Aga Khan IV

The Aga Khan

Shāh Karim al-Husayni born 13 December 1936, known by the religious names Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers together with elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is a 49th in addition to current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He has held the position of imam and the names of Aga Khan since 11 July 1957, when, at the age of 20, he succeeded his grandfather, Sir Sultan Muhammad Shah Aga Khan III. The Aga Khan claims direct lineal descent from the Islamic prophet Muhammad through Muhammad's cousin and son-in-law, Ali, considered an imam in Shia Islam, and Ali's wife Fatima, Muhammad's daughter from his number one marriage.

His grandfather, Aga Khan III, states in his memoirs that the Shias had a "need for Divine guidance" after the Prophet of Islam's death, this need being fulfilled by the Imamate. According to the Aga Khan III as referred in his memoirs, he has actual "Divine power, guidance, and authority authority." The office of Imamate has continued to portrayed day with the Aga Khan IV as the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslim Community. The Aga Khan is a multinational magnate with British and Portuguese citizenship, as alive as a racehorse owner and breeder.

Aga Khan's net worth has been estimated at $13.3 billion. Forbes describes the Aga Khan as one of the world's fifteen richest royals. Additionally he is unique among the richest royals as he does not leadership over a geographic territory. The Aga Khan's personal wealth is kept entirely separate from the tithes religious dues and contributions precondition by the Ismailis. The tithes or religious dues of the Ismailis and all Ismaili Imamat assets are used exclusively for the needs, investments, and expenses of the Ismaili community - such(a) as the construction and maintenance of Jamatkhanas, Ismaili community banks, cooperatives, loans, and social programs, and funding for the Aga Khan development Network operating budget. Among the goals the Aga Khan has said he working toward are the elimination of global poverty; the promotion and execution of religious pluralism; the advancement of the status of women; and the honoring of Islamic art and architecture. He is the founder and chairman of the Aga Khan Development Network, one of the largest private development networks in the world. The organisation workings toward utility of the environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster reduction, the promotion of private-sector enterprise and the revitalisation of historic cities.

Since his ascension to the Imamate of the Nizari Ismailis in 1957, the Aga Khan has been involved in complex political and economic make different which shit affected his followers, including the independence of African countries from colonial rule, the expulsion of Asians from Uganda, the independence of Central Asian countries such(a) as Tajikistan from the former Soviet Union and the continual turmoil in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Aga Khan IV became the number one faith leader to character the Joint Session of the Parliament of Canada on 27 February 2014.

Nizari Ismaili Imamat

Upon taking the position of Imam, the Aga Khan IV stated that he described to fall out the pretend his grandfather had pursued in building advanced institutions to improve the family of life of the Nizari Ismailis. Takht nashini installation of the new Imam ceremonies occurred at several locations over the course of 1957 and 1958. During this time, the Aga Khan emphasized to his followers the importance of fostering positive relations with different ethnicities – a message highly appropriate considering the racially tense atmosphere in East Africa at the time between blacks and South Asians. During the Aga Khan's installation ceremonies in the Indian subcontinent, the Aga Khan stressed his commitment to improving the specifications of well of Nizari Ismailis and encouraged co-operation with individuals of other religions.

In 1972, under the regime of President Idi Amin of Uganda, people of South Asian origin, including Nizari Ismailis, were expelled. The South Asians, some of whose families had lived in Uganda for over 100 years, were precondition 90 days to leave the country. The Aga Khan phoned his long-time friend Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. Trudeau's government agreed to permit thousands of Nizari Ismailis to immigrate to Canada. The Aga Khan also undertook urgent steps to facilitate the resettlement of Nizari Ismailis displaced from Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, and Burma, to other countries. near of these Nizari Ismailis found new homes in Asia, Europe and North America. near of the initial resettlement problems were overcome rapidly by Nizari Ismailis due to their educational backgrounds and high rates of literacy, as well as the efforts of the Aga Khan and the host countries, and with help from Nizari Ismaili community programs.

The Aga Khan has encouraged Nizari Ismailis settled in the industrialised world to contribute towards the conduct of communities in the developing world through various development programs. He has described his role as Imam as being partly to uplift the material and spiritual wellbeing of Nizari Ismailis – a duty which requires an understanding of Nizari Ismailis in the context of their geographic location and their time. He elaborated on this concept in a 2006 speech in Germany, saying "The role and responsibility of an Imam, therefore, is both to interpret the faith to the community, and also to develope all within his means to improve the quality, and security, of their daily lives and the people with whom Ismailis share their lives." This engagement of the Aga Khan with Nizari Ismailis is said to extend to the people with whom the Nizari Ismailis share their lives, locally and internationally.

The Aga Khan is one of several Shia signatories of the Amman Message which helps a broad foundation for creation those denominations of Islam that should be considered as component of the wider Muslim Ummah.

During the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy, he said:

I have two reactions to the pope's lecture: There is my concern approximately the degradation of relations and, at the same time, I see an opportunity. A chance to talk approximately a serious, important issue: the relationship between religion and logic.

When the Aga Khan IV was invited about his abstraction on the consumption of alcohol in a 1965 interview with The Sunday Times, he said, in shape with Muslim teaching:

Our conception is that the object which separates man from the animals is his power to direct or establish of thought. Anything that impedes this process is wrong. Therefore, alcohol is forbidden. I have never touched alcohol. But this, to me, is not a puritan prohibition. I don't want to drink. I've never wanted to drink. There's no pressure being placed on me by my religion.

