Introduced and compiled by MALIK MERCHANT

The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) in London, England, was established by Mawlana Hazar Imam, His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th Hereditary Imam of the Ismaili Muslims, on December 13, 1977. For more than 45 years, the IIS has sought to promote scholarship and learning on Islam in historical and contemporary contexts and contributed to a better understanding of Islam’s relationship with other societies and faiths.

The Institute has also dedicated a significant amount of time and resources to studying the history of the Ismaili branch of Islam in all its aspects, including its intellectual, scientific, artistic and commercial activities. The Ismaili Imams ruled over vast territories such as the Fatimid Empire in North Africa and Egypt and the Nizari Ismaili state of Iran and Syria during the Alamut period. Under the Fatimid rule, the Ismailis created one of the world’s oldest learning seats, the Al-Azhar University in Cairo; today, the university is a major Sunni institution.

The IIS’s research and publications, led by both Ismaili and non-Ismaili scholars, have had a profound impact over the past 30 years. They have fundamentally reshaped the perception of Ismailis, who, for centuries, were primarily understood through the lens of works by medieval heresiographers and polemicists, who were generally hostile towards Shias and particularly the Ismailis.

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Aside from research papers, scholarly publications and participation in essential conferences worldwide, the IIS has conducted significant programmes such as the Waezeen and Teacher Education Programme (WTEP), the advanced curriculum-planning programme with the University of London’s Institute of Education, the joint IIS-McGill University programme, the Graduate Programme in Islamic Studies and Islamic Humanities (GPISH), and the Secondary Teacher Education Programme (STEP). Some eight hundred individuals have graduated from IIS’s educational programmes since the Institute began receiving postgraduate students in 1980.

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Several IIS alumni have made remarkable achievements in different parts of the world. On March 23, 2024, the IIS had its first ever Alumni Recognition Award at the Ismaili Centre in London, UK, during its 2024 graduation ceremony.

The Award celebrates those who have demonstrated a career of exceptional service and leadership. A panel of senior management and academics from the AKDN and IIS reviewed the nominations for the Award and selected Professsor Karim H. Karim as the recipient of the First Award based on the following primary criteria:

• Professional or Academic Accomplishment: Achieved a high degree of prominence and leadership in their respective field, which may or may not be directly relevant to the work of the IIS.
• Contributions to Community Service: Distinguished service to their professional or faith community.

Professor Zayn Kassam, the Institute’s current director, presented the inaugural Award to Professor Karim.

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Citation Honouring Karim H. Karim on Being the First Recipient of the IIS’s Alumni Recognition Award

The citation for the award read as follows:

“Professor Karim has an extensive record of over three decades of scholarship, service, and leadership. His designation as Chancellor’s Professor is the highest honour given by Carleton University for scholarship of outstanding merit with substantial international impact, research leadership and continued active participation in the development of research excellence. Professor Karim has a worldwide reputation as a leading scholar of media representations of Muslims and diasporic communications. He has had visiting appointments at Harvard, Aga Khan, and Simon Fraser universities. Professor Karim has delivered keynote addresses in several countries and his critically acclaimed publications are cited widely. He was the inaugural winner of the Robinson Book Prize and has received media coverage in six continents.

“Dr. Karim has served as Director of Carleton’s renowned School of Journalism and Communication and its Centre for the Study of Islam, respectively. He was also the Institute of Ismaili Studies’ first alumnus to lead it in a directorial capacity. He spearheaded founding initiatives on Accessibility to Digitized Collections and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation as a Senior Policy Officer in the Canadian Government, which endowed him with awards for exceptional public service and for fostering collaboration between ethno-religious communities.

“Karim has an extensive record of international service to academic, community, government, and civil society institutions, including Aga Khan University (Kenya) and Central Asian University; AKDN Higher Education Forum; Canadian Parliamentary Committees and government boards; and Ismaili community organizations (Kenya, USA, and Canada). He has also held an International Ismaili Studies Conference at Carleton University; founded a prize for research in Ismaili Studies’ understudied aspects; and has been a mentor and external Ph.D. examiner for IIS alumni.”

We take this opportunity to congratulate Professor Karim on his accomplishments over the past several decades and on receiving the First Alumni Recognition Award from the Institute of Ismaili Studies. We are proud to have published several of his pieces on our websites (follow the links below).

Below are excerpts from his acceptance speech upon receiving the IIS’s inaugural Alumni Recognition Award.

“Let the Truth Infuse Your Words”

By KARIM H. HARIM
March 23, 2024, Ismaili Centre, London

Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim.

I would like to thank the Institute of Ismaili Studies for selecting me as the recipient of its inaugural Alumni Recognition Award. This is a profound honour, which takes me back 40 years when I was a student at the IIS. This beautiful building, the Ismaili Centre London, was under construction at that time.

Congratulations to all the GPISH and STEP students who have graduated today. You carry enormous potential and promise. Allow me to speak about an event in my life that underlined the long-term impact that an individual can have. I attended the funeral of Professor Amin Amershi, a mathematician, two weeks ago in Vancouver. He taught me one class as a guest lecturer in a religious class in Nairobi, when I was 12 years old. It was a singular experience that opened my mind and sparked my imagination because his explanations had the ring of truth. I have found it remarkable that I continue to think about his ideas some 55 years later. You, too, have the potential of a long-lasting impact that will span decades and range as far into the future as the 22^nd century. Let the truth infuse your words.

As you may know, our tradition adopted the name “Ismaili” in the early 20^th century. Prior to that it was called Da’wat al-Haqq — which means Invitation to Truth, Summons to Truth, or Mission of Truth. In India, the Pirs named it Satpanth — Path of Truth or the True Path. Our aspiration is to have truth manifest our worldview and actions. It underpins our ethical outlook.

We are thrown many challenges throughout our lives. We face success, failure, joy, and frustration. The organizations that we work for pressure us to get the job done and we are often tempted to take shortcuts in order to fulfill expectations. But this is where critical thinking, which you have discussed extensively in your studies, becomes pertinent. How does one balance the imperative to get the job done, on the one hand, and remain ethical, on the other? His Highness the Aga Khan, Mowlana Hazar Imam, instructed the community’s leaders at a gathering in the United States in 1986, that “we will ask the hard questions.” Fulfilling your tasks ethically is one of the hard issues that you will face constantly in your careers.

Let the truth infuse your words, your music, your art, and your actions as you go ahead to fulfill your potential and promise.

Date posted: April 17, 2024.

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Featured image at top of post: Professor Zayn Kassam, the current director of the Institute of Ismaili Studies, presents the inaugural IIS Alumni Recognition Award to Professor Karim H. Karim during the IIS’s 2024 graduation ceremony, March 23, 2024, at the Ismaili Centre in London. Photograph: Farid Daya.

The following are links to articles by Karim H. Karim published in Simerg and its sister websites:

• The Ismaili Imamat and Spiritual Meaning: Communicating the Zahir and the Batin
• Reflections on the Design of the Ismaili Center Houston
• Nazil Kara (1957-2018): An Ordinary and Extraordinary Satpanthi Woman
• A Discovery of Deep Truth at Kilimanjaro’s Summit: Recalling a Fifty-Year-Old Outward Bound Adventure
• Institute of Ismaili Studies: Historical Aspirations, Contemporary Possibilities
• The Da‘i and His Invitation to the Truth
• The Melodious Life and Legacy of Shamshu Jamal (1936 – 2019)