Ottawa Bait ul-Ilm Students Share a Journey Through Encounters with the Jamat

The recent Encounters showcase by Ismaili students of Ottawa generated great feedback from members of the Jamat. One visitor commented:

“Congratulations to every single member of the BUI team. It is wonderful to conceptualize the brand of AKDN and other Imamat Institutions right at the youngest stage of  Ismaili kids. Well done!”

PLEASE CLICK: Sharing a journey through Encounters with the Jamat

Please click to read the Encounters Showcase article.

A section of the exhibit which was held at the beautiful Ottawa jamatkhana. Please click on image to read the  article.

Morning at the Park, Jamatkhana and the Museum by Navyn Naran

The Ismaili Centre and the Aga Khan Museum will be officially opened later this week in the presence of His Highness the Aga Khan, the 49th Imam of the Ismaili Muslims. A series of poems celebrating the many aspects of the two majestic buildings as well as their Park, which is to be opened in 2015, will be published throughout the week. We begin with Navyn Naran’s contemplative piece, Morning at the New Park, Jamatkhana and Museum.

Astrolabe. Credit: Aga Khan Museum Collection

Astrolabe. Credit: Aga Khan Museum Collection

OTTAWA: The New Jamatkhana is 1 Year Old; An Ottawa Architect’s Favourite Building; and Iconic Sussex Drive

1. THE OTTAWA JAMATKHANA

Hundreds of Ismailis come by the busloads and personal automobiles to visit Ottawa during the summer months – for many the primary destinations are the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building and the beautiful new Ottawa Jamatkhana which opened exactly a year ago, on July 19, 2013. The visitors marvel at the Ottawa Jamatkhana’s spacious facilities for spiritual practices as well as the space it offers for social interaction and cultural programmes, including religious education classes.

As the Ottawa Jamat marks its first anniversary in the new Jamatkhana we repost on this page a link to Farouk Noormohamed’s statement and photos of the lovely building.

Speaking of Ottawa, local architect Kristopher Benes names his favourite building in the city, and we provide a link to a piece about Ottawa’s iconic Sussex Drive which is home to the Delegation Building.

Check out all the readings below and enjoy your summer in Ottawa, Canada’s Capital!

Please click: Exclusive: Architect’s Statement and Photos of the Fabulous New Ottawa Jamatkhana

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2. MY FAVOURITE OTTAWA BUILDING

By Kristopher Benes

As an architect I often get asked to name my favourite Ottawa building! Being a fan of minimalism I was often hard pressed to find anything non-residential that came immediately to my mind –- until that is, when the Ismaili Imamat Delegation building was completed in 2008.

Modern architecture often draws criticism for being too stark, extreme in its simplicity. However, it is its ability to highlight the world around us that I find to be so beautiful in modernism.

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building.

The Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building.

The clarity with which the play of shadows for instance may fall upon a crystal white surface allows architecture to behave as an ever-changing canvas, a reflector if one prefers, of what is going on all around. When the sun moves across the sky, the shadows dance along the building’s surfaces and when the sky takes on a different shade, the building glows in a completely different light.

Light can be a wonderful paint brush for those blank walls; it does not need any more complexity than that. And obviously, Fumihiko Maki, the building’s design architect, understands light better than I ever could hope to (after all he has won a Pritzker Prize for his contributions and has enjoyed a career spanning some 50 years).

I think it is this understanding of light and an ability to shape it so beautifully which speaks to me most about the Ismaili Imamat Delegation Building.

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3. ICONIC SUSSEX DRIVE

Please click: Photo Essay: Celebrating Sussex Drive, His Highness the Aga Khan and, Five Years on, the Crystalline Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building

Sussex Drive is denoted by the yellow line. Going East, you start at Rideau Street (blue line) where the 700 Sussex Condominium building is located. Between Rideau Street and #35 on the map, you pass the Connaught Building  (550 Sussex) and the US Embassy (490 Sussex). The National Gallery of Art (380 Sussex) and the Basilica (385 Sussex) as well as Reconciliation Monument are located at or around #35. Then just a hundred metres east of #35 are located the Global Centre for Pluralism (330 Sussex), the Royal Canadian Mint (320 Sussex) and the Embassy of Kuwait (333 Sussex). The Saudi Embassy (201 Sussex) and the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building (199 Sussex) are at #36, with the Lester Pearson Building (125 Sussex) and the John G. Diefenbacker or the Old City Hall (111 Sussex) approximately 100-200 metres further east. At #37 you reach Rideau Falls Park (50 Sussex) and the French Embassy (42 Sussex).  Finally, Sussex Drive winds down (or starts if you are travelling South!) at #38, the residences of the Prime Minister (24 Sussex) and the Governor General (1 Sussex) as well as the High Commission of South Africa (15 Sussex). One of the pictures of the Delegation Building shown below was taken from Jacques-Cartier Park in Gatineau, which is denoted by #30 on the map. Map credit: The National Capital Commission (with minor edits by Simergphotos to represent Sussex Drive more clearly).

