Plans call for the building of a museum named after the Aga Khan, an Ismaili Centre and the creation of a park. The massive project is slated for completion by 2013.

“These projects represent a major investment by His Highness in this country’s cultural fabric and are a reflection of the Aga Khan’s commitment to Canada, which serves as a beacon to the rest of the world for its commitment to pluralism and its support for the multicultural richness and diversity of its peoples,” said Farid Damji, of the Ismaili Council for Canada.

The Aga Khan Museum — announced in 2002 — will be built on a 7-hectare site on Wynford Dr. and is the first of its kind in the English speaking world. The 10,000-square-metre structure will house collections of Islamic art, including ceramics, metal work and paintings covering a 1,000-year period of Islamic history. The design was done by Japanese architect Fumihiko Maki.

The second part of the project is the Ismaili Centre — a community centre that includes a place of prayer, library, youth lounge and public spaces for cultural activities. It will be located on the same spot as the museum and is designed by Indian architect Charles Correa.

The park on Wynford Dr. has been designed by award-winning Lebanese landscape architect Vladimir Djurovic. It will surround the museum and project a sense of a traditional Islamic garden.

“I’m excited this is happening because (the Aga Khan) is one of the few Muslim leaders who have reconciled with modernity,” said Tarek Fatah, author and founder of the Muslim Canadian Congress. “He offers a very clear alternative to the Islamism that is being spread by Jihadis. (People in the GTA) will get a view of Muslims and Islam without looking through the prism of Saudi or Iranian-tainted politics.”

The Ismaili Centre Toronto is the second in Canada — the other was built in 1985 in Burnaby, B.C. and opened by prime minister Brian Mulroney in the presence of the Aga Khan. Other Ismaili Centres have been built in London, Lisbon, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and Dushanbe.

Toronto was picked as the site of the museum because of the city’s cultural diversity.

Nearly 100,000 Ismailis are settled throughout Canada — more than 30,000 of them live in Toronto.

Source: http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/05/24/14064286.html

These provide an overview of the Islamic world’s finest artistic achievements in wood, stone, gold, bronze, ivory, ceramics and textiles, and on parchment and paper. The different Islamic dynasties can be seen, identifying the territories over which each dynasty ruled following the Abbasid caliphate at the end of the 9th century. The Umayyads held sway over al-Andalus, the Fatimids and the Mamelukes reigned in Egypt, the Ottomans in Turkey, and the Safavids in Iran and the Mughals in India.

The essential characteristics of Islamic courtly culture can be seen in generic portraits of respective sovereigns in profile. The works of art on display also emphasize the high cultural level of the Islamic courts responsible for spreading knowledge of Ancient Greece to the west via translations in Arabic.

The exhibits are divided into three large sections. The central section is devoted to The Qur’anic Faith while the other two guide viewers through various Islamic courts using as a metaphor a journey in two stages –From Cordoba to Damascus and From Baghdad to Delhi.

by Farhan Devji 

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat was inaugurated with a ceremony on Dec. 6 on Sussex D Flags announce the Golden Jubilee of His rive ( Photo: Farhan Devji )

Highness, though we met for the first time only three years ago, I feel like I have known you a long time,” Prime Minister Stephen Harper told Prince Karim Aga Khan IV at the inauguration ceremonies of the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat on Dec. 6.

“My long-time university roommate, Alnoor Lakhani, is an Ismaili, and he kept a picture of you in our room,” added Harper, as the falling snowflakes became visible through the translucent walls of the elegant $54 million landmark.

Alnoor Lakhani isn’t the only one who keeps a reminder of His Highness the Aga Khan, spiritual leader of over 13.5 million Shia Ismaili Muslims around the world.

Among the 70,000 Ismaili Muslims in Canada, approximately 1,250 live in the Ottawa region, and roughly 35 attend Carleton University, according to Ottawa Ismaili Students Association President Shelina Jamal.

Hafiz Moledina, a public administration master’s student, says he also keeps a picture of the Aga Khan in his dorm room.

“Canada and the Aga Khan have had a very fruitful relationship since the early 1970s, and I feel this shows the level of admiration and confidence His Highness has for our country,” he says.

Flags announce the Golden Jubilee of His Highness the Aga Khan

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat, located on Sussex Drive in Ottawa, will serve to house the Aga Khan Development Network’s main offices. According to an official press release from the office of the Prime Minister, the AKDN is a “group of private, international, non-denominational agencies working to improve living conditions and opportunities in the developing world.” Additionally, the Delegation building will provide the Aga Khan a place of residence on his visits to the nation’s capital and operate as an embassy of sorts – the first of its kind – for the Ismaili Muslim community.

