poverty. Some 38,000 people participated in the event in nine cities across Canada.

Last year, the walk raised more than $5 million.

Amyn, who raised $10,000 through pledges from friends and family, and his brother, Rahim, 16, are passionate about poverty after witnessing circumstances of the very poor in countries such as Kenya and Cuba, and hearing stories of their own father’s childhood of poverty in Kenya.

Together, they formed a 13-member team, End to Poverty, which raised $11,768 in total, with Amyn raising the majority of the funds. Rahim raised more than $600.

The brothers also made a lifetime commitment to the cause.

“Our goal is dedicated to helping the three billion people who live on less than $2 per day,” said Rahim. “One goal is to raise $1 per Canadian, which is $35 million annually. Our lifetime total goal is $99 billion. We know it is a big goal, but we are ready to start small and grow together with our supporters and socially responsible Canadian citizens.”

Amyn and Rahim have been participating in the walk with their parents, Nizar and Rafika, for as long as they can remember.

All funds raised through the World Partnership Walk go directly to programs supported by Aga Khan Foundation Canada, a private Canadian development agency.

Islam doesn’t separate world from faith

António Marujo and Faranaz Keshavjee

Courteous, ever smiling, those who are close to him say he is demanding. That is what happens in the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of agencies working in fields such as micro-finance, rural development or even in lucrative sectors such as tourism, aviation, banking or industry. Shah Karim Al-Husseini. Aga Khan IV, as he designated by the Ismailis, took on the role of 49th hereditary Imam of the Time (since Prophet Muhammad), on July 11th 1957.

He was in Portugal , some days ago, to mark the conclusion of his Golden Jubilee.

PÚBLICO - In 1976, you mentioned that Prophet Muhammad understood the importance of new solutions for the daily lives that would not affect the principles of Islam. Does this motivate the undertakings of the AKDN?

Definitely. Firstly, the notion of dealing with poverty. Islam has a group of very strong orientations on how to help people, which is different (no more or less better) from the Christian world. For example, in Islam, we do not use the terms philanthropy or charity [as in Christianity] .

Islam says that the best form of charity, to use the term, is by helping people to become self-sufficient. It is to give in such a way that the person becomes master of one’s own destiny. This is a very clear affirmation to all Muslims, and it underlies our health programmes, educationt it is helping people to help themselves. The same is applicable to micro-finance. Whatever the need of the poor, one should help to resolve it. One does not specify material poverty, disease, or divisions within the family.

Does daily life carry the same importance as eternal life?

In Islam, they are the same thing. One cannot separate faith from the world. This is one of the greatest difficulties that the non-Muslim world has, because the judaic-christian societies developed with that notion of separation. For the Muslims, that separation is not possible. We are expected to live our faith every day, in every hour.

One of the difficulties that we are facing in the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds, is the articulation of the difference in values in a comprehensive form. However, this does not mean that we are in conflict. They are just different values.

One of the differences is laicality, debated in countries such as as Portugal , Turkey , France . For many, faith should remain confined to a private space. You mentioned that Islam doesn’t separate faith from the world. How do you perceive this notion?

I would like the non-Muslim societies to accept the values of Islam. If Islam says that we do not separate the world from faith, the Western world should accept that. I would go further and say: it is a wonderful way to live! It is an extraordinary blessing to be able to live our faith everyday! Making ethic the way in which you live your daily life, and not only in occasions such as death, a marriage or a birth.

I am not criticising anyone. I am saying that secular society, by the nature of secularity and the demands of time, provokes in people the need to first place the world and faith after. This is not a part of Islam.

Upon receiving the Award for Tolerance from the Tutzing Evangelic Academy , in Germany , you stated: “Instead of shouting at one another, we should listen to each other and learn from each other”.

You said that “fear is the source of intolerance”. In spite of your words and those of several religious leaders, many believers do not listen to this message. What is yet to be done?

