DUSHANBE, July 11, Asia-Plus — His Highness the Aga Khan marked his Golden Jubilee, his 50th year as the Imam of the Ismaili community on July 11, 2007. Fifty years ago, at the age of 20, the Aga Khan succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan, as the 49th hereditary Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims.
The Aga Khan leads a community of 15 million Ismaili Muslims living in some 25 countries, mainly in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe and North America. He is a direct descendant of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family) through his cousin and son-in-law Ali, the first Imam, and his wife Fatima, the Prophet’s daughter.
Since assuming the office of Imamat in 1957, Prince Karim Aga Khan has taken upon himself his grandfather”s concern for the well-being of the Ismaili community, the wider Muslim community, and those amongst whom they live. He has emphasized Islam as a thinking, spiritual faith that teaches compassion and tolerance and upholds the dignity of mankind.
In the Ismaili tradition, the Imam’s jubilee celebrations offer occasions to launch new social, cultural and economic development projects. In keeping with the ethics of the faith, these projects aspire to improve the quality of life for the most vulnerable in society. Sir Sultan Mahomed Shah Aga Khan’s jubilees led to the creation of schools, hospitals, housing projects, insurance companies and cooperative banking programs.
These initiatives are now part of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN), a group of agencies with mandates ranging from health and education to architecture, microfinance, disaster reduction, rural development, and the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalization of historic cities – all of which are catalysts for development. Guided by the Islamic ethic of compassion for those less fortunate, the AKDN works for the common good of all citizens, regardless of their gender, origin or religion.
The AKDN spends in excess of US$ 320 million annually on social and cultural development activities. It operates more than 200 health care institutions – including nine hospitals – and over 300 schools in the developing world.
Following in the tradition of his forefathers – going back a thousand years to the establishment of the earliest universities and institutions of learning in the Muslim world – the Aga Khan has continued to place emphasis on the importance of education. His recognition of the need to engage the global “Knowledge Society” led to the establishment of the Aga Khan University (AKU) in Pakistan 25 years ago — the first private self-governing university in that country. The AKU has since grown into an international university, and today operates on nine campuses around the world. Separately, the University of Central Asia was founded in 2000 to respond to the higher education needs of remote mountain communities. The Aga Khan”s conviction of the need for home-grown intellectual leadership of exceptional caliber is also driving the development of a new network of centers of educational excellence at the school level around the world, known as the Aga Khan Academies.
Over the course of the next twelve months, in keeping with the tradition of launching new development initiatives during a Jubilee year, His Highness the Aga Khan will announce the creation of new development institutions and projects and the significant expansion of existing ones.
