1. “How do we foster intellectual development in the umma?”

I shall be bold to suggest: By openness in dialog.

2. “In what areas of human knowledge should we seek to lead?”

Ethics. Ethics in turn enhance the abstract arts of philosophy, jurisprudence and mathematics. Through these humanistic arts a society builds the foundation for the assimilation of knowledge of the physical universe.

3. “And where should we source our education?…”

For ethics the Muslim umma must look first to the Quran and the Hadith of the Prophet of Islam. The different tariqas may then look further into their own traditions: The Hadiths of their Imams, the inspired hymns and qasidas of their pirs and poets, and the ethical philosophies of the great Muslim scholars.

To apply ethics into the umma’s life there must be ijtihad (open intellectual dialog) within and between Islam’s tariqas. This requires learning the etiquette and the rules of dialog.

The present multimedia technologies can prove to be the greatest boon of our age to bring about this intellectual transformation of the ethics of the umma.

Again, intellectual development centers on OPENNESS in dialog among the peoples of the umma. But open dialog does not occur in a vacuum. It has to be fought for with brains and brawn as did our Great Prophet of Islam and the Fatimid Caliphs of Egypt – brains and brawn for the success of such a venture for OPEN Islam.

After that the umma will need to have benign, selfless, devoted leaderships acting only for the good of the people and not for their own avarice and ambitions of creating personal dynasties; fearing to betray the trust of the people; fearing to earn the displeasure of God.

So who will join the fray for such a “war on ignorance”? Who will answer the call to arms? The call has come: Your Time, your Knowledge!

And within a decade or two the graduates of the Aga Khan Academies will have become the ethical leaders of many countries acting with co-operation and mutual goodwill to bring change into their societies and across societies – a new era and a new world order.

“…Clearly the intellectual development of the umma, is, and should remain, a central goal to be pursued with urgency if we wish the Muslim world to regain its rightful place in world civilisation. Today, any reasonably well-informed observer would be struck by how deeply this brotherhood of Muslims is divided. On the opposite sides of the fissures are the ultra-rich and the ultra-poor; the Shi‘a and the Sunni; the theocracies and the secular states, the search for normatisation versus the appreciation of pluralism; those who search for and are keen to adopt modern, participatory, forms of government versus those who wish to re-impose supposedly ancient forms of governance. What should have been brotherhood has become rivalry, generosity has been replaced by greed and ambition, the right to think is held to be the enemy of real faith, and anything we might hope to do to expand the frontiers of human knowledge through research is doomed to failure for in most of the Muslim world, there are neither the structures nor the resources to develop meaningful intellectual leadership.

“You will forgive me, I hope, for presenting to you such a grey picture of where we in the umma stand today, but, unless we have the courage to face unpleasant reality, there is no way that we can aspire realistically to a better future.

“Several days ago, at a meeting of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference in Malaysia, it was pointed out that the only way the umma can work its way out of its present sad state is to harness the intellect. I deeply share this conviction, but three immediate questions follow: How do we foster intellectual development in the umma? In what areas of human knowledge should we seek to lead? And where should we source our education?…”

His Highness The Aga Khan.