There will always be limits in inter-religious dialogue, when religions, in their essence, cannot attain a consensus above a common platform, when proselytism is, therefore, worth more.

There are several forms of proselytism and, in several religions, proselytism is demanded. Therefore, it is necessary to develop the principle of a cosmopolitan ethic, which is not an ethic oriented by faith, or for a society. I speak of an ethic under which all people can live within a same society, and not of a society that reflects the ethic of solely one faith. I would call that ethic, quality of life.

I have serious doubts about the ecumenical discourse, and about what it can reach, but I do not have any doubts about cosmopolitan ethics. I believe that people share the same basic worries, joys, sadness. If we can reach a consensus in terms of cosmopolitan ethics, we will have attained something which is very important.

The Qu’ran has a very important ayat [verse], in which God says: “I have created you” - “you” means mankind - “male and female, from one sole, only one soul”. This is the most extraordinary expression on the unity of the human race. It is within this context that we must work.

Source: http://nation.ittefaq.com/issues/2008/08/05/news0951.htm

Tough sell: Touring audacious Afghanistan

PDT Bamiyan, Afghanistan —

Sanjeev Gupta thinks it’s about time war-torn Afghanistan had a tourism industry in a peaceful corner of the country.

Gupta, a regional program manager for the nongovernmental organization, the Aga Khan Foundation, says that even though some areas are too volatile to visit, Bamiyan in central Afghanistan is safe and has an abundance of cultural, historical and natural treasures to lure international travelers.

“Bamiyan has a lot of tourist potential,” Gupta said. “We need to correct the perception of Afghanistan. The whole country is not dangerous.”

The Aga Khan Foundation, based in Geneva, created the Bamiyan Ecotourism Project to develop tourist infrastructure, train guides, cooks and hoteliers, and raise awareness of the region’s natural attractions. It’s a $1 million, three-year program.

Tough sell

Gupta concedes the task of establishing a tourism industry is a daunting task even in a relatively safe province like Bamiyan.

Since the Soviet invasion in 1979 and three decades of war, few tourists have traveled to Afghanistan. The United States and many other Western governments have issued travel advisories strongly discouraging nonessential travel to Afghanistan. And there are no commercial flights. Tourists must travel the 150-mile, 10-hour journey from Kabul on a dirt road that winds high up into the snowcapped Koh-i-Baba mountains before dipping down into the verdant Bamiyan Valley. The alternative road is controlled by the Taliban, who were ousted in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

But Gupta sees a long-term plan. “It’s not that we’re starting the program today and tomorrow there are hordes of tourists coming,” he said. “But it builds a base.”

To be sure, Bamiyan is already a success story in the post-Taliban era.

Virtually free of opium poppies, Bamiyan’s fields are bursting with potato plants. Scores of schools have been built, with girls 45 percent of provincial students, up from almost zero in 2001 under the fundamentalist Taliban. In stark contrast, 590 schools have closed in southern Afghanistan and 300,000 students have been left without classrooms due to Taliban attacks, according to the Associated Press.

History of visitors

And Bamiyan does have tourist infrastructure. Ever since the days of the fabled Silk Road that linked Rome to China, the province has been a stop for international travelers from Alexander the Great and Genghis Khan to first lady Laura Bush. In June, the first lady met with women training at a police academy and toured the construction site of an orphanage.

Tea shop owners at the edge of one lake say that on Fridays, the Islamic weekend, the parking lot fills with dozens of cars - most belonging to picnicking Afghan families.

In past years, most tourists came to see two giant statues of Buddha, at 174 feet and 125 feet, which were built a century before the birth of Islam out of the red sandstone cliffs 1,500 years ago. At the time, Bamiyan was a thriving center of Buddhism.

In 2001, at the height of its power, the Taliban government used rockets and tanks to destroy the Buddhist landmarks, which they considered to be idols of infidels.

Now, Bamiyan wants its history back.