“My parents, like many Ismaili Muslims in Canada, fled their home countries in East Africa in order to escape political persecution and instability. Canada welcomed them with open arms,” Moledina says, who is originally from Vancouver, B.C.

“Therefore, I feel this building is a reflection of not only the enhancement of the Aga Khan’s relationship with Canada, but also the progress the community has made in this country.”

The opening ceremonies of the delegation building were closed to the general public, but even so, a group of Ismailis lined up on Sussex Drive in sub-zero temperatures, hoping to catch a glimpse.

Their prayers were answered, as the Aga Khan smiled and waved to them before he welcomed Harper into the building.

One particular Carleton student, however, didn’t have to wait outside. Alisha Dharshi, also an Ismaili, volunteered at the opening ceremonies as an usher.

“The experience was amazing,” says Dharshi, a second-year history and theory of architecture major. “Already I was so excited just to see the building, as it’s not open to public at the moment. I felt so honoured to be part of the building opening.”

Dharshi says while she has several positive memories from her experience at the Delegation opening, she says she’ll never forget the giant smile on the Aga Khan’s face as he saw all his volunteers celebrating after the ceremony.

“For me, it felt like he was watching his children, just enjoying seeing them celebrate.”

His Highness the Aga Khan speaks at the inauguration

Although Dharshi is proud to say she hails from Brampton, Ont., but she says she feels very fortunate to be in Ottawa for this event.

“Wow, I feel so lucky that [the building’s] here in Ottawa. I would never have been able to be involved if it was not here,” she says. “Also, the fact that the building has joined so many others on the Confederation Boulevard is momentous. It’s joining buildings that have been there for so long, holding so much history within the walls. It was time for a building like this to take its place amongst them and create history itself.”

As Moledina explains, the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat is a beacon of hope for a better and more serene future.

“It’s a demonstration of what the community can do to bring Canadians of all backgrounds together in order to help tackle and solve some of the world’s most serious challenges, namely global poverty.”

Marking 185 graduates in the field of Medicine and Nursing

Aga Khan University held its 5th Graduation ceremony at the Aga Khan Pavilion marking the graduation of 185 students in the fields of Medicine and Nursing.

Mr. Firoz Rasul, the President of (AKU) together with the guest of honour, Mr. Joseph G. M. Massaqoi, Director UNESCO warmly congratulated the graduands.

The colourful ceremony was attended by vice-chancellors, senior government officials, diplomats, national and international academicians, donors and prominent citizens and marked the award of Masters degrees to the first six students to complete the four year post graduate programme in Medicine (PGME) based at Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi.

A further 179 students graduated in the Advanced Nursing Studies Programme (ANS).

85 have earned Bachelor of Science degrees in nursing, 76 have qualified for Diplomas in General Nursing and 18 received specialist Diplomas in Accident, Emergency and Disaster Management.

The Aga Khan University introduced Post Graduate Medical Education in Nairobi in 2004.

The PGME programmes provides relevant and contextual learning for practice in Africa, with the objective of developing specialists in various fields of medicine who will have a far-reaching impact on the development of health systems in their respective countries.

Currently PGME is offered in seven disciplines at the Aga Khan University Hospital: Internal Medicine, Surgery, Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology, Family Medicine, Clinical and Anatomic Pathology, Anesthesiology, Obstetrics-Gynecology and Paediatrics. A Family Medicine program is offered at the Aga Khan Hospital in Dar Es Salaam.

The Advanced Nursing Studies programme (ANS) which targets practising nurses and midwives was started in response to requests by government officials and nursing leaders in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania and is aimed at contributing to the development of an efficient, effective, accessible and sustainable health system leading to the provision of services of a high quality to communities.

This programme includes Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Diploma in Nursing and a specialized diploma in Accident, Emergency and Disaster Management.

The courses are tailored to advance the skills and careers of nurses working in the health services in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

A Distance Learning Programme that has seen 725 students graduate in East Africa has proved to be very popular.

Aga Khan University is planning to establish a new Faculty of Arts and Sciences in Arusha, Tanzania along with a second Faculty of Health Sciences in Nairobi, Kenya.

This will be the first private sector university in Eastern Africa to create a full-fledged Faculty of Heath Sciences offering undergraduate and post graduate degrees in Medicine, Nursing and Allied Health Sciences.

The Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi celebrated its 50th Anniversary in September last year.

It was founded in 1958 as a community hospital and was transformed into a university hospital with the vision to become the premier tertiary teaching referral hospital in sub-Saharan Africa.

With state of the art equipment and facilities, the hospital is the leading health care institution in the region serving patients in the neighbouring countries including Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, DRC, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan and Burundi.

Source: http://www.coastweek.com/3205-19.htm

Aga Khan IV is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad. The Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, to become the 49th hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. He has spent his life working to strengthen the Muslim community through his belief that the ethic of Islam “requires members of the faith to contribute to improving the quality of all human life.”

Early Days

Karim Aga Khan IV was born to Prince Aly Khan and Princess Tajuddawlah Aly Khan on December 13, 1936 in Geneva, Switzerland. For four years during World War II, he lived with his brother and parents in Nairobi, Kenya, where he received a religious education. At the end of the war, the family returned to Europe. He attended Le Rosey School in Switzerland where he concentrated on learning Arabic, Urdu and Islamic history. Upon graduation, he enrolled at Harvard and earned a BA Honors Degree in Islamic history in 1959.

In 1954, under the direction of his grandfather, sitting Imam Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, the Aga Khan and his brother, Prince Amyn, traveled to the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent and East African countries to observe traditions of the Muslim faith.

Three years later, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan died, leaving these instructions: “I should be succeeded by a young man who has been brought up and developed during recent years and in the midst of the new age and who brings a new outlook on life to his office as Imam.” For those reasons, he appointed his grandson Karim, instead of his own son, to succeed to the title of Aga Khan.

The Aga Khan took a year off from Harvard to visit a variety of Ismaili communities before his appointment as Imam. He was named to the position at ceremonies held in Nairobi, Bombay, Kampala, Dar-es-Salaam and Karachi.

Notable Accomplishments

Since becoming Imam, the Aga Khan has worked to facilitate the well-being of Ismaili Muslims and their communities, which are found in 25 countries worldwide. To implement these initiatives, the Aga Khan created the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), an organization that is divided into nine separate agencies including The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development, Aga Khan University and the Aga Khan Agency for Microfinance.

In addition to serving as a spiritual leader for the world’s 15 million Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan has also developed and personally maintains a fortune in excess of $1 billion. Most of Khan’s investments are in Africa and Asia. According to The Independent, these small and medium-sized enterprises were “set up as engines of employment to promote economic self-reliance among the poorest people.” In addition, the Imam heads the world’s largest private aid agency, the Aga Khan Development Foundation, which offers developing countries $300 million a year for rural development, education and health care.

The Rest of the Story

The Aga Khan is regarded by the Ismaili Muslims as the final authority on interpreting the Quran. According to CNN, one religious scholar even remarked that he is “more powerful than the pope.” The Aga Khan recently visited the United States to promote his agenda of narrowing the gap between the Western world and Islam—a project he has approached through partnerships with American universities. One of the main themes the Aga Khan has focused on when describing the difficult relations between Islam and the West is a “clash of ignorance,” rather than a clash of cultures, beliefs or faiths.

In a 2006 interview, the Aga Khan articulated his beliefs about Islam and the West, referring to Islam as “a faith of reason,” stating that he believes Islamic terrorism results from “[u]nsolved political conflicts, frustration and, above all, ignorance. Nothing that was born out of a theological conflict.”

Source: http://www.findingdulcinea.com/features/
happy-birthday/2008/Dec/Aga-Khan-IV.html

“I would like to extend warm birthday wishes to His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan.

As a spiritual leader of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim people, the Aga Khan is an extraordinary example of compassion and tolerance. This is most evident in the Aga Khan Development Network, which he founded and now chairs. The network, which works towards social, economic and cultural development in Asia and Africa, will be headquartered in Ottawa at a new Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat. This stunning building was officially opened by the Aga Khan and Prime Minister Harper just a few days ago on December 6. I am proud that Canada was chosen to house such a significant structure, the first of its kind in the world.

I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with the Aga Khan several times, most recently during his latest visit to Canada. Each time, I was impressed by a man who has done so much for the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslim people and humanity. In the words of Prime Minister Harper, “his name has become synonymous with humanitarian aid and development in countries beset by conflict and poverty. Just as importantly, he has worked tirelessly as a bridge-builder between faiths and cultures.”

His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan is truly an inspiration and I wish him a long, healthy and blessed life.”

Source: http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/
Citizenship-And-Immigration-Canada-929781.html