An open book spills out words across the banner. These words represent the voices of individuals around the world and the insight everyone has to share. As they flow, the bearer of light casts out rays of light beams from the lamp, enlightening all who seek wisdom and a comforting place.

A note on the words in the banner (some partially hidden):

1. “People oppose what they are ignorant about” and “No honour is like knowledge” – Hazrat Ali (a.s.), 1st Shia Imam

2. “Human genius is found in its variety” – His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th and current Imam of Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims

3. “If you want to light a candle in your heart, make knowledge and goodness its wick and oil.” -  Nasir Khushraw, Ismaili Poet and philosopher

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Banner Designed by:
Liza Clyne,  Grade 12, John McCrae Secondary School,
Ottawa,  Canada.

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Other quotes published on the banner:

Current:

None

Previous – two quotes as follows:

(I) “In [Hafiz] we can find all the strivings, all the sorrow, all the victories and joys, all the hopes and disappointments of each and every one of us…It is not for nothing that his “Divan” has become… the supreme book of divination of millions…far beyond the confines of Iran. In perplexity and sorrow, whatever the cause…men turn to Hafiz for comfort and solace.” The late Aga Khan

Please see Hafiz and the Place of Iranian Culture in the World

(II) “…I told the Iranians several years ago: “Your history is that of an intellectual nation several thousand years old which has brought to Islam all the richness of its culture and its philosophical thought. Keep following the path that is truly your own and the world will thank you for it.” His Highness the Aga Khan.

Please see “The Power of Wisdom” – His Highness the Aga Khan’s Interview with Politique Internationale

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“…Our Ismaili tradition…has always accepted the spirit of pluralism among schools of interpretation of the faith, and seen this…as a true reflection of divine plenitude…Through your studies you have known the many Qur’anic verses and hadiths of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) that acknowledge and extol the value of diversity within human societies.” – Prince Rahim Aga Khan, IIS Graduation Ceremony, London, September 2007.

For full speech, please click Prince Rahim Aga Khan Commencement Address

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For full message, please click Text of His Highness the Aga Khan’s  Amman Message, The Institute of Ismaili Studies

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“The Holy Prophet’s…example of integrity, loyalty, honesty, generosity both of means and of time, his solicitude for the poor, the weak and the sick, his steadfastness in friendship, his humility in success, his magnanimity in victory, his simplicity, his wisdom in conceiving new solutions for problems which could not be solved by traditional methods, without affecting the fundamental concepts of Islam, surely all these are foundations which, correctly understood and sincerely interpreted, must enable us to conceive what should be a truly modern and dynamic Islamic Society in the years ahead.” – from Presidential address by His Highness the Aga Khan, Seerat Conference, Karachi, March 12, 1976

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“THE QUR’AN REFERS VERY OFTEN TO NATURE AS A REFLECTION OF ALLAH’S POWER OF CREATION, AND IT SAYS, LOOK AT THE MOUNTAINS, THE RIVERS, THE TREES, THE FLOWERS, AS EVIDENCE OF ALLAH’S LOVE FOR THE PEOPLE WHOM HE HAS CREATED. TODAY, I LOOK AT THE ENVIRONMENT AND I SAY TO YOU, I BELIEVE ALLAH IS SMILING UPON YOU, AND MAY HIS SMILE ALWAYS BE UPON YOU.” – HIS HIGHNESS THE AGA KHAN, RUSHAN, BADAKHSHAN, MAY 27, 1995.

Excerpted from The Ismaili (Mawlana Hazar Imam’s Visit to Central Asia, 22 – 31 May 1995).

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“You can have nothing in your pocket, and only the clothes and the shoes you wear, but if you have a well educated mind, you will be able to seize the opportunities life offers you, and start all over again.” – His Highness the Aga Khan, The Peterson Lecture, Atlanta, USA, April 18, 2008.

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“The noble Qur’an extends its principle of pluralism also to adherents of other faiths. It affirms that each has a direction and path to which they turn so that all should strive for good works, in the belief that, wheresoever they may be, Allah will bring them together.” – His Highness the Aga Khan.

Excerpt from a speech delivered at The Ismaili Centre, London, October 19, 2003,  at the International Colloquium, Word of God, Art of Man: The Qur’an and its Creative Expressions, organised by The Institute of Ismaili Studies.

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“It is of special significance that this mosque…will be used by young men and women at such a vital and formative period in their lives. It is this time of life that each of you has to search for a balance between self-confidence and true humility, between appraisal of the past and preparation for the future. If your religion is not an integral part of this preparation then your future cannot be complete” – His Highness the Aga Khan, Mosque Foundation Ceremony, University of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, 1966

Quoted in The Ismaili Crescent, published by the Ismailia Association for Tanzania. Exact issue date will be published in due course.

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Date page updated: February 21, 2012