Push to rebuild

Gov. Habiba Sarabi - the only female governor in Afghanistan - says she hopes at least one of the Buddha statues will be rebuilt, a difficult project that several organizations have offered to fund, but that is still awaiting approval from the Ministry of Culture. In Kabul, opinion is divided on whether the restoration of Afghanistan’s pre-Islamic sixth century history is an appropriate program.

Bamiyan also boasts Afghanistan’s first national park, a 220-square-mile zone around Band-i-Amir - six sapphire-blue lakes set amid barren sandstone badlands. Getting there, however, takes a three-hour drive in a 4×4 vehicle over a rocky road between rusting carcasses of Soviet tanks and toothy 10,000-foot-tall mountains that have not been entirely cleared of land mines. Sarabi hopes that one day a paved road will link Kabul to Band-i-Amir.

“Tourism can bring a lot of income and a lot of change to people’s lives,” she said.

But Abdul Razak, who was sitting in the empty restaurant of his 18-room Roof of Bamiyan Hotel, says tourism has a long way to go before becoming a reality. “Bamiyan (security) is OK, but outside of Bamiyan is bad. The most important thing for tourists is peace.”

On a recent Sunday, Pei-Yin Lew, a 22-year-old Australian medical student, enjoyed the calm of the Band-i-Amir lakes in the new national park.

“One of the main reasons I wanted to come to Afghanistan was to see these lakes,” she said, standing above the string of brilliant blue lagoons. “It’s truly beautiful here.”

Afghanistan tourism

Afghanistan’s political instability has taken a toll on its nascent tourism industry.

Since the fall of the Taliban in 2001, there have been no reliable statistics, but industry officials agree that visitors have declined dramatically in recent months.

The bombing this month outside the Indian Embassy in Kabul that killed 41 people, and a January attack on the capital’s only five-star hotel has cut business by 70 percent, according to André Mann, founder of the Great Game Travel Co. in Kabul, which offers customized adventure treks.

“Things can change rapidly,” Mann said. “We’ve had some setbacks. We’re a little discouraged, but we’re hoping for a better 2009.”

U.S. travel advisory

The Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens against travel to any area of Afghanistan.

“No part of Afghanistan should be considered immune from violence, and the potential exists throughout the country for hostile acts, either targeted or random, against American and other western nationals at any time.

“There is an on-going threat to kidnap and assassinate U.S. citizens and Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) workers throughout the country.”

Source: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/07/23/MNB611N1A3.DTL

Winners represent best of Muslim world

Don Cayo, Vancouver Sun

CALGARY - The era when Europe was locked into or just breaking out of what we call the Dark Ages is also known as the Golden Age for Muslims. From the 8th century to the 12th and even beyond — in some places as late as the 15th or 16th century — Muslims led the Western world in wealth, power and learning.

I knew this before I visited Timbuktu — a great Muslim city of yore — in 2004. At a time before the discovery of the New World’s glitzy treasures, nearly all the gold in Europe came from West Africa. The usual route it took included camel caravans across the Sahara, and they emanated from Timbuktu.

What I didn’t know before my visit was this: So great was this legendary city as a centre of learning that in some years the value of books it exported exceeded the value of its gold.

Fast forward to 2008, a time when Western perceptions of Muslim learning are at a precipitous low. The dominant vision seems to be of doctrinaire mullahs in shabby madrassas inculcating the young with ideas that feed, at best, bigotry toward the West and, at worst, terrorism.

While it’s sadly possible to find examples of just such schools, I’ve travelled enough to know this perception is neither a complete nor a fair picture. But it was refreshing, nonetheless, to attend a weekend event here that reminded me just how far off base it is in relation to some Muslims in many parts of the world, including a vibrant community living productively in our midst.

I was an adjudicator for the first national ISTAR awards, a new level added to decades-old regional programs that recognize high achievement from Canadian Ismaili students in a variety of categories — academic excellence, arts and culture, leadership and community service, science and technology, and sports.

