Simerg is an independent initiative dedicated to Ismaili Muslims, the Aga Khan — their Hereditary Imam — and the Ismaili Imamat, and Islam in general through literary readings, photo essays and artistic expressions
Established in 2018 by His Late Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan IV and his brother, Prince Amyn Aga Khan, the Aga Khan Music Awards (AKMA), held every three years, are under the governance of an Advisory Council, which is co-chaired by the 50th Hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness Prince Rahim Aga Khan, and his uncle, Prince Amyn Aga Khan.
Please click on the image for the winners of the 2025 Aga Khan Music Awards.
The photograph captures Mawlana Shah Karim, His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, with his brother, Prince Amyn, and Isabel Mota, President of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (left), and Raul Moreira, Head of Philately at CTT (right). They are holding signed first-day covers of the commemorative stamp to celebrate the 2019 Aga Khan Music Awards. The stamps were unveiled on March 29, 2019, by Francisco Lacerda, the CEO of CTT (Portugal Post). Photograph: The Ismaili / Akbar Hakim.
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2022: MUSCAT, OMAN
Prince Amyn Aga Khan, younger brother of His Late Highness Aga Khan IV, and His Highness Sayyid Bilarab, preside over the presentation of the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards in Muscat, Oman, October 30, 2022. Photograph: Akbar Hakim / AKDN.
2025: LONDON, ENGLAND
For the first time, the 2025 Aga Khan Music Awards are teaming up with the EFG London Jazz Festival and Southbank Centre to bring an extraordinary programme of concerts, collaborations, and award celebrations to the UK. This unique partnership is a testament to AKMA’s unwavering vision of excellence in world traditions.
For programming details over four days, November 20-23, 2025, please visit the EFG London Jazz Festival website and scroll down for more information and tickets.
The first day’s program on November 20, with two performances at 1 pm and 9 pm London time, will be held at the Ismaili Centre, London, and will be transmitted live on The Ismaili TV.
Viewers worldwide will be able to watch the live coverage as follows:
1 pm and 9 pm (London)
5am and 1pm (Vancouver);
7am and 3pm (Houston);
8am and 4pm (Toronto);
2pm and 10pm (Paris);
4pm (Nairobi); and
6pm (Karachi).
The winners will be celebrated on November 21 and 22, at London’s Southbank Centre, in an awards ceremony forming part of the four-day festival.
Date posted: November 19, 2025.
Note: A version of this post appears on Barakah, our sister website dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan.
The Aga Khan Music Awards was established in 2018 under the patronage of Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, 49th Hereditary Imam of the Shia Imami Ismaili Muslims. At the inaugural award ceremony that was held from March 29-31, 2019, in Lisbon, Portugal, His Highness made the following observation:
Music can be a strong cultural anchor, deepening a sense of community, identity and heritage, while simultaneously reaching out in powerful ways to people of different backgrounds. I know that in some parts of the world the words “Muslim” and “music” are not often linked together in the public mind. But they should be. The cultural heritage of Islam has long embraced musical language as an elemental expression of human spirituality — His Highness the Aga Khan
The second award ceremony has just concluded in Muscat, Oman, with presentations made to 15 Laureates from diverse countries from around the world (see photograph, below). Our sister website, Barakah, has a comprehensive report of the two-day event held from October 29 to 30, 2022. Please click HERE or on the image below for reports and photographs.
Prince Amyn Aga Khan, younger brother of His Highness the Aga Khan, and His Highness Sayyid Bilarab, presided over the presentation of the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards in Muscat, Oman, on October 30, 2022. In the background, the six triangles that form the Aga Khan Music Awards logo are each a stylization of a word rendered in Kufic script, designed in collaboration with master calligrapher Samir Sayegh. Starting bottom right and going clockwise, Samaa’ (Listening), Zaman (Time), Sharq (East/Orient), Wahi (Inspiration), Taa’leem (Teaching) and Nafas (Breath/Soul). Photograph: Akbar Hakim/AKDN. Please click on image for a comprehensive report on the Aga Khan Music Awards presentation ceremony.
Date posted: October 31, 2022.
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Before departing this website please take a moment to review Simerg’s Table of Contents for links to hundreds of thought-provoking pieces on a vast array of subjects including faith and culture, history and philosophy, and arts and letters to name a few. Also visit Simerg’s sister websites Barakah, dedicated to His Highness the Aga Khan, and Simergphotos. The editor may be reached via email at mmerchant@simerg.com.
The material in this post has been compiled from the official websites of the Ministry of Information of the Sultanate of Oman — see link to October 23 story “HH Sayyid Theyazin to Patronize over Aga Khan Award Distribution Ceremony on 31 October” — and the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Please visit the Music Awards and Architecture Awards pages at AKDN.
Map of the Sultanate of Oman, shaded white (2016), surrounded by Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen. The Gulf of Oman separates the Sultanate from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Credit: Perry-Castañeda Library, Map Collection, University of Texas.
The 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture and Aga Khan Music Awards
His Highness Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth, will preside over the distribution of Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) at the Royal Opera House Muscat (ROHM) on October 31, 2022. The AKAA on June 2, 2022, announced 20 shortlisted projects for the 15th edition of the Award cycle. The projects will compete for a share of the US$ 1 million prize, one of the largest in architecture. The 20 shortlisted projects were selected by an independent Master Jury from a pool of 463 projects nominated for the 15th Award Cycle (2020-2022).
The event marks the 45th anniversary of the award, which was established by Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, in 1977. The first AKAA ceremony was held in 1980 at the Shalimar Gardens in Lahore, Pakistan.
The ceremonies, scheduled at the ROHM, will be held in the presence of ministers, undersecretaries, a selection of Omani architects and musicians and about 250 international guests — in addition to members of the Awards Steering Committee, the jury, candidates and winners of the Architecture and Music Awards.
Nurin Merchant poses in front of the Talar Building during her visit in August 2022 to the Aga Khan Gardens in Edmonton. Twenty shortlisted projects for the 2022 Aga Khan Award for Architecture were beautifully showcased on Talar’s large pillars. Photograph: Malik Merchant/Simerg.
Coinciding with the presentation of the AKAA will be the award ceremony for the 2nd edition of the Aga Khan Music Awards. The Aga Khan Awards for Music was established in 2018 by Mawlana Hazar Imam and is administered by a Steering Committee co-chaired by Mawlana Hazar Imam and his younger brother Amyn Aga Khan.
This is the first time that two award ceremonies are being held together at one location. The distribution of the music awards will be attended in a number of related events by His Highness Sayyid Bilarab bin Haitham Al Said and His Highness Sayyid Kamil bin Fahd Al Said.
Laureates of the 2022 Aga Khan Music Awards. Photograph: AKDN.
Sayyid Said bin Sultan Al Busaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth for Culture gave the following statement: “The distribution of the Aga Khan Awards for Architecture and Music 2022 in the Sultanate of Oman offers a variety of opportunities to academic researchers, musicians and architects. It will enable them to learn about new and outstanding areas highlighted by the awards. It will allow them to be in touch with winners from different countries of the world and the protocols associated with the awards. It will also expand the Omani cultural scene integration with various countries of the world and consolidate social awareness about participation in these international awards. The hosting of the events provides a true manifestation of Oman’s vision to become a destination for art, literature and culture.”
Busaidi further added that the follow-up of the event via media platforms will highlight Oman’s economic and scholarly domains, thus achieving one of the most important pillars of the country’s cultural strategy, which targets cultural openness to the world and the global propagation of the Omani cultural identity.
Date posted: October 24, 2022. Last updated: October 25, 2022 (external links added, see below)
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