Sussex Drive is denoted by the yellow line. Going East, you start at Rideau Street (blue line) where the 700 Sussex Condominium building is located. Between Rideau Street and #35 on the map, you pass the Connaught Building (550 Sussex) and the US Embassy (490 Sussex). The National Gallery of Art (380 Sussex) and the Basilica (385 Sussex) as well as Reconciliation Monument are located at or around #35. Then just a hundred metres east of #35 are located the Global Centre for Pluralism (330 Sussex), the Royal Canadian Mint (320 Sussex) and the Embassy of Kuwait (333 Sussex). The Saudi Embassy (201 Sussex) and the Delegation of the Ismaili Imamat Building (199 Sussex) are at #36, with the Lester Pearson Building (125 Sussex) and the John G. Diefenbacker or the Old City Hall (111 Sussex) approximately 100-200 metres further east. At #37 you reach Rideau Falls Park (50 Sussex) and the French Embassy (42 Sussex). Finally, Sussex Drive winds down (or starts if you are travelling South!) at #38, the residences of the Prime Minister (24 Sussex) and the Governor General (1 Sussex) as well as the High Commission of South Africa (15 Sussex). Map credit: The National Capital Commission (with minor edits by Simergphotos to represent Sussex Drive more clearly).

Date posted: Saturday, July 19, 2014.

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The Iconic Ismaili Centre in Dubai by Muslim and Nevin Harji @Simerg

Dubai’s Jewel: The Ismaili Community’s Congregational Space

“This new Centre is itself a profoundly spiritual place. Its defining symbolism is inspired by the Fatimid tradition — stretching back over 1000 years and widely shared with sister traditions throughout the Islamic world….Just as Dubai is indeed a very special place, this is also a very special time. For me this is particularly true because this new beginning coincides with my 50th year as Imam of the Shia Ismaili Muslims — a Golden Jubilee moment which connects the past to the future for me and in a special way. 

“And that is what this celebration today is all about — at a time of demanding challenge, we look for strength and inspiration from our spiritual and cultural roots.” – Excerpts from the speech by His Highness the Aga Khan at the Inauguration of The Ismaili Centre Dubai – 26 March 2008.

Please click for “Dubai’s Ismaili Gem”

Please also click: THE JAMATKHANA
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Simerg’s Third Anniversary and the Blog’s Most Popular Pieces (Part 1 of 2)

To mark this blog’s third anniversary, we recently launched the series, “Thanking Ismaili Historical Figures,” with the publication of three letters by Andrew Kosorok (Makers of the Fatimid Blue Qur’an), Mohezin Tejani (Prince Sadruddin Aga Khan) and Aziz Kurwa (The Person of the Institution of Imamat). Several “Thank You Letters” will be published over the coming weeks and months, and cover numeous historical figures during the past 1400 years.

What did this blog begin with, and which are the pieces that have been viewed the most since our launch in the spring of 2009? We wish to present some twenty-four selections in two instalments from over 600 fine articles. Motivation does not necessarily come from anything that is lavish and extravagant. Lasting impressions and effects often come from small things, and in this regard there are two short and wonderful anecdotes that set the website rolling. “Thank You” to the Ismaili historical figures Muayyad din Shirazi and Nasir Khusraw for the momentum and inspiration they provided. Both the anecdotes are definitely worth a read, and should provide the readers with an appetite to read the remaining contents of this blog, as and when time permits. Please share this page and the website with your contacts around the world.

SIMERG BEGINNINGS

Dazzled by the Light of Imamat

The Missing Mount Nasir Khusraw

Here is an array of some dozen top reads, not in any order, that will be of interest to readers who have joined us recently as well as those who may have missed the readings altogether. The remaining twelve popular post links will be provided later during the week.

POPULAR POSTS (I)

Mehboob Dewji: Islamic Patterns

H.H. the Aga Khan's historic Badakhshan visit

Arif Babul Interview: Creation, Science, God

H.H the Aga Khan III: Long Reign Ends

Nazim Bhimani Poem: Hurricane Katrina

Bruno Freschi Interview: Darkhana Canada

Tashkorgan Jamatkhana, China

Karim Master's Legacy Lives On

Ismaili Constitution Preamble

Diwan Sir Eboo Pirbhai

Politique Interview with H.H. The Aga Khan

The Memoirs of Aga Khan in 7 Languages

A Note to Readers: Please scroll down or click Home page for other recent posts and click What’s New for links to all articles published on this blog since March 2009. Subscribe to this Website via the box near the top right of this page.

Follow up: Simerg’s Third Anniversary and the Blog’s Popular Pieces (2/2)