And when they say “high achievement,” oh boy, they mean it. I’ve judged a variety of competitions over my career, including the Jack Webster Foundation’s highly competitive Seeing the World fellowship for young B.C. journalists, and I’ve never faced such difficult choices.

I judged the ISTAR’s leadership and community service category, and I found good reasons in every application to put it at the top of the pile, and no clear reason in any to put it at the bottom.

The depth and breadth of involvement in both secular and faith-based good works was astonishing, as were the energy, commitment and skill.

But, as with my earlier visit to Timbuktu, I did learn some new things about this Muslim group at the ISTAR awards ceremony here on Saturday.

Tom Kessinger, deputy chairman of the international Aga Khan Development Network — the No. 2 man to the Aga Khan, the hereditary leader of the Ismailis — noted that education, though not always in the formal sense, is at the root of virtually all his organization does.

The AKDN is a huge development organization — it’s hard to say exactly how huge, as much of its funding comes from the private wealth of the Aga Khan and donations from his followers and those figures aren’t made public. It’s a complex web of non-profit and for-profit ventures, but, Kessinger noted, all have education at their core.

I should have guessed.

I’ve written not only about non-profit AKDN work to improve education in East Africa and other parts of the developing world, but also about some of its for-profit work in areas that range from growing and processing beans to running high-end hotels.

The goal of these enterprises goes far beyond profit. (See my blog entry “Celebrating foreign aid that works” to access detailed stories on these projects.)

In the bean project, for example, farmers are trained to produce profitable cash crops that don’t interfere with their traditional subsistence.

In the hotels, local people don’t just do menial work — they’re recruited and trained for every kind of job. Even the crafts they display and sell are hand-made and one-of-a-kind, not the mass-produced kitsch found on every downtown street corner and tourist market in poor cities worldwide.

Even in AKDN’s innovative pre-schools for children of families whose members may have never seen a classroom, a big problem is that the teachers they custom train — young women with no other job options — are lured away by other schools.

Nashir Samanani, president of the Ismaili Council for the Prairies, quoted the Aga Khan as saying education should be “the polar opposite of indoctrination.”

The young people I met here on the weekend — and those whose long and impressive bios I pored over trying to split enough hairs to identify a winner — are, I think, shining examples of what he means.

In my world of journalism where good news is most often no news, we don’t write often enough about things like this. But I think it’s important to note that, all these centuries later, learning is still central to Muslim culture in some parts of the world — Canada included.

WINNING MINDS

Three students from Metro Vancouver — two from the same family — won a total of five of the 18 top prizes in the first-annual ISTAR competition for Canadian Ismaili students held to mark the 50th jubilee of the Ismailis’ leader, the Aga Khan.

Aaria Rahim, a Grade 12 graduate from Vancouver who is entering a program in ethics, society and law at the University of Toronto, was named student of the year in the Grade 11-12 age group — a prize that includes a trip to a developing country of her choice. She also won first place in both the leadership and community service category and the arts and culture category.

Another Vancouverite, Shakir Rahim, was runner-up in the same category.

Shakir and Aaria are not related, but Aaria’s brother, Aarman, also won first place in the Grade 10-11 leadership and community service category plus two second-place finishes — arts and culture and science and technology. The other first prize for a B.C. student was the Grade 10-11 arts and culture award won by Aliza Vellani.

Second-place prizes went to Ashraf Amlani in post-secondary science and technology, Rafiq Charani in post-secondary sports and Rafiq Baloo in Grade 11-12 sports.

Third-place prizes went to Rafiq Salemohamed in Grade 10-11 academic excellence, Aquil Virani both in Grade 11-12 academic excellence and in Grade 11-12 arts and culture, Aalia Chatur in post-secondary leadership and community service, and Safiya Dhanani in Grade 11-12 science and technology.

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Source: http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/columnists/story.html?id=8a4e4c75-83a6-41bd-965f-307ecce4bcdf&p=2