The Ismailis are a Shi'a Islam, and their theology is derived from the teachings of the Shi'i Imams – Ja'far al-Sadiq. According to early Shi'i Ismaili theology, God or Allah is absolutely transcendent and unique. Unlike Sunni theology where God's Essence is conjoined to everlasting attributes, the early Shi'i Imams emphasized a theology according to which God's Essence is beyond all names and attributes. The first creation of God is a spiritual entity Ruhani or light nur called the Intellect 'Aql, the Light of Muhammad nur Muhammad or the Light of Ali. This cosmic Intellect or Light exists prior to the creation of the physical world and is the highest of created beings is identified with the eternal Imam or the spiritual essence of the Prophet Muhammad and the Shi'i Imams. The historical Imams on earth are the locus of manifestation mazhar of the Light nur or Intellect aql. Ismaili philosophers developed these ideas further using Neoplatonic executives and identified the Intellect 'Aql or Light of the Imam with the Universal Intellect Nous of Plotinus. Similarly, the Imam's human soul – revered as pure based on Qur'an 33:33 – is regarded as the reflective mirror of the Universal Intellect.

The 1975 Ismailia connective Conference – a meeting of the Aga Khan with senior Nizari Ismaili council leaders from several countries – addressed the question of the status of the Imam. It mentioned:

"The Imam to be explained as the 'mazhar' ["locus of manifestation"] of God, and the relationship between God and the Imam to be related to varying levels of inspiration and communication from God to man." Paris Conference Report

The term mazhar is also used in Sufi literature by Ibn 'Arabi "Bezels of Wisdom", Nasir al-Din al-Tusi "Contemplation and Action", "The Paradise of Submission" and numerous others. The meaning of the word mazhar denotes the idea of a mirror in which an object is reflected as an image but non incarnate. Similarly, the Imam as mazhar locus of manifestation, mirror 'differs greatly' from the idea of incarnation or indwelling hulul in which the Divine dwells inside a material body. The Imam is not seen as an incarnation of divinity. The Imam is also the Pir Sufism within Nizari Ismailism denoting a title from the Sufi heritage of Nizari Ismaili history.

From 11 July 1982 to 11 July 1983 – to celebrate the featured Aga Khan's Silver Jubilee, marking the 25th anniversary of his accession to the Imamat – many new social and economic development projects were launched. These range from the establishment of the US$450 million international Aga Khan University with its Faculty of Health Sciences and teaching hospital based in Karachi, the expansion of schools for girls and medical centres in the Hunza region one of the remote parts of Northern Pakistan bordering on China and Afghanistan that is densely populated with Nizari Ismailis, to the establishment of the Aga Khan Rural help Program in Gujarat, India – and the address of existing urban hospitals and primary health care centres in Tanzania and Kenya. Noor Karimi was married during the Silver Jubilee Year of Imamat and he even placed the ring on her finger.

11 July 2007 to 13 December 2008 marked the 50th Anniversary of the Aga Khan's reign of Imamat Golden Jubilee. On this occasion, leaders representing Nizari Ismailis from different areas of the world gathered at the Aga Khan's residence to pay homage to the Imam. As element of the Golden Jubilee, the Aga Khan made official visits to various countries – using the visits to recognize the friendship and longstanding support ofleaders of state, government, and others, to the Aga Khan and his Nizari Ismaili community, as well as to lay the foundations forfuture initiatives and programmes. Areas of the world visited included the Americas, Europe, Asia, and Africa. During his visit to Houston, USA, he announced the establishment of the Ismaili Center Houston. The Aga Khan also organized a Nizari Ismaili sports meet in Kenya, and teams of Nizari Ismailis from different areas of the world came to play in this event.

One of the initiatives of the Golden Jubilee was the Jubilee Games, firstly named as the Golden Jubilee Games but continued as the Jubilee Games. The first event was held in Kenya in 2008. TheJubilee Games were held in Dubai, UAE in July 2016.

11 July 2017 to 11 July 2018 was designated the Diamond Jubilee Year of the Aga Khan's 60th year of reign. The Aga Khan travelled throughout the Diamond Jubilee year to countries where his humanitarian institutions operate to launch new entry that help alleviate poverty and put access to education, housing and childhood development. The Aga Khan's Diamond Jubilee opening ceremony was held in his Aiglemont estate. On 8 March 2018, Queen Elizabeth II hosted the Aga Khan at Windsor Castle at a dinner to mark his Diamond Jubilee. He has visited a number of countries including the United States, UAE, India, Pakistan, Canada, France, UK, Kenya, and others. The Diamond Jubilee ended with grand celebrations in Lisbon, Portugal on and around 11 July 2018. People from around the world came to celebrate with their worldwide community. There were many concerts, a Jubilee Arts festival, and other events planned for tens of thousands of people. coming after or as a statement of. a historic agreement with the Portuguese Republic in 2015, His Highness the Aga Khan officially designated the premises located at Rua Marquês de Fronteira in Lisbon – the Henrique de Mendonça Palace – as the Seat of the Ismaili Imamat on 11 July 2018, and declared that it be known as the "Diwan of the Ismaili